Mr. Sorley McCaughey:

Indeed, it would not be worthwhile otherwise.

Collaboration is important for civil society. Most of our organisations work on a partnership basis, and most of those partners with whom we work will be represented at the conference in Addis Ababa. Therefore, the conference is important in terms of solidarity and for strategising with our partners, located in different parts of the globe, on the issue of financing for development. We could do this work electronically but there is nothing quite the same as spending time together at such a forum. Perhaps the other witnesses also want to say something on the issue of civil society.

I shall finish by responding to the question on what are the main obstacles. I fully support what Ms Gold has said. I would add the question of follow-up. It is one of the biggest issues in this process and many other non-binding UN processes. How do we ensure that what comes out of the conference is followed up, implemented and governments are held accountable?