noted that many years of hard work had brought the international community to the threshold of a breakthrough in its pursuit of development and human dignity. Not long ago, many had feared that development in the world’s poorest countries could become a lost cause, with some stating that extreme poverty was a sad but inescapable aspect of the human condition. That view was now seen as intellectually indefensible and morally untenable, and it was widely recognized that poverty must and could be defeated. Many developing countries had succeeded in lifting millions of people out of impoverishment and despair, and the international community had banded together in a sustained, unprecedented effort. United Nations conferences and summits had mapped out a vision and the Millennium Goals had become a rallyingin squalor.

Such steps must be accompanied by similarly dramatic action on unfinished parts of the agenda, with rich and poor alike doing their part, he said. Developing countries had pledged to uphold the rule of law, fight corruption, build up their institutions, invest in human capital, mobilize domestic resources and open up to business. Developed countries had pledged to launch an international finance facility, double aid to Africa, reduce the damaging effects of volatile private capital flow, and increase the voice and participation of developing countries in global economic decision-making. Developed countries must also take the lead in creating a development-friendly trading system. If developing countries could compete on fair terms, without having to contend with unfair subsidies and unduly high tariffs, they would reap dividends far beyond