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Presidential Message
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary December 1, 2008

Presidential Message

ÿÿWhite House News


November 26, 2008

I send greetings to those gathered for the UN International Conference on
Financing for Development in Doha, Qatar. Six years ago, I joined leaders
from 50 countries at the United Nations Conference on Financing for
Development at Monterrey, Mexico to forge a new partnership for
development. That partnership was based on a consensus among the world's
nations that development is in the common interest of humankind. The most
effective way to raise the living standards of the world's poorest people
is to create economic growth by using all forms of development finance --
including trade, investment, grants, and lending -- in countries that
govern justly, invest in their people, and encourage economic freedom.
Today in Doha we should reaffirm our commitment to the development
principles agreed upon at Monterrey.

The world's economic growth is currently threatened by a global financial
crisis. The world's poor are the most vulnerable to the crisis, with low or
no savings or assets to weather the turmoil. In many countries, the
financial crisis is leading to rising unemployment, business failures, and
economic hardship.

The United States will not abandon its commitments to people in the
developing world in the midst of this financial crisis. The United States
calls on other economies, both developed and emerging, to similarly
reaffirm and fulfill their commitments to development and assist the
world's poorest, consistent with their roles in the global economy. The
United States pledges to assist developing and emerging economies in
gaining access to finance and pledges to help ensure that the International
Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and other multilateral development banks
have the resources to assist countries in crisis.

The nations of the world are increasingly interdependent. With
interdependence comes mutual responsibility and accountability. Our ties of
trade, finance, and development should be strengthened, not weakened by the
current market turmoil. The development principles of Monterrey provide us
with a proven path to prosperity and partnership. Let us join together
today in reaffirming that partnership.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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