The Tongan High Commissioner to the UK, HE Dr Sione Ngongo Kioa officially opened the 4th meeting of ACP Senior Officials in charge of Finance and Economic Affairs in Brussels, Belgium on Monday November 10.

Dr Ngongo Kioa in his opening speech reminded participants the importance of their two-days meeting, November 10-11 was to prepare a report to be presented to ACP Ministers of Finance who were to be meeting on November 12 and 13 to prepare for the reviewing of the Monterrey Consensus in Doha Qatar, from 29 November to 2 December.

The Monterrey Consensus is the outcome of a United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development that was held in Monterrey, USA in 2002. Since the adoption of the Monterrey Consensus on March 22, 2002 it has become the major reference point for international development cooperation.

Some developed countries, including the USA have been criticised for ignoring the Consensus because their total amount of official development assistance were a small percentage of their gross domestic product.

Tonga is represented at the Brussels meeting by the Secretary for Finance, 'Aisake Eke.

The conference to review the Monterrey Consensus in Doha, Qatar, will be attended by the Minister of Finance, Hon. Afu'alo Matoto.