EurOrient Financial Group: New Year's Message to the Peoples of the World

EurOrient Financial Group: New Year's Message to the Peoples of the World

January 02, 2007

    LOS ANGELES, Jan. 2 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The
beginning of the 7th year to millennium's arrival is also
delivering opportunity: a reminder to reflect, as well as
look ahead. In this New Year's message to the peoples of
the world, The Chairman of the Board of Director of
EurOrient Financial Group ("EurOrient"), Mr. Ron
Nechemia encouraged by the solidarity and the shared aims
of World Organizations and the commitment to combating
terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, but called on
global leaders not to lose sight of a greater challenge of
this millennium, the war on poverty. "Without
development and hope," he noted, "there will be
no peace."

    We have seen wars in the Middle East and in Central
Asia that depend divisions among nations, about grave
issues of war and peace. These events have distracted the
world's leaders from dealing with other threats -- threats
which, to most people, are more immediate, and more real: 

    Threats of extreme poverty and hunger, unsafe drinking
water, environmental degradation, and endemic or infectious
disease.

    These dangers stalk large parts of our planet. 

    They kill millions and millions of people every year.

    They destroy societies.

    They fuel division and desperation.

    After years of wars and division, it's time to refocus
more of our energy and resources back on the Millennium
Development Goals in support of people's health and
welfare.

    It's time to make sure that poor countries have a real
opportunity to develop.

    And it's time we take decisive action to save the
resources of our planet.

    Yes, we have to fight terrorism. Yes, we must prevent
the spread of deadly weapons.

    But let's also say Yes to development. Let's bring hope
into the lives of those who suffer. 

    We don't need any more promises. We need to start
keeping the promises we already made.

    Without development and hope, there will be no peace.
    
    Just about seven years ago, at the Millennium Summit,
leaders of all nations pledged to provide that hope. They
set themselves precise, time-bound targets -- the
Millennium Development Goals. To meet these goals would
cost only a fraction of what our world spends on weapons of
war. Yet it would bring hope to billions, and greater
security to us all. But in 2006 we did not live up to these
promises. We let ourselves be swept along by the tide of war
and division. Mr. Nechemia stressed that very few countries
are on track to reach all eight Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), which seek to slash a host of social ills
such as extreme poverty, hunger, maternal and infant
mortality, and a lack of access to education by 2015.

    New Year's resolution 

    During the fiscal year 2007, EurOrient Financial Group
aims to give a major boost to the efforts to support the
Millennium Development Goals, to provide a chance to
advance the broader development agenda and the larger
challenges of development that confront us, in particular,
the core issues like environmental degradations, enhancing
development impact to support of economic and social
development, and mobilizations of financial, technical and
human resources to the less fortunate countries, and
particularly to low-income countries.

    The three pillars of EurOrient's New Year's resolution
are: 

    Improve Social Policy integration and coherence of
social dimensions to investment operation in support of the
Millennium Development Goals.  EurOrient Financial Group
committed to continue its pathfinder role of identifying
and evaluating emerging policy issues and developing new
policy concepts and approaches in areas where the EurOrient
has comparative advantage. Deepened social cohesion is a
central objective for sustainable development. 

    Improve Environmental Policy integration and coherence
of environmental considerations to investment operation in
support of the Millennium Development Goals. EurOrient's
Environmental Policy aims to enhance Sustainable
Development Policy framework for better integrating
economic, environmental and social objectives, and
decoupling economic growth from a range of environmental
pressures. EurOrient emphasizes on the need for sound
analysis based on strong science that considers the full
range of policy instruments and associated costs and
benefits. EurOrient will adopt and comply with the
"Equator Principles", which were established
according to the policy and guidance of IFC and World Bank,
are now becoming the financial industry benchmark for
determining, assessing and managing social and
environmental risk in project financing and other
safeguards measures.

    Mobilizations of financial, technical and human
resources to the less fortunate countries and particularly
to the low-income countries.  EurOrient Financial Group is
committed to expend operation to the benefit of all, and
ensuring that the poorest are not left behind. EurOrient
aims to expend its global operation and to establish
additional 4 new Resident Missions and Representative
Offices in low-income countries during the fiscal year 2007
(Resident Missions and Representative Offices are
EurOrient's offices located in developing economies).

    EurOrient Financial Group is well placed and firmly
committed to contribute to this historical endeavour, the
Millennium Summit. Building on the spirit of Sao Paulo --
the outcomes of the UNCTAD XI Conference held in June 2004
- EurOrient invests in projects and programs that promote
social development, builds human capacities, and addresses
host government priorities for investments in physical
infrastructure that promote and enhance social development.
These projects include roads, transportation systems, water,
sanitation and other types of investments with social
development outcomes such as improved quality of life and
increased human knowledge and skills - directly feed into
the Millennium agenda, in particular Millennium Development
Goal 8 on a global partnership for development. EurOrient
places emphasis on addressing the concerns of developing
and transition economies and in particularly EurOrient is
poised to support the least developed countries, reflecting
the moral commitment of the international community as a
whole to improving the fate of the most vulnerable and the
excluded. In these endeavours we work closely with
government policy makers and their representatives, at the
United Nations, United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development  "UNCTAD", the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),
parliamentarians, civil society, the academic community,
the media, and the global citizenry generally.

    EurOrient Financial Group is a private sector global
development finance institution. Its mission is to mobilize
financial, technical and human resources for the benefit of
developing economies seeking sustainable economic
development and poverty reduction.

    Let's all make refocus on development our New Year's
resolution - and I wish you a very Happy New Year!

    On behalf of my colleagues at EurOrient Financial
Group, I extend my sincere wishes for a productive,
development-oriented 2007! 

    Ron Nechemia, Officer-in-Charge, EurOrient Financial
Group
   
    EurOrient at Glance

     Headquarters:  Los Angeles, California
     Website:       http://www.eurorient.org  
     CEO:           Mr. Ron Nechemia
     EurOrient      Financial Group
     Contact:       [e-mail]

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      Public Relations Department
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