GLOBAL SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT MUST BE MORE THAN VERBAL, PHILIPPINES TELLS COMMITTEE ON REVIEW OF TECHNICAL COOPERATION
Press Release
DEV/2212
GLOBAL SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT MUST BE MORE THAN VERBAL, PHILIPPINES TELLS COMMITTEE ON REVIEW OF TECHNICAL COOPERATION
19990602 Says Concrete Collaboration with Countries of South Needed; Need for Fair Economic Environment, Decline of Resources for Development Also AddressedDeveloped countries must translate verbal support into concrete forms of collaboration with the countries of the South, the representative of the Philippines said this morning, as the High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) met to conclude the general debate for its eleventh session.
The fullest meaning of global partnership for development meant that it was insufficient simply to lend verbal manifestations of support, she said. As developing countries mainstreamed TCDC in their development endeavours, they also expected the entire international community to join them, in a spirit of global partnership and interdependence.
Pakistan's representative said many developing countries had still not applied TCDC. The Special Unit for TCDC should undertake an overall analysis of its implementation. Despite repeated calls for increased self-reliance on the part of developing countries, the trend of sending costly high-level missions and experts had continued unabated. Any number of action plans would remain unrealized unless concrete actions were taken.
Uganda's representative said that the participation of developing countries in the global economy had to be reciprocated by a supportive, fair and non-discriminating international economic environment. In that environment, developed countries shouldered a special responsibility, in keeping with their greater command over the resources and assets of globalization and their ability to direct resource flows for development.
While South-South economic and technical cooperation had become accepted, Burkina Faso's representative noted that there were varying degrees of cooperation. Landlocked countries, for example, faced specific handicaps. While triangular arrangements were important, the global reality was that resources for development had declined drastically. The way to the future was to make the connection between local and global capacities.
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The representative of the Dominican Republic said that her country, through cooperation agreements with a number of Central American and other regional countries, was creating the solidarity with others that was the basis of TCDC. The Dominican Republic had carried out measures with Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in such areas as poverty reduction and hurricane relief. The TCDC modality had been an important measure in helping to realize responsibility in managing such challenges.
Statements were also made by the representatives of China, Singapore, Pakistan, Barbados (on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States), Thailand, United Republic of Tanzania, Iran, Burundi and Chile.
Also, the following made statements: Organization of African Unity (OAU); Pan American Health Organization; Latin American and Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institute; Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); International Labour Organization (ILO); the Department of Economic and Social Affairs; the World Health Organization (WHO); and the International Trade Centre. The Director of the Special Unit for TCDC also spoke.
The High-level Committee will meet again at 3:45 p.m. today to continue its consideration of the theme of the current session, "The role of technical cooperation among developing countries in accelerating growth and equitable development through broad-based partnership".
Committee Work Programme
The High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) met this morning to continue its eleventh session on the theme, "The Role of TCDC in Accelerating Growth and Equitable Development through Broad-Based Partnership". (For background, see Press Release DEV/2209 of 28 May.)
Statements HUANG XUEQI (China) said TCDC had become an effective way for developing countries to pursue sustainable economic growth and equitable development with a view to integrating into the new international economic order. The new directions strategy was an important milestone that had reoriented TCDC for a series of new priority areas. The Special Unit for TCDC had implemented the thrust of the strategy. For a better functioning in its role in policy and programme coordination, the independent status of the Unit should be maintained and even strengthened.
With regard to resource mobilization for TCDC, he continued, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) should allocate more funds from its core resources for TCDC programmes, with a minimum of 1 per cent of the total. In the meantime, an innovative non-core resource mobilization mechanism should be adopted to open funding channels with developed countries and private sectors. In addition, the entire United Nations system, including regional commissions, should increase their use of the TCDC modality in their policies and programmes to enhance the status and legitimacy of TCDC and open its potential.
Technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC) and economic cooperation among developing countries (ECDC) were closely related components of South-South cooperation, he said. With the world economy increasingly globalizing, the incorporation of TCDC with ECDC was unprecedentedly compelling. Development of TCDC should go beyond its traditional framework and extend to mainstream economic areas, such as trade, investment and finance. Consideration should be given to promoting cooperation between businesses and between enterprises among different countries through TCDC. The High-level Committee should consider reviewing the process during its next session.
