Brussels, 22/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which begins next week in South Africa, the Danish Minister for foreign Affairs, Per Stig Moeller declared that, "The Johannesburg Summit makes a difference. The Process leading up to the Summit has been complicated and full of uncertainties. I am pleased that today the possibilities of a successful outcome are there. The Danish EU Presidency and the European Union are determined to play a major role to move the Johannesburg agenda ahead". Mr Moeller adds that, "In Johannesburg, we need to be ready to commit ourselves. We need to make binding commitments between governments and by promoting public and private partnerships. And we need to be ready to set timetables and benchmarks so that we can measure the results of our efforts. Our key goal is to eradicate poverty by way of more effective financing for development, by ensuring good governance at all levels and the protection and sustainable use of our environment and natural resources. Touching on the previous meetings in Doha and Monterrey, the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs declared that the main goal could be summed us as, "implementation of the objectives and agreements defined over the last ten years". Mr Moeller called for: 1) access that is free from excise duties and export quotas for all less developed countries; 2) the development of social and environmental responsibility of companies; 3) partnerships between the public and private sectors for promoting sustainable development; 4) the promotion of respect for responsible management, democracy and human rights.
Per Stig Moeller made this speech on Thursday in Copenhagen during the presentation of the "World Development Report 2003: Dynamic Development in a Sustainable Way." This report, drafted by Robert Schneider, underlines that the world population is expected to grow by two billion over the next three decades. In developing countries, 2.5-3 billion people currently live on less than two dollars a day and, as emphasised by Per Stig Moeller, "The great challenge is to be able to offer all these people, in a sustainable way, productive employment and a better quality of life".