ECOSOC CONTINUES TO HEAR STATEMENTS BY SENIOR OFFICIALS

ON AIDING AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

GENEVA, 17 July (UN Information Service) -- High-level government representatives expressed their support this afternoon for African efforts to spur lasting economic development, as the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) continued its high-level segment debate on ensuring sustainable development for African countries.

A series of Ministers taking the floor said, among other things, that African plans for economic growth would not succeed without a resolution of numerous wars and conflicts on the continent, good governance, well established democracies, transparent and corruption-free legal and regulatory frameworks, substantial increases in international assistance, the lightening of foreign debt burdens, and the elimination of barriers to African exports.

Denmark and several other countries expressed their support for the New African Initiative announced at the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit in Lusaka last week, and said the pledge made there by African leaders to work for peace, security, democracy, good governance, human rights and sound economic management as conditions for sustainable development was important.

A representative of Ghana told the meeting that whereas in the past African countries had been called on to ensure policy change in order to receive international support, the United Nations now increasingly needed to make changes to be able to stay relevant in its mission in Africa.

Repeated references were made to the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and it was emphasized that no major development undertaking could succeed until the spread of the disease was brought under control.

Among those addressing the afternoon meeting were officials of Canada, Burkina Faso, Czech Republic, Russian Federation, Tunisia, Burundi, Italy, Mozambique, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Japan, Costa Rica, Brazil, China, Peru, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Botswana, Sweden, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The Council will reconvene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 18 July, to continue its high-level debate on African development.

Statements

DAVID KILGOUR, Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa of Canada, said Canada had always been involved in the push for sustainable development in Africa.  It had focused much of its efforts on ending conflicts; in Sierra Leone, it was working hard to find a resolution to the conflict and to build lasting peace, and was providing military and civilian support to the United Nations Mission to Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL); it also had supported the quest for lasting peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea, among other things, by providing peacekeeping troops.  Canada believed that current debt levels were unconscionable, but also realized that the situation was complex -- that credit was crucial, and that least developed countries (LDCs) must build confidence that they would repay what they had borrowed.  Canadians were owed about $1.1 billion by heavily indebted poor countries, and in December 2001, Canada had announced a moratorium on debt repayments owed by those that had showed progress on good governance and poverty reduction.

Canada recently had announced new international HIV/AIDS programmes valued at $50 million.  It also was concerned that the benefits of globalization had been shared unequally and felt that the widening gap between rich and poor had to be narrowed.

ANNE KONATE, Minister Delegate of the Prime Minister in charge of Economic Development of Burkina Faso, said that, for decades, development in Africa was a picture of broken dreams and hopes on hold.  There were problems with HIV/AIDS, juvenile delinquency, ethnic conflict and civil war, among many others.  Africans had to freshly examine the situation.  They had to believe in Africa's potential and its ability to take its fate in its own hands.  The Millennium Summit clearly affirmed that Africa should be a priority for the international community.  In order to bring this about, the United Nations had to move towards coordination between African countries, donors, multilateral development bodies and United Nations bodies.  There also had to be a well run body to make sure policies and programmes were properly implemented. 

Ms. Konate said that the last decade of the twentieth century was marked by many major conferences that made many commitments, but mid-term reviews showed that the commitments had been implemented very unevenly.  In Burkina Faso, the United Nations system and the Government had developed a United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) which had enhanced the effectiveness of assistance programmes.  That had increased the impact of United Nations efforts.  It had helped to directly target the needy populations, and had created a necessary dialogue with all members of the development community.  Further, it had enabled more effective use of the available resources.

Burkina Faso, despite the major efforts undertaken, still faced major challenges.  There was the challenge of sustained growth and reduction of poverty, as well as democratic governance and management of natural resources for viable and sustainable development.  As a least developed country, Burkina Faso had participated in the Brussels Conference on Least Developed Countries, and it supported the conclusions reached.  The programme for LDCs had pointed out the crucial role of the United Nations system, and that was why Burkina Faso wanted LDCs to be an agenda item for next year's substantive session.