KISHORE MAHBUBANI (Singapore) said his country had long been committed to South-South cooperation. From the 1960s, Singapore had been both a recipient and a donor of technical assistance. The scope and size of its assistance programmes had steadily increased over the years, but it was not until the early 1990s that it had been able to give better focus to the increasing number of programmes offered to fellow developing countries. Singapore realized that in a period of budget cuts and slower growth among developed countries and the "aid fatigue" that had accompanied it, South-South cooperation would gain ascendancy. Also, TCDC and ECDC had the potential to facilitate trade between developing countries and promote shared growth.
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He said that the meeting's thematic discussion on the role of TCDC in accelerating growth was a timely one. In spite of the shrinking boundaries in a highly globalized world economy brought about by rapid technological advances, financial resources for development remained scarce. It was important for developing countries to tap all avenues in raising resources for development, and South-South cooperation was emerging as a dependable source. While that did not let the partners in the developed world off the hook of official development assistance (ODA), it was encouraging for them to see that developing countries were all pitching in with new partnerships to bring technical assistance where it was needed.
SHAHEEN MASUD (Pakistan), associating herself with the statement of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the plethora of recommendations contained in the documents before the High-level Committee remained weak and required greater attention from United Nations agencies and organizations. Many countries still did not have their focal points on national policies. An overall analysis regarding implementation should be undertaken by the Special Unit for TCDC and by the countries themselves.
She said that TCDC had still not been applied by many developing countries, and its implementation left much to be desired. Despite repeated calls for increased self-reliance on the part of developing countries, the trend of sending costly high-level missions and experts had continued unabated. The successful implementation of the new directions strategy required an institutional basis to be established by the countries concerned and by the agencies and organizations of the United Nations development system. Without concrete action, any number of action plans would not be realized.
ROSA NG. DE EBERLE (Dominican Republic) said her country had signed cooperation agreements with a number of Central American and other regional countries, including Chile, creating a solidarity with others that was the basis of TCDC. Her country had carried out measures with Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in such areas as poverty reduction and hurricane relief. The TCDC modality had been an important measure in helping to realize responsibility in managing such challenges. All efforts should be directed towards strengthening the focal points.
The support of Japan given to the countries of Asia and Africa had been notable, she said. Perhaps, that kind of assistance could be given for a conference in Latin America to further TCDC activities. Latin American countries were ready to develop, as were all countries represented on the High-level Committee.
CARLSTON BOUCHER (Barbados), speaking on behalf on the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), said the current year marked the fifth anniversary of the Barbados Conference and was important in that the General Assembly would
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convene a special session during September for review of the programme adopted at the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small island Developing States (Barbados, 1994). Over the last five years, implementation of the programme had strengthened the bonds of development between AOSIS countries. Common sustainable development needs and interests had been identified against the common blueprint of the programme. The challenge posed by the vulnerability of small island developing States was now better understood by the international community.
The priorities of such States remained essentially intact, he continued. They included management of climate change, natural and environmental disasters and wastes, tourism and biodiversity, and rapid development of human and institutional capacity. The TCDC modality played an important role in shaping the Barbados programme. The limited capacity of the small island developing States had made intraregional and interregional cooperation an important practical necessity in the pursuit of sustainable development.
An Internet programme for small island developing states -- SIDnet -- had been developed with the UNDP to increase the access of developing countries to information on sustainable development, he said. During a recent review of the Barbados programme prior to the special session, the small island developing States had underlined a number of key steps necessary to ensure that the SIDnet programme would remain viable. Those included the transfer of modern technology and communications systems, and the fostering of greater private sector opportunities and involvement.
MICHEL KAFANDO (Burkina Faso) said South-South economic and technical cooperation had become accepted, yet, there were levels of disparities in cooperation. Africa's relatively low level of cooperation was not simply a matter of problems with South-South cooperation, but rather that development did not depend merely on that cooperation. Landlocked countries, for example, faced specific handicaps.
Among TCDC activities in his own country had been the strengthening of national capacities through development of a programme based on the principles of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, he said. Developing countries had always emphasized that South-South cooperation could not replace North-South cooperation. Triangular arrangements were important. However, the global reality was that resources for development had declined drastically, especially on the part of the UNDP, which affected TCDC activities. It needed to be recognized that the way to the future was to make the connection between local and global capacities.
KITTIPAN KANJANAPIPATKUL (Thailand) said his delegation was pleased to learn that, despite the current economic difficulties, countries in the Asia- Pacific region continued to participate actively in self-generating bilateral TCDC activities. Thailand was extremely pleased with the strong and continued
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support of the Government of Japan in providing funds to the UNDP Human Resource Development Fund for South-South Cooperation to support ongoing TCDC activities supervised by the Special Unit for TCDC.
