Bern 2002

PNoWB held its third Annual Conference on May 9-11, 2002 in Bern, Switzerland.

The attendance of 104 parliamentarians from 42 countries attested the momentum PNoWB gathered as a parliamentary sounding board for the World Bank.

The meeting emphasized the critical role parliamentarians can play in implementing development initiatives that emerged from the conferences in Doha and Monterrey, and in stepping up efforts to improve governance. Keynote speakers included President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal; World Bank President James Wolfensohn and WTO Director General Mike Moore.

Parliamentarians unanimously agreed that the Network should take an active part in supporting the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  Bert Koenders presented a proposal of the Steering Committee to create on the occasion of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg a “Parliamentary Implementation Watch” system that would monitor progress made towards MDGs, to halve world poverty by 2015.

The event was sponsored by the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Event: The Third Annual Conference of the PNoWB
Date:  May 9-11 2002
Venue: The Swiss Parliament, Bern.