§ Ms KinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what preparations her Department is making for the UN Millennium Summit in September. [121517]
§ Clare ShortThe Millennium Summit will be an important opportunity for the world's leaders to put the International Development Targets for poverty elimination at the top of the international agenda. The emphasis on poverty elimination in the Secretary General's Millennium Report provides a good starting-point for discussion of this issue at the Summit. My officials will discuss with the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in London whether there are opportunities around the Millennium Report and Summit to raise awareness in the UK of the poverty elimination agenda and the UN's role. My Department, with the FCO, is providing funding for representatives from the least developed countries to attend the Millennium Forum, which will bring together the views of civil society world-wide as a contribution to the Summit.