He noted with satisfaction the progress made in implementation of the new directions strategy for TCDC. The conclusions and recommendations contained in the meeting's documentation served to guide TCDC towards more important strategic goals and to set priorities. As one of the pivotal countries, his Government had hosted the third Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting on TCDC in November 1997, with the objective of providing an opportunity for ASEAN members to continue to share experiences and brainstorm on future cooperation, with the aim of maximizing limited resources and setting up an effective networking system.
MARIA LOURDES V. RAMIRO-LOPEZ (Philippines) said developing countries were proud of what they had achieved on TCDC and were fully committed to intensifying it as a modality of cooperation. But, as they mainstreamed TCDC in their development endeavours, they also expected the entire international community to join them, in the spirit of global partnership and interdependence. It was, therefore, insufficient simply to hear only verbal manifestations of support.
It must be realized that all countries were in the present situation together, she continued. The fullest meaning of global partnership for development meant no less. Manifestations of support must be translated into concrete forms of collaboration with the countries of the South. The Philippines paid tribute to Japan, France, Germany, Norway and others who had demonstrated that TCDC could be pursued productively, with their meaningful assistance. The developed countries should continue their collaboration with the developing countries in translating TCDC into its practical applications.
The whole strength of the United Nations system must be brought to bear in carrying out the Buenos Aires Plan of Action on TCDC, she said. As a modality for development cooperation, TCDC must continuously become a principal component in the operational activities of the United Nations agencies and bodies. She encouraged those members of the United Nations system that were already doing that to intensify their respective efforts.
She said the international community might have to explore other modalities of TCDC that could provide wide options for engaging the developed countries and the United Nations system. Such information could be on the Internet, making available information to go beyond a listing of needs and capacities. Interested developed countries and members of the United Nations system could then indicate whatever specific support they would like to extend to any specific modules of TCDC collaboration.
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MATIA MULUMBA SEMAKULA KIWANUKA (Uganda) said developing countries represented over two thirds of humanity. They had significant potential in production and purchasing power, which could be a locomotive for global growth. Spurring economic growth in developing countries was in the interest of the global economy as a whole. The continued participation of developing countries, including the least developed, in the global economy had to be reciprocated by a supportive, fair and non-discriminating international economic environment. In that environment, developed countries shouldered a special responsibility, in keeping with their greater command over the resources and assets of globalization and their ability to direct resource flows for development.
While support for TCDC by the United Nations system was recognized, he continued, the support would have stronger impact if TCDC operated as an integral part of the programme modalities of the donor community. Special assistance should be given to the developing countries experiencing difficulties in responding to the challenges of globalization, which were facing the greatest risk of marginalization. Official development assistance was imperative for developing countries and could not be replaced by private capital flows. Foreign direct investment and ODA were not substitutes, but complements to each other. Industrialized countries should fulfil their commitment to raise their ODA to at least 0.7 per cent of their gross national product (GNP).
DAUDI NGELAUTWA MWAKAWAGO (United Republic of Tanzania) said implementation of TCDC programmes in his country was constrained by a lack of resources. TCDC effectiveness could be improved in a number of ways. Networking arrangements and information flows could be strengthened, so as to improve communications and responsiveness from participants. Focal point offices could be strengthened to facilitate mainstreaming of TCDC activities and promote awareness and monitoring of TCDC dynamics. Local and external resource allocations, with particular reference to the least developed countries, could be enhanced.
The efforts of developing countries needed the support of the developed countries, if development objectives were to be realized, he said. Assistance provided by development partners through triangular cooperation provided vital leverage to national efforts.
SEYED MOHAMMAD HADI NEJAD HOSSEINIAN (Iran), associating himself with the statement of the Group of 77 and China, said that cooperation based mainly on local resources and home-grown technology could bring effective and cost- efficient outcomes and contribute to the overall development process in the developing countries. While the lion's share of TCDC had been focused on the agricultural and industrial sectors and trade policies, huge untapped opportunities for expansion of such cooperation still existed. Also, technical cooperation should be extended to new, potentially useful areas, in particular: finance and capacity-building; establishment and promotion of
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financial and capital markets; utilization of new financial instruments; exchange of experiences for constraining financial volatility; and good banking practices.
