Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Monday that sustained political will and strategy of international communities were needed to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Susilo said this at the Combined Opening Session of the Ministerial Segment of the 62nd United Nations Economy and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP).

All the countries in the world had capabilities and resources to overcome poverty, but sustained political will and strategy to allocate the necessary resources were needed to achieve the MDGs, he said in front of some 600 delegates from 62 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

For example, he said, achieving installation of water and sanitation for all the poor countries would cost nine billion U.S. dollars a year, which was small compared to the 780 billion dollars' annual military spending of the world.

Half of the people in the world now lived with less than two dollars of income each person a day, 800 million were suffering from hunger and malnutrition, over 600 million had no access to safe water and in developing countries, 115 million children were out of school, said the president.

"These statistics break our hearts, but they do not bend our will," he said.

Susilo also urged the countries in the region to impose good governance as a key way to overcome their national problems.

"The key progress lies in good governance. If we employ it well, it will resolve our national problems, harness our potentials, and turn weakness into strength," he said.

Source: Xinhua