Economic and Social Council opens annual ministerial review

on strengthening efforts to eradicate poverty, hunger

 

Delegates Hear Presentations by Bangladesh, Barbados; Discuss

Equitable Economic Policies to Promote Sustained Pro-poor Economic Growth

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 3 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council this morning began its first Annual Ministerial Review on strengthening efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger, including through the global partnership for development.  In this context, it heard an introduction of the report of the Secretary-General on the theme of the review, delivered by Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.  Jean-Louis Schiltz, Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg, gave a keynote address, which was followed by national voluntary presentations on the progress made by Bangladesh and Barbados in implementing their national development strategies towards achieving the internationally agreed development goals and the Millennium Development Goals.

At the beginning of the meeting, ECOSOC heard the reports of the parallel round tables held yesterday afternoon on the issues of growth, poverty reduction and equity -- emerging paradigm; and on coherence and coordination of macroeconomic policies at all levels.  This was followed by a general discussion on strengthening efforts at all levels to promote pro-poor sustained economic growth, including through equitable macro-economic policies.

Introducing the first Annual Ministerial Review, Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang presented the report of the Secretary-General, saying that eradicating poverty and hunger – the overarching objective of the global conferences –- was an appropriate theme for this inaugural review.  Many countries had already adopted the World Summit’s proposal that they prepared and began to implement national development strategies.  Developing countries must sustain the momentum they had achieved by continuing to improve their development institutions, policies and actions.  Together, all the countries involved must reach agreement on a new set of trading arrangements that set aside narrow commercial and political interests –- and achieved the agreed goal of establishing a trade regime that actively contributed to development in developing countries.  

Minister Schiltz said in his keynote address that it was clear that globally there was clear and encouraging progress towards the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals, but sub-Saharan Africa did not share in this positive thrust, and was, apparently, excluded there from.  Some efforts had been made since the commitments made at the Millennium Summit in 2000, but it was clear that these efforts had been insufficient, and today, halfway to 2015, the international community was still far from its goals in all the fields of importance with regards to the fight against poverty.  The international community should stand by the side of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries to counsel them, and work together for their sustainable development, but this should be done whilst upholding national priorities. 

Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Foreign Adviser (Foreign Minister) of Bangladesh, said in a national voluntary presentation, that the report of Bangladesh carried a detailed account of the country’s fight against poverty, including achievements and challenges.  Although significant progress had been achieved, there was no complacency.  Discussion on the causes and consequences of poverty only dated back to the beginning of the last century -- poverty and the poor were confused, and there was little empathy for the latter.  A lot of progress had been made since then, not only in understanding the issues of poverty, but also in addressing its root causes.  The Ministerial Review was yet another milestone in the unfolding of this dialogue.  Poverty was not yet history, but it was certainly on the retreat in Bangladesh. 

Trevor Prescod, Minister of Social Transformation of Barbados, said that the Government of Barbados was confident of its ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.  It was still relevant that the international community recognized the importance in continuing to support the needs of strategies and programmes of countries like Barbados, which were “MDG-plus”.  Extreme poverty and extreme hunger as defined by the target for the first MDG were not prevalent in Barbados.  The nature of poverty in Barbados was both complex and multi-dimensional.  The country’s development strategy was therefore people-centred, with social capital being its greatest productive source. 

Speaking in response to the voluntary national presentations were representatives of Angola, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, United States, and the United Kingdom. 

A representative of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific also spoke.

Speaking in the general discussion on strengthening efforts at all levels to promote pro-poor sustained economic growth, including through equitable macro-economic policies, were Pakistan on behalf of the Group of77 and China, Portugal on behalf of the European Union, United States and Guinea Bissau.

The next meeting of the Council will be at 3 p.m. this afternoon, when it will continue to hear national voluntary presentations from Ethiopia, Ghana, Cambodia, and Cape Verde.

