UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday appointed Homi Kharas of Pakistan as the lead author and Executive Secretary for the High-level Panel to advise on the global development agenda beyond 2015.
The target date for achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is 2015 agreed by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000.
The eight MDGs set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a 'Global Partnership for Development.'
Kharas is currently a Senior Fellow and Deputy Director in the Global Economy and Development Program of the Brookings Institution, an independent think tank in Washington, DC. He is currently researching on policies and trends influencing developing countries, including aid to poor countries, the emergence of a middle class, the food crisis and global governance and the G20.
Kharas also has 26 years of experience with the World Bank, serving for seven years as chief economist for the East Asia and Pacific region and Director for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, Finance and Private Sector Development.
He later became a Senior Partner with Jeff Sachs and Associates from 1990 to 1991, advising governments in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union on transition. He has also served as a as a Non-Resident Fellow of the OECD Development Center, and a member of the National Economic Advisory Council to the Malaysian Prime Minister.
Kharas holds a Ph. D. in economics from Harvard University, and his most recent co-authored books are 'After the Spring: Economic Transitions in the Arab World' and 'Catalyzing Development: A New Vision for Aid.'
With his appointment on Thursday, Kharas will now be responsible for compiling the report of the High-Level Panel, which has been tasked with providing recommendations on a global post-2015 agenda with shared responsibilities for all countries and with the fight against poverty and sustainable development at its core.
In addition to its 23 members, the Panel's three co-chairs are President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom.
The UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Post-2015 Development Planning, Amina J. Mohammed, will serve as a member of the Panel in an ex-officio capacity.
The panel will hold its first meeting on September 25 on the margins of the annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly. Its report is expected to be submitted to the Secretary-General by May 31, 2013.
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