ANITA BAY BUNDEGAARD, Minister for Development Cooperation of Denmark, said poverty and conflict fed on each other and it was necessary to break that vicious cycle in Africa.  Denmark approved of the New African Initiative reached in Lusaka last week and thought that the pledge of African leaders to work for peace, security, democracy, good governance, human rights and sound economic management as conditions for sustainable development was extremely important.  At a conference in Maputo, it had been underlined that Denmark and its partners in the European Union were strongly committed to supporting social and economic development in Africa, and that a major barrier to such development -- violent conflict -- had to be eliminated.  It was also understood that the main responsibility for this lay with Africa, although others could and must assist when the will for peace was present.

While the United Nations must remain the decisive body concerning peacekeeping operations, there was an urgent need for the European Union to undertake a much more active role in preventing and solving conflicts in Africa.  All hoped that Africa one day would forget and forgive past abuses, and it was worth remembering that 60 years ago that would have seemed an impossible dream in Europe.

SERGEY ORDZHONIKIDZE, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, said assistance to African countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable development had become one of the priorities of the United Nations.  That had been adequately reflected in the Millennium Declaration, which devoted one of its chapters to specific problems of Africa.  The Russian Federation supported that approach towards addressing specific African problems and stood ready to contribute towards efforts aimed at poverty alleviation and sustainable development of Africa.  The integration of this continent into the world economy would facilitate the stabilization of the situation in Africa, help with the settlement of ongoing wars and prevention of future conflicts, and strengthen democracy in African countries.

The task of ensuring peace and conflict prevention in Africa was an important component of international efforts aimed at promoting development.  That called for the development of a culture of conflict prevention, timely detection of conflicts and addressing their intrinsic roots, including social and economic ones.  Socio-economic and humanitarian activities of the United Nations coordinated by ECOSOC had a potential to help in this very sphere.  United Nations funds and programmes under ECOSOC were capable of playing an important role in monitoring and analysing structural risk factors of conflict potential in Africa.  They should address in their broad agenda such issues as just distribution of resources, liquidation of discrimination, elimination of inequality in the situation of various population groups, and promotion of effective legal systems among them.  Besides, ECOSOC could facilitate more effective implementation of United Nations comprehensive African programmes, which would combine, on the one hand, activities on mine clearance, surrender of small arms, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants and, on the other, strengthening national governance and democratic institutions, support of socio-economic reforms, and the promotion of the rule of law.

The Russian Federation followed the situation and problems of Africa with great attention and interest, he said.  It stood ready to further develop and improve mutually beneficial cooperation with African countries.  It believed that the Lusaka summit had made an important contribution to furthering integration processes in Africa and hoped that the establishment of the African Union would give a new impetus to multifaceted regional cooperation.

HYNEK KMONICEK, Deputy Minister fir Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, said the New African Initiative was undoubtedly significant.  The Czech Republic attached great importance to United Nations development goals and to the crucial role of the United Nations in their implementation; it stood ready to contribute its share within its capacities and financial resources.  However, it was obvious that basic preconditions for international assistance, such as peace, political stability, democracy, and respect for fundamental human rights, as well as sound economic and legal frameworks, had to be established by African countries themselves.  The most the international community could do was to play a supportive and catalytic role.

The Czech Republic had been providing development assistance in harmony with the objectives and strategies of international organizations aimed primarily at reducing poverty, promoting development, improving health, and fostering respect for human rights in Africa; most of its assistance was bilateral, and while the volume of funds depended on the capacities of the Czech economy, the Government intended to increase this amount gradually as further Czech economic growth occurred.  It was, meanwhile, clear that without results-oriented international assistance, debt relief and internal and external funding, the New African Initiative would be difficult to carry out.