He said that the scope of TCDC, as well as the role that other potential actors could play, was expanding, including in such fields as population, emerging social issues, cultural development and public management. Participation of the private sector and civil society could also contribute to the consolidation and sustainability of such cooperation. There was, however, an urgent need for the meaningful integration of developing countries into the globalized international economy, for which the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization and other regional and multilateral institutions could play a catalytic role.
MARIE GORETTI NIZIGAMA (Burundi), aligned her delegation with the statements of the Group of 77 and China and the landlocked developing countries. She said that before the crisis currently affecting her country began, cooperation agreements had been signed between the University of Burundi and the Universities of Dar-es-Salaam and Zambia. She said that the TCDC information referral system was very useful as a source of information among the countries of the South. However, the Special Unit for TCDC should ensure that its database was updated regularly.
There could be no lasting peace without economic and social development, she said. Technical cooperation among developing countries should, therefore, be used as much for enhancing technical cooperation as for fostering lasting peace. Her Government appealed for support from the Special Unit in moving from being a recipient of humanitarian assistance to receiving technical assistance. She hoped a technical support mission from the Special Unit would visit the country.
GOMEZ ECHENIQUE (Chile) said horizontal cooperation in Chile was part of its foreign policy. Horizontal cooperation was part of Chile's development programme in the context of its geographic location, which meant that it was now focused at the regional level. Activities were based on two factors: an exchange of experience; and a projection of national capacities into the future. At the social level, horizontal cooperation was based on a promotion of democracy. At the economic level, it was based on a promotion of growth.
All Chile's programmes were based on a principle of shared costs, he continued. All who received assistance also had to contribute. The main activities of the horizontal programme were directed at two areas: improving human resources; and increasing technical assistance. For example, technical assistance missions were sent out to those requesting them, while internships were also offered to those interested.
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Triangular financing for Chile was a matter of projected capacities, he concluded. The methodologies of triangular projects should be further developed, with the traditional sources better matched with resources. The necessary regional cooperation should be promoted for strengthening focal points and some form of intensifying such coordination was needed.
OMOTAYO OLANIYAN, of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), said cooperation efforts between the Special Unit and OAU had been very useful. The African Economic Community (AEC), established in 1991 as a continental strategy to facilitate economic development in Africa, would yield trade expansion and promotion of industrial and agricultural development when fully functional.
Attaining those objectives depended on the existence of some basic structures, he continued. Those included institutions, infrastructures and skilled manpower. The technical assistance provided by UNDP on the preparation of some of the AEC protocols, for example, had been very valuable in the formative years of the organization. Given Africa's weak position in the world economy, it was imperative that the international community, as a matter of urgency, act and address the critical problems in carrying out TCDC. Emerging focal points should be consolidated to enhance impact and special attention should be given to management capacity.
Mr. RAMADHAR, Chief of the TCDC/ECDC Service, Office for Coordination of Normative, Operational and Decentralized Activities, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said FAO's programme on use of experts in the TCDC/Technical cooperation among countries in transition effort had radically transformed the nature and impact of the organization's services to Member States. The initiative had provided an innovative mechanism and a structured framework benefitting all, in a spirit of shared responsibilities and shared costs.
FRANKLYN LISK, the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Director and Representative to the United Nations International Labour Office, said that since the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action in 1978, technical cooperation had been a recurrent item on the agenda of the annual ILO Conference, with the Director-General presenting a paper each year to delegates of Member States on that subject. Since 1994, ILO's action in the field of technical cooperation had been guided by three priority objectives: promoting democracy and human rights; poverty alleviation, with a focus on employment creation; and the protection of workers.
He said that ILO's technical cooperation programme during the 1990s had been significantly influenced by unprecedented structural, political, economic and attitudinal changes regarding the provision of technical assistance. It had had to respond to the enormous challenge and opportunities provided by the increasing globalization of world trade and financial liberalization, with the
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added new dimensions of social and economic problems. There had also been changes in the perception and action of donors, as well as important reforms within the United Nations system itself. The ILO Conference, which started yesterday in Geneva, would undertake a major review of the ILO technical cooperation programme during its current session. A special report, prepared by the International Labour Office, could be obtained from the New York Liaison Office.
MARCIA BREWSTER, of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said one of the most important aspects of TCDC was to make appropriate matches between resources and needs. A number of examples of good matches (Lusophone African participants being trained in Brazil), as well as some poor matches (transfer of technology too advanced for the receiving country), had been seen. Appropriate matching related to levels of economic and political development and common understanding.
