UN chief to host meeting on African development

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to convene a meeting on Friday to garner support for African countries' effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a UN spokesperson said Wednesday.

The secretary-general will chair the inaugural meeting of the UN Millennium Development Goals Africa Steering Group, Michele Montas told a press briefing.

The MDG Africa Steering Group was set up by Ban after a report in June showed that despite faster growth and strengthened institutions, Africa at its present rate would fail to achieve any of the MDGs adopted by the UN Millennium Summit in 2000.

The inaugural meeting will bring together leaders from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission, the African Union, the African Development Bank, the UN Development Group, which is chaired by UNDP, and the Islamic Development Bank.

The meeting will focus on mobilizing the UN system and major development partners, including the Bretton Woods Institutions, to support African countries' efforts to achieve the goals.