The recent report of the Pew Global Attitudes Project highlights that most Westerners and Muslims see relations between them as generally bad, after a year marked by riots over cartoon depictions of Muhammad, the 7 July London bombs attacks, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
The European Council meeting on June 15 and 16, under the Austrian Presidency, was held in Brussels. After the discussion on the European constitution –which has been in political limbo since its rejection last year by French and Dutch voters– leaders ended the "period of reflection" and announced they were entering the "two-track" stage
The main objective of Asian Development Bank medium-term strategy II (MTS II), covering 2006-2008, is to strengthen the poverty reduction impact of ADB’s assistance programs in the context of the key challenges facing the region. To this end, it has adopted five priorities: catalyzing investment, strengthening inclusiveness, promoting regional cooperation and integration, managing the environment, and improving governance and preventing corruption
The President of four remaining countries of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) -Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru- met in Quito (Ecuador) to re-launch the regional cooperation and integration process after the announcement of Venezuela’s withdrawal of the Community. The Andean Council of Presidents reiterates its decision to start negotiations aimed at signing an Association Agreement with the European Union, as agreed on Vienna Summit
Turkey and Croatia reached agreement with the European Union on the provisional closure of the first negotiating chapter at the inaugural accession conferences with both candidate countries on 12 June in Luxembourg. In the case of Turkey, even the smallest step towards the EU will spark difficulties unless it complies with its obligations towards Cyprus
The Final statement of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting express the commitment to work for a successful conclusion to the current round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. Other issues included plans for the implementation of the Busan Roadmap to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals and plans for a significant reduction in the transaction costs related to conducting business in the APEC Region
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Report presented to the General Assembly on May 2006. In this document, Kofi Annan proposed a standing forum led by all 191 Member States which governments could use to share ideas and discuss best practices and policies related to international migration and how this phenomenon ties in with global development
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation of the Member States adopted this final declaration on the occasion of the 36th regular sessión of the OAS General Assembly in Santo Domingo (4 to 6 June 2006). The document states that “the development and equitable and universal access to the knowledge-based society constitutes a challenge and an opportunity that helps us to address the common social, economic, and political goals of the countries of the Americas
The Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has presented this document which shows collusion of the Council of Europe member states with the U.S. clandestine “spider’s web” of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers. The committee said hundreds of persons had become entrapped in this web – in some cases when they were merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation. (See also Draft Resolution and recommendation)
The USAID has adopted a new policy framework to implement transformational diplomacy through development. It affirms that this federal agency will seek to use bilateral foreign assistance to build toward a safer, more secure, democratic and prosperous world in order to enhance U.S. national security. Implementing this policy will make U.S. bilateral aid more effective and better coordinated with other U.S. Government policies and programs
The Weapons of Mass Destruction Commision (WMDC) -chaired by Hans Blix- has presented this report to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The document analyses the threats under which the world is living today -above all, 27 000 nuclear weapons and efforts by individual states and perhaps terrorist groups to develop or obtain different kinds of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. It also contains sixty concrete proposals on how the world could be freed of weapons of terror
The AIDS epidemic appears to be slowing down globally, but new infections are continuing to increase in certain regions and countries. The document also highlights the important progress in country AIDS responses, including increases in funding and access to treatment, and decreases in HIV prevalence among young people in some countries over the past five years
The World Bank (WB) GDF 2006 report says net private capital flows to developing countries reached a record high of US$491 billion in 2005, driven by privatizations, mergers and acquisitions, external debt refinancing, as well as strong investor interest in local-currency bond markets in Asia and Latin America. The document also shows that capital flows between developing countries are now growing faster than those between developed and developing countries particularly in FDI
