4th Global Forum Ends in Marrakesh

The 4th Global Forum on reinventing government wound up Friday in Marrakesh, Morocco. with the adoption of the Marrakesh Declaration.

Participants called for associating citizens in redefining the role of the State, encouraging local communities to take their own wellbeing in hand and invited firms to manage lasting growth and wealth.

The civil society should be mobilised to take up social and cultural challenges and governments must be fully responsible and accountable, said participants in some of their recommendations.

Other recommendations include the creation and development of new types of partnerships, the use of information and communication technologies in reinventing government, the improvement of global solidarity with a view to making the world a better place to live and the respect of all cultures.

The Marrakesh Forum also called for increasing support of international partners to development and urged Morocco, in its capacity as leader of the Group of 77 (G-77) for 2003, to ensure the follow up of implementation of the recommendations with the leaders of the world, international organizations and NGOs.

Participants agreed to hold the 5th Global Forum next year in Mexico.

The 4th Global Forum, held on the generic theme of "Citizens, businesses and governments: dialogue and partnerships for the promotion of democracy and development," was marked by the presence of more than 1200 participants coming from over 100 nations worldwide.

The U.N.-backed meeting debated alternative means to reach long term solutions based on dialogue and partnerships in order to reduce technological and economical gaps that are increasing between nations.