Despite the protests in Genoa, greater international cooperation is need to manage global markets and promote global social justice, Clare Short has said.

Speaking at the Foreign Policy Centre on Tuesday, the international development secretary said Britain's growing aid budget had been refocused on the reduction of extreme poverty and helping the poorest countries put in place reforms to helps the most needy.

She pointed to commitments of more than £500 million to support education and £1 billion allocated to help building effective basic healthcare systems as an achievement of the government so far, in addition to working for a fairer international trading system with better trade access for poor countries.

Short said the government's second white paper had "set out a radical and wide-ranging agenda" for managing globalisation in a way that works better for the world's poor. She highlighted trade and investment as ways in which the poor could be helped, with the launch of a new trade round a key priority.

The minister added the conflict prevention and resolution would remain a key priority, especially in Africa where it affects more than half the countries in the Sub-Saharan region of the continent.

Protecting the environment was also highlighted. "Existing patterns of production and consumption are placing enormous strains on the global ecosystem, and rapid population growth is adding to these pressures," she said."We cannot protect the environment without addressing the development needs of the poor, and poverty reduction depends on safeguarding the natural resources on which poor people depend for their livelihoods," added Short.

Looking ahead to Labour's second term, she said the government would "work with others to build a stronger, more open and more accountable international system, in which poor people and countries have a more effective voice.""The more extreme voices on the streets of Genoa want to tear up the multilateral institutions, like the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO and the UN. What we really need, however, is stronger political institutions, and greater international co-operation, to better manage and counterbalance global markets and to help promote global social justice," she added.