SADOK FAYALA, Secretary of State in charge of the Maghreb and African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, said his country had always supported United Nations efforts to help Africa realize stability, peace and development.  The Tunisian Government had urged Africa to take control of its own destiny during the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit in Tunis in 1994.  There were deeply rooted causes of conflict that had to be addressed before peace could be promoted.  United Nations reports and studies indicated that the continent suffered from an enormous array of problems.  The proposed solutions should be developed in view of those problems, and that required coordination and integration of the plans of action and the work programmes.  It was important to avoid marginalizing the economies of African States.

Foreign debt was a heavy burden on the development capacities of countries.  There was no use in providing resources for development if these resources were being used to pay back debts.  Foreign direct investment was not flowing adequately.  The Government of Tunisia had suggested an international compact for peace and prosperity between the countries of the North and the South.  Today, it was the duty of the international community to develop a comprehensive approach that matched the challenges Africa was facing.  Such an approach should envisage establishing an effective partnership in the field of technical cooperation.  Tunisia was convinced that cooperation among Southern countries would also be an effective tool, especially when sharing technical expertise.

KWESI NDUOM, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation of Ghana, said Africans had to develop confidence in their future and had to live by global standards of transparency in their public and private sectors, making the rule of law a routine fact of life and democracy the governmental norm on the continent.  Finances had to be managed in a prudent manner.

The international community, for its part, needed to increase official development assistance (ODA), and an increasing part of that assistance should be to small- and medium-sized enterprises in the private sector; in addition, greater rewards in assistance should be given to those countries that had taken major steps in establishing democracy.  Debt relief should be expanded and support should be forthcoming for the establishment of larger markets in Africa, because it was through such markets that Africa could better attract international investment.  The United Nations had been a crucial partner for African countries, but its continuing effectiveness would depend on its ability to reflect the goals and aspirations of African countries and to learn from past efforts.  Where in the past, African countries were called on to ensure policy change in order to receive international support, now it was the United Nations that increasingly needed to make changes to be able to stay relevant in its mission in Africa.

LEON NIMBONA, Minister of Planning, Development and Reconstruction of Burundi, said Africa was facing debt, low gross domestic product (GDP), and difficulty in accessing education, health care and clean drinking water.  The "New African Initiative" was a welcome event.  In an international environment where the priority more and more was on foreign direct investment, Africa was not receiving much.  It would be some time before the baton was passed to Africa's private sector.  It must be remembered that the best programmes were destined for failure if they were not adequately funded.  The implementation of various national plans also fell short because of funding problems.  International solidarity, which was stressed at the Millennium Summit, needed to become a reality.

Poverty was often the source of conflict in many countries.  Many countries in Africa were in situations of conflict, and there needed to be major efforts at reconciliation.  The international community must not only help with those countries, but should also help prevent situations that could escalate into conflict.  There were problems with private foreign capital flows.  The only criteria for those were profitability of investment.  Eventually, a situation could grow where private investment could be profitable.

ALFREDO LUIGI MANTICA, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, said Italy was doing a great deal to foster African development at both international and national levels, based on the standards set at the European Union-Africa summit which was held in Cairo.  Africa had great potential, but it was necessary to develop synergies to achieve it.  Among other things, that meant developing the potential of African women; preventing and resolving conflicts; supporting countries in post-conflict situations; and bolstering United Nations peacekeeping efforts.  Italy had been heavily involved in peacekeeping programmes, especially in the Horn of Africa.  About 45 per cent of Italy's foreign aid went to sub-Saharan Africa; its programmes aided many African States, and Italy often responded to natural disasters such as the recent floods in Mozambique.  Programmes for combating AIDS and malaria were a concern of Italy, as well.

The World Food Summit, to be held in Rome in November, would be an important occasion for assessing policies and progress related to issues of food security in Africa.  Italy also had decided to cancel the foreign debt owed it by the world's LDCs, an amount totalling $4.1 billion, and it hoped other major creditor countries would follow suit.

