SAVE THE DATE Asia-Pacific High-level Consultation on Financing for Development 29-30 April 2015, Jakarta Excellency, The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Ministry of Finance, Government of the Republic of Indonesia will co-host a high-level Asia-Pacific Consultation on Financing for Development on 29-30 April 2015 in Jakarta. This meeting is being convened at the request of the United Nations General Assembly in the lead up to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development. As you are aware, 2015 marks an important year when the international community will adopt a universal and transformative post-2015 development agenda, including the sustainable development goals to be achieved by 2030. The new agenda is expected to incorporate poverty and inequality, jobs and infrastructure needs, as well as environmental and climate-related challenges in a holistic manner. Financing is a critical means of implementation. As such, world leaders and ministers will gather in July for the Third International Conference, to reinvigorate the Financing for Development process which begun in Monterrey and to lay out the financing and partnership framework for the post-2015 development agenda. This is truly an important opportunity for the Asia-Pacific region to lead and contribute to the global dialogue. Our region faces huge financing requirements, estimated to be in the order of $2 trillion per year. At the same time, the region’s gross national savings represent more than half of the world’s total; its foreign exchange reserves and rapidly increasing private wealth are in the order of trillions of dollars. The question then is how to mobilize and channel the available resources, engage the private sector, and strengthen cooperation in macroeconomic and financial policies. The Asia-Pacific Consultation will provide a timely platform for the region’s finance ministers, central bank governors and other leading policy makers and voices from the private sector, civil society and regional financing institutions, to deliberate on these challenges. The outcome consensus document, consisting of forward-looking and actionable recommendations, will critically inform the global dialogue and contribute to the implementation of a transformative post-2015 development agenda in our region. A formal invitation letter, co-signed by Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP and H.E. Dr. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of Finance, Government of Indonesia, will be sent to you shortly. We hope you are able to join us for these important discussions.