Report of Round-Table on Growth, Poverty Reduction and Equity - Emerging Paradigm

DALIUS ČEKUOLIS ( Lithuania), President of the Economic and Social Council, said he had chaired the roundtable held yesterday.  The fact that the global economy was growing as rapidly as ever in aggregate terms, while at the same time new inequalities within countries were rapidly increasing, with a huge concentration at the top, was identified as a key challenge.  Against this backdrop, the need for a new paradigm that combined growth, poverty eradication and equity was stressed. Panellists stressed that such a paradigm should address all three elements of the triangle of growth, poverty and inequality at the same time.  To do so, it should focus both on the impact of growth on the distribution of income, as well as on the distribution of opportunities.  Deliberations suggested that a new paradigm on growth, poverty eradication and equity was emerging in terms of objectives which recognised that these three issues needed to be tackled together.

Six key messages emerged from the roundtable: first, there was a need to take advantage of markets and private capital; second, there was a need to specifically target the people in the bottom of the pyramid; third, good governance, including the fight against corruption, was a corner stone of eradicating poverty; fourth, macroeconomic policies needed to give greater attention to social outcomes; fifth, for poverty eradication efforts to be successful, domestic efforts needed to be supported by an enabling international environment; and sixth, environmental aspects needed to be brought into the equation, as such issues as climate change could pose a serious threats to efforts to eradicate poverty. 

JOMO KWAME SUNDARAM, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, said that the roundtable had been chaired by the Vice President of Economic and Social Council, Hjalmar Hannesson.  There were three panellists, Augusto Correia, President of the Portuguese Institute for Development Assistance; Murilo Portugal, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund; and Ana Maria Carrasquilla, the Chairperson of the Latin American Reserve Fund.  The panel discussion took place in the context that while national efforts were central for economic growth to eradicate poverty, external conditions had a direct bearing on policy effectiveness.  Mr. Portugal reported on the medium-term strategy of the International Monetary Fund to strengthen its role in global coordination, using surveillance as the main mechanism.  He emphasized that the role of the IMF was rather advisory, achieved through dialogue, persuasion, collaboration and trust.

Mr. CORREIA presented the European Union experience, which celebrated 50 years since the signing of the Treaty of Rome.  In particular, he highlighted the Euro endeavour.  The European Union framework also provided mechanisms of surveillance of policies, through the Stability and Growth Pact.

Ms. CARRASQUILLA presented the case for regional coordination and cooperation, highlighting the experience of the Latin American Reserve Fund.  The growing interdependence between countries in financial and trade areas required that financial support mechanisms be created at the regional level to allow the coordination of macro-economic policies. 

Mr. SUNDARAM said in the pursuing interactive discussion, a number of delegations posed questions and commented on their experiences. 

General Discussion on Strengthening Efforts at All Levels to Promote Pro-Poor Sustained Economic Growth, Including Through Equitable Macro-Economic Policies

MUHAMMAD SHAABAN (Pakistan), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said the theme was in some ways historic, as the Council was embarking on its new responsibilities, as elaborated in General Assembly resolution 61/16.  For the Group of 77 and China, this was an important step towards strengthening and revitalising the Council in order to enable it to fulfil its duties under the Charter.  It should be able to contribute thus to its new functions.  The resolution had called for the Council to continue to promote global dialogue through strengthening existing arrangements.  The Group of 77 and China had consistently maintained that they wished for complementarity and discussion, whilst avoiding duplication.  The Annual Ministerial Review should review facts and figures on the commitment by States, organizations and institutions with regards to the Millennium Development Goals and other international development goals. 

It was appropriate to clearly reiterate the expectations of the segment.  Although the relationship between economic growth and poverty reduction were clear, the ramifications were complex.  Many developing countries lagged far behind in the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, where the percentage of those living in extreme poverty remained largely unchanged, for a range of reasons.  The Group of 77 and China recognised that each country should take primary responsibility for its own development.  Improving governance would ensure better economic results, and ensure social and economic justice.  Mainstreaming the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and internationally agreed development goals into the national systems would also be a step forward.  International support also remained essential if countries were to achieve progress, and concrete actions in this regard had remained insufficient.  Enhancing the voice and participation of the developing countries was vital, in particular in the international financial institutions. 