FRANCES RODRIGUES, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mozambique, said Africa's political, economic and social situation was indeed a matter of great concern.  At the political level, the continent presented a mixed picture with some regions and countries yet to experience peace and stability, as armed conflicts were still prevailing, while the rest of the continent was undertaking political, economic, and social reforms to enhance and consolidate democracy, stability and prosperity.  In the socio-economic field, despite the remarkable improvements registered over the last few years that gave a certain degree of optimism, African economic growth had yet to attain and sustain the high growth momentum necessary for reducing absolute poverty.  Just to illustrate, Africa's annual average economic growth of 2.3 per cent in the 1990s was lower than the population growth of 2.8 per cent, and far from the 7 per cent annual growth required to reduce poverty by half by the year 2015.  Efforts to rid the continent of conflicts, ensure lasting peace and stability, strengthen democracy, eradicate poverty and embark on a steady pattern of sustainable development could only yield positive results with a strong leadership from Africans themselves, coupled by adequate support from the international community.

To tackle conflicts, Ms. Rodrigues said, there needed to be a focus on prevention, proven to be effective and financially viable as compared to conflict resolution and peacekeeping.  Prevention was fundamental in avoiding the outbreak of the conflict itself, which was likely to cause human casualties, as well as material destruction.  However, as conflicts occurred mostly in poor countries with a variety of pressing needs that were equally important, one needed to determine how this country could devote its meagre resources to prevention while current demands remained unsolved.  Sustainable development could only be a reality in Africa if the continent was efficiently integrated in the global economy to benefit from globalization, thus ensuring welfare to its people.  That required a true partnership between Africa and the international community, based on substantially increased ODA flows, broader and deeper debt relief, including the possibility of total cancellation of the debt of the poorest African countries, increased foreign direct investment, and improved market access.

ALI MCHUMO (United Republic of Tanzania) said over the past 15 years, his country had embarked on a long process of economic, social and political reforms to improve the environment for increasing sustained economic growth and reducing poverty.  Thus, to attain these objectives, the Government had articulated national strategic priorities for poverty reduction both in its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and the Tanzania Assistance Strategy (TAS).  At the same time, the United Nations system and other development partners had worked very closely with the Government in developing TAS and PRSP which were adopted as part of the Common Country Assessment (CSA) for the United Nations system in the United Republic of Tanzania.

The forces of globalization and liberalization had become dominant features of the global economy, he said.  While globalization presented opportunities, risks and challenges, these processes had benefited some countries, especially the developed ones.  A large number of developing countries had experienced marginalization, in particular LDCs, most of which were in Africa and had not been able to reap the benefits of globalization.  Benefits from globalization had been reflected in their marginal shares in global production, trade and investment flows.  The main challenge, therefore, was ensuring that the developing countries, particularly the LDCs, were integrated in the global economy on an equitable and beneficial basis.

In spite of all the difficulties and negative factors surrounding development in Africa, his country still believed that the United Nations and other development partners had a role to play with regard to measures to be taken at national and international levels in order to accelerate the development process in Africa.

BETTY KING (United States) said sustainable development was occurring in Africa, and it was important to learn from those success stories and to replicate them elsewhere.  It was clear that sustainable development strategies would only work if they included active participation by Africans and their governments, and the focus in the Lusaka agreement on good governance, conflict prevention, and African acceptance of responsibility for the challenges facing the continent was encouraging.  United Nations efforts should include assisting countries to prepare domestic environments that could extract maximum results from the assistance and investment received.

Too many African countries were affected by armed conflict, and the United States had designated conflict prevention and resolution as one of the pillars of its foreign assistance programme.  The United States planned to devote an increasing share of its development assistance to African agricultural development.  In addition, the United States strongly supported efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and recently had provided 35 African nations with the most liberal trade access to the United States market available to any countries with which the Administration did not have a free trade agreement.