In addition to its traditional areas of TCDC support, she said, the Department and other United Nations partners felt the need to move rapidly to provide assistance to the South-South dialogue on trade, investment and finance aimed at promoting increased national and collective self-reliance. The Department supported the efforts of countries to work together to devise new patterns of economic cooperation and more outward-looking policies involving the private sector. At the same time, the need for social equity, human rights and environmental integrity could not be understated. The United Nations needed to be at the forefront in supporting equitable development through such modalities as ECDC and TCDC, so that no group was left behind in the new climate of globalization.
E. VILLAR, of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that during the last three General Assembly sessions, issues dealing with matters such as health had been increasingly citing TCDC as a central mechanism for action. TCDC was instrumental in improving the management of pricing medicaments and extending their accessibility. Social and health improvements were investments and there continued to be excellent cooperation between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Special Unit in UNDP in the health sector.
Ms. LICHA-VARCAS, of the Pan American Health Organization, said her organization had supported TCDC even beyond a special fund earmarked for TCDC activities. She gave a number of examples of cooperative efforts with regard to disease control and disaster relief, adding that carrying out those projects had built solidarity among the people.
The transfer of technology had been a special focus, she said, and there had been much support for the sustained use of the fund for TCDC projects. Another important point for her organization was the exchange of experience
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with regard to implementation. Also, links between national mechanisms and international sectoral means of cooperation had to be tightened.
HENDRYK G. ROELOFSEN, representing the International Trade Centre, said that developing countries had liberalized their economies, particularly their trading regimes. The promotion of South-South trade was an important pillar of TCDC and ECDC. Last week 100 business people in the iron and steel industry had met in Cairo, under the aegis of the Arab Trade Financing Programme. After three days of discussions, they had committed $80 million worth of business. That was the thirty-fifth buyers-sellers meeting organized by the International Trade Centre and UNDP.
PILAR BURGOS, representing the Latin American and Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institute, said the organization's essential role was to enhance technical cooperation among the tax and audit authorities of its member countries. The organization had been confirmed as a source of information and had contributed to horizontal cooperation among its member countries. Technical cooperation was strengthened when developed among regional and subregional organizations in a proactive manner, she said.
Interactive Exchange
JOHN OHIORHENUAN, the Director of the Special Unit for TCDC, responded to some issues raised in the statements made by representatives, stating that mainstreaming of TCDC activities was being implemented. Also, while achieving triangular support for regional meetings to improve the TCDC mechanism, the mobilization of national resources for such meetings should not be overlooked.
With regard to the quality of responses received from the questionnaires used by TCDC, he continued, the outcome had not been as successful as hoped, but it had been an improvement over the past. Efforts were being made to get better substantive information through better coordination with the missions to eliminate information, for example, which was already available elsewhere.
Requests for a strengthening of the Special Unit were heartening, he said. The Special Unit was constantly being strengthened through the piloting of new methodologies or improvements in delivery of TCDC. The United Nations itself was ever more being oriented towards South-South cooperation.
Among the future areas for TCDC expansion, he cited the need to develop methodologies for triangular cooperation. Those arrangements should be documented and analysed to better focus TCDC. "We are hearing loud and clear the messages being sent to us about globalizing TCDC, mobilizing TCDC resources and getting recognition for the value-added benefit of a TCDC element in other activities."
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Ms. VILLAR, of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said UNFPA had five years ago launched an initiative with TCDC after a conference in Egypt. Major supporters now included Bill Gates and the fund established by Ted Turner. There were a number of regional elements to the programme, including a project being carried out with the European Union, which had a funding of 1 billion euros. South-South cooperation on population and development was imperative. That group of bilateral and multilateral partners had recognized the importance of the South-South approach.
Mr. YUEQI (China) gave examples of TCDC programmes in his country. With regard to future priority areas, he said the first priority was to embrace the triangular funding initiative, so that all could push TCDC forward. Other priorities were to: strengthen the South-South cooperation network; cooperate and solve common problems; promote TCDC/ECDC; enhance the efficiency of TCDC and contacts through it; develop human resources; attend to the environment; and encourage private sector and non-governmental organization participation in TCDC. China intended to extend its trading networks to Africa and other countries. It was also establishing a TCDC network of the information it would be gathering through its experiences.
Mr. MIYOSHI (Japan) said the Japan International Cooperation Agency supported a technical assistance programme with the Philippines through which that country was hosting a training course on the diagnosis of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Japan also had partnership programmes with Thailand, Singapore, Egypt and Tunisia, which were a combination of training courses and technical cooperation activities.
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