Accra, June 27, GNA - The Government of Ghana and her development partners would hold the 15th Consultative Group Meeting on Monday at La Palm Hotel, Accra.

About 350 participants including Government officials, development experts, development partners, civil society organizations and the media are expected to take part in the day's event, a release from the World Bank Office said on Friday.

The meeting would discuss retrospective presentation of the results, achievements and challenges of Ghana's development and poverty reduction programme, as well as the priority areas the government proposes to focus on in the coming years, and the resources that would be needed to invest in these areas.

The overriding theme for this year's CG Meeting is: 'Ghana's Aid Policy - A Joint Approach to Accelerated Development.' Another key highlight of this year's Meeting is a discussion of the Long-Term National Development Plan being prepared by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), the Annual Progress Report on GPRS II, and a paper on Investing in Ghana's Growth and Poverty Reduction.

Development Partners, by the end of the Meeting, would have outlined the level of resources they have provided Ghana over the last few years and also indicate what they intended to provide to Ghana over the next three years. Over the past several years, donors have jointly injected more than a billion dollars into the Ghanaian economy each year, and development experts see this as contributing to the overall macro-economic stability Ghana has enjoyed.

Ghana currently is on course to become one of a few African countries to achieve the first MDG of halving poverty by 2015. Recent global economic challenges spearheaded by rising oil and food prices and climate change are, however, expected to hinder the progress made so far, and ample time would be spent deliberating how Government, with assistance from her development partners, could minimize the negative impact of these external factors.

A joint summary of proceedings would be issued at the end of the Meetings.