KOICHI HARAGUCHI (Japan) said Japan promoted the principle of "ownership and partnership" and felt African countries should demonstrate their ownership of development processes through institution building and human resource development, while the international community should respond to those efforts.  Japan was the largest donor in the world, and its ODA to Africa for 1999 totalled $990 million.  It had hosted two Tokyo International Conferences on African Development (TICAD)

to keep international attention on Africa, and was considering convening a third TICAD and would host ministerial-level meeting on the matter from 3 to 5 December.   Japan had addressed the problem of HIV/AIDS at the G-8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit last July, and had announced it would allocate $3 billion over the next five years to help developing countries combat the disease.

Japan also had made a commitment to allocate $15 billion over the next five years to help developing countries increase their information and communications technology capacities.  It was further supporting conflict prevention programmes in Africa, Asia-Africa cooperation, and various United Nations activities in Africa.  It approved of the recently launched New Initiative for Africa.

BERND NIEHAUS (Costa Rica) said the fall of the African nations in economic and human development indicators both in real and comparative terms reflected a dramatic truth on the ground.  Increasingly, more children starved to death, there were a greater number of women and men who died from AIDS or easily curable diseases, and millions of people lived without safe water or survived with insufficient amounts of food.  Hundreds of thousands suffered the blows of nature and were easy targets for natural disasters.  Millions lived as refugees or internally displaced persons, while tens of millions died as a direct consequence of armed conflicts that drained the continent and derailed all development plans.  The lack of educational opportunities, the limited access to productive resources, the deep-rooted poverty, the massive external debt and the social and political conflicts added up to halt the development of the African nations, while the lack of investment, the flight of capital, meagre production, and limited access to international markets condemned the continent to a cycle of poverty, violence and despair.

The situation of the African continent, he said, constituted an enormous challenge.  To promote sustainable development in Africa, a multifaceted and comprehensive policy of investment in its human capital was required.  It was necessary to face and satisfy multiple demands regarding food supply, health, housing, drinking water, education, training, labour, fair salaries, productivity, competitiveness and access to opportunities.  Furthermore, the policy must confront the structural obstacles that worsened the problem of poverty in Africa or prevented its solution, such as financial unbalances, the lack of resources for social and productive investment, the chronic foreign debt, the restrictions on the access to markets and the vulnerability to natural disasters.

In recent years, Mr. Niehaus continued, there had been some outstanding positive signs that enabled the international community to see a better future for African peoples.  The end of some armed conflicts had been witnessed, as had the consolidation of democratic institutions in some nations and a growing respect for human rights and democratic legitimacy.  The African leaders had become the main promoters of their peoples' development and had committed themselves to the renaissance of the continent.  The international community had the obligation to fully support them in their efforts.

GELSON FONSECA, JR. (Brazil) said the New African Initiative marked a turning point in Africa's history; it was a solid and consistent document that could reorganize efforts for development there and whose important point of departure was the concept of African ownership of its own development.  The United Nations, as recommended by the Secretary-General, should support the Initiative.  Success would ultimately depend on donor countries reversing the decline in ODA and making more resources available to United Nations development activities.

Brazil often shared its experiences with developing countries on topics ranging from agriculture to infrastructure, and had cancelled or alleviated African debt to a total of more than $300 million.  It believed in South-South cooperation, and was willing to share its knowledge in promoting education, for example, through its "Bolsa-Escola" programme, which aimed at keeping children in school by providing poor families with a minimum wage as long as their children attended school regularly and had passing grades.  It could also share its knowledge gained in containing the spread of HIV/AIDS.  Brazil supported the recent establishment of the Global AIDS and Health Fund to finance prevention and treatment for those most in need.

