GENEVA – The world’s poorest countries, even those of sub-Saharan Africa, are ‘’approaching’’ the Millennium Development Goals, the new Trade and Development Index (TDI) indicates.

But after pointing out that possibility to IPS, Supachai Panitchpakdi, the secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, clarified that ‘’performance will have to be sustained and improved in certain areas if countries are to meet the 2015 MDGs,’’ which were adopted by the international community in 2000.