PEDRO MARQUES ( Portugal), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that poverty eradication was at the forefront of international attention.  Although global growth rates would moderate in 2007, after a period of several years of robust growth, it was expected that those countries with high rates of growth over the last years would continue to benefit from favourable trends that could positively impact sustainable development.  The past several years of high growth rates would most likely continue, most notably in Africa.  Although economic growth was central to eradicate poverty it alone was not sufficient for development.  Growth could improve people’s lives when linked with adequately managed economic, financial, social and environmental policies.  The complexity of the linkages between growth and poverty reduction was particularly important in the context of this discussion.  There was no doubt that long-term growth could only be driven by a vibrant private sector.  Policies that explicitly promoted economic and social inclusion and gender equality, empowerment of the disadvantaged and social investment were required to ensure that growth was pro-poor. 

In that context, the European Union wished to highlight the importance of the informal sector of the economy in many countries as a source of employment for the poor, he said.  Informal sector businesses must become a better vehicle for strengthened private sector development and poverty reduction.  Efforts to eradicate poverty called for the development of national strategies, designed with the participation of all interested stakeholders, integrating all the sectoral policies and programmes, in order to create and maintain equitable economic policies that did not adversely affect the poor, but rather, enhanced their opportunities.  The empowerment of the poor, including women and young people, was essential.  The promotion of gender equality and the enjoyment of human rights by women were goals in their own right, a question of social justice and also a core value of the European Union, including in European Union development policy.  The European Union provided over half of the world’s aid and had committed to increase this assistance together with its quality and effectiveness, in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Harmonisation and Increasing Aid Effectiveness.  The European Union was actively participating in the “Aid of Trade” discussion and was hoping to conclude a Joint European Aid for Trade Strategy by the end of 2007.

RICHARD T. MILLER ( United States) said there had been a long and vigorous discussion in New York about the subject and focus of the thematic debate, most of which centred around macro-economic policies.  These policies concerned things like taxation, tariffs, interest rates, money supplies, and the regulatory environment in which businesses operated in a country.  They provided the atmosphere in which individuals and organizations could prosper economically, without being impeded by such problems as corruption.  It had been hoped that the debate would focus on that type of macroeconomic policy, but this did not appear to be the case.  In the future, the Council, instead of arguing about the subject and title of the thematic debate could just put an item on the agenda with an innocuous title, in order to give groups who wished to speak an opportunity to do so.

ALFREDO CABRAL ( Guinea-Bissau) said that the Pakistani declaration had touched the measures that should be taken to promote action at all levels as well as pro-poor and sustained growth.  The delegate from the United States was also very much to the point when he observed that it would be preferable if a more direct approach had been adopted to that topic to ensure that not only there were fewer poor people but that they could also aspire to a better future.  Not only the eradication of poverty but the dream of a better future was important.  A decent future should be ensured through proper education and a clean environment.  Guinea Bissau agreed with the United States that above all, governance should be stressed and that within a democratic process, people should have the possibility to participate in that process. 

Countries that received aid from outside should really be able to use it.  Governments must be able to prove their own competence and ability to govern when it came to public spending.  In most countries, there were fiscal charges, which constituted the biggest source of income for the State.  But measures should be established to ensure a transparency.  An effort had to be made on all sides.  As long as poverty existed in the world, it should speak to the general conscience.  Good governance must be a prerequisite at the international level, particularly when speaking of the Bretton Woods institutions.  It was important that practices of good governance were seen.  Economic growth alone could not stimulate and lead to development.

MUNIR AKRAM ( Pakistan) said it was not the intention of the delegation to take the floor again so soon - it had expected to have an interactive discussion on the theme on which all had agreed, namely strengthening the efforts at all levels to promote pro-poor sustainable growth, including through macroeconomic policies.  The focus of the statement of the Group of 77 and China was on this theme, and it had listed the actions that ought to be taken at both the national and international levels.  Therefore, in response to the statement by the United States, the Group felt that it was consistent with the theme that had been agreed upon.

He said that his delegation was very willing to have an intense and substantive discussion on the issue of macroeconomic policies with all delegations present, including the United States delegation.  The definition of macro-economic policies of the Group appeared to be somewhat broader than that of the United States delegation.  As far as Pakistan was concerned, it had, through macro-economic policies, been able to triple revenue generation within the last eight years.  It had mobilised domestic resources for investment, and domestic and foreign investment had increased the national income considerably.  Sound macroeconomic policies were of course indispensable, but they also covered the global policies, and policies of Governments that had a global impact, and these related to trade, finance, monetary policies