QIAO ZONGHUAI (China) said, while the industrialized nations enjoyed the rich returns from progress in high technology and globalization and anticipated the bright prospects of the information society and the digital economy, the vast African continent was still mired in poverty, backwardness, wars, conflicts and diseases.  Africa's population accounted for 18.5 per cent of the world's population, yet its GDP represented only 3.8 per cent of the world's total, and its share of the world's exports was only 1.5 per cent, with less than 2 per cent of the world's foreign direct investment.  More than half of the African population still lived in abject poverty, and the HIV/AIDS-affected population numbered as many as 25.3 million.  Some African countries were being further marginalized in the process of globalization.  It should be pointed out that the prolonged state of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa was not conducive to the world economy.  Nor did it serve the fundamental interests of the international community, including the developed countries.  In the United Nations Millennium Declaration, world leaders had committed themselves to reducing the world's poor by half in 15 years.  The key to this goal lay in Africa.

Mr. Qiao said in order to remove poverty and achieve development, African countries had made tremendous efforts and had also paid a heavy price.  The international community, especially the developed countries, had the duty and responsibility to help African countries achieve sustainable development.  He emphasized that it was necessary to reverse the trend of declining ODA so that it could reach the promised 0.7 per cent of the GDP of the developed countries within a specified timeframe.  It would also relieve the heavy debt burden of many African countries so that they could devote their energy, limited resources and gains to sustainable development, and expand and improve the market access for African products, including zero tariff and quota-free access for those African exports that enjoyed comparative advantages.

He continued that there was an old Chinese saying -- a whole year's work depended on a good start in spring.  A whole day's working depended on a good start in the morning.  It was hoped that the United Nations and the international community would seize the historic opportunity that came with the beginning of the millennium, overcome the difficulties, and help realize economic and social development in Africa in a comprehensive way.

JORGE LUIS VALDEZ CARRILLO (Peru) said his country, within its limited capacities, was contributing to international cooperation aimed at helping African countries.  Africa's problems were many -- more than 50 per cent of its people

lived in dire poverty, and their life expectancy was low, especially when compared to that of developed countries.  In addition, there had been an increase in violent conflicts with serious consequences for civilians, especially women and children.  As a result, Africa's enormous potential had not been realized.

Firm political will was needed to accomplish African development, and African nations had been displaying such will; the international community for its part must play a central role by reversing long-standing declines in ODA to the region and by eliminating barriers to trade.  Human rights, law, good governance, and elimination of corruption, along with the solid establishment of democracy, were necessary for African progress, and it was encouraging that a significant number of countries were taking steps in this direction, and still more encouraging that a number of African countries had shown notable economic growth in recent years.

ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said, over the last few years, some of the prerequisites for development had been seen to be taking firm roots in Africa.  Those included continuing democratization, emphasis on improving governance, market orientation, and progress towards developing partnerships with the private sector and civil society.  Many African countries were now in the process of formulating development strategies and pursuing greater cooperative relations with their development partners.  Africa was now much better poised to benefit from external support measures.  Despite many drawbacks, the report of the Secretary-General mentioned that economic performance of some African countries had given cause for a greater degree of optimism.  It was very pertinent to examine development issues through the eyes of the LDCs, 34 out of 49 of which were from Africa.  It was this group of countries which were in the most desperate need of development cooperation and partnership.  The Secretary-General had put forward a number of policy conclusions and recommendations to assist the deliberations of the Council on the development of Africa.  Many of them were reflected in the outcome of the Third United Nations Conference on LDCs, the Programme of Action of which had been adopted by the General Assembly.

The Council, Mr. Chowdhury said, had a unique and important responsibility to contribute to success of the Programme of Action.  Success was inextricably linked with success of efforts for sustainable development of Africa.  The ECOSOC was asked in its organizational session next year to give due attention to its work programme on how the LDCs Programme of Action would be followed up.  Sustainable development of the LDCs was synonymous with the sustainable development of Africa.  It was through adequate attention and due focus to this Programme of Action that the development of Africa could be squarely addressed.

VICTOR RODRIGUEZ-CEDENO (Venezuela) said it was vital for the United Nations to help African nations effectively achieve sustainable development -- not an easy task, considering the problems confronted by the continent.  Thirty-three African countries qualified as LDCs.  International financial flows to the region had to be improved; there had to be better treatment of the problem of debt; and better strategies had to be developed to ease poverty.  In addition, Africa required a fairer trade system that would permit better access for its products in the world's markets; the current system worked to erode Africa's productive sector.

United Nations support to Africa should focus on promoting South-South cooperation; should give incentives to projects within the “Group of 77” developing countries, which specialized in effective understanding and help to developing countries; should give incentives to multifaceted subregional projects; should support regional economic integration in Africa; should ensure that indicators on the situation of African countries rose with greater input from the public and private sectors; should fight endemic diseases; and should respond effectively to natural disasters.

CHARLES NTWAAGAE (Botswana) said this was a critical time in history when there were various challenges and opportunities facing the international community.  The world was different now.  The cold war era was over.  One of the greatest challenges facing Africa was integration into the global economy.  The creation of the African Union would go a long way towards facilitating the continent's effective participation and integration into the emerging global economic order.  In order to achieve sustainable development, it was important for African governments to work in partnership with the private sector and civil society.  And it was equally important that development assistance should respond to national needs and priorities.  The reality was that sustainable achievement and economic prosperity could not be achieved when the basic needs of the people had not been fulfilled.  Therefore, a matter of utmost priority was the need to pursue people-centred, macroeconomic policies and programmes.  While the idea of putting people at the centre of development efforts was not new, its application was far from widespread.

Botswana's ardent hope was that all development actors would complement the Botswana Government's efforts and rally around these core issues with a view to contributing to significant improvements in the living standards and welfare of the people.  Over the last decade, there had been a wealth of ideas and initiatives and strategies for promoting sustainable development in Africa.  At the Millennium Summit last year, the leaders of the world had reaffirmed their commitment to the uplifting of the African continent.  The time had now come to take concrete actions to reach the agreed targets and goals in as timely a manner as possible.

GUN-BRITT ANDERSSON, State Secretary for Development Cooperation, Migration and Asylum Policy of Sweden, said the shrinking world would be a decent place to live in only if globalization could be made to work for the poor.  There were no short cuts or magic formulas for poverty eradication, and it was clear that higher growth rates had to be achieved for Africa, rates on the order of 7 to 8 per cent annually.  The fact that some nations were already growing at that rate showed it was possible.  For such growth to spread, higher investments were needed in human resources and other vital areas of the public sector, and growth must be broad-based, extending for example to farmers.  The New African Initiative was a strong statement for fostering conditions conducive to peace, good and committed governance and development.

Africa was rich in resources and there was the potential for fast progress, and African speakers had been very straightforward about the need to replace mismanagement with democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights, and good governance.  Development partnerships must also become more efficient, and ODA must

be expanded.  More developed countries should meet the goal of 0.7 per cent of GDP for such assistance.  Sweden was now taking steps to meet a target of 1 per cent.

LENNART BAGE, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said more than three quarters of the poor in Africa lived in rural areas, dependent on smallholder agriculture and related trade, services and crafts.  Yet, over a long period the rural aspect of African poverty had been ignored and too little investment had been made in rural development in terms of infrastructure and services; even worse, price controls and policies restricting internal trade in farm produce had discouraged agricultural production and growth.  Prices of commodities had fallen in recent years by nearly a third, moreover.  Given the importance of agriculture to African employment and production, the only way to achieve a sustained higher rate of poverty reduction and development was to engage the under-utilized capacities of the poor through broad-based rural development.

The IFAD, drawing on 23 years of experience, had published its Rural Poverty Report 2001 outlining in depth the most effective approaches for reducing poverty levels.  The starting point was to look at the rural poor, including rural women, as assets and agents of change, and to engage their strengths rather than look only at their needs.  The poor should be empowered and provided with assets and technology they could use effectively; if that was done, experience had shown that they were very effective at bettering their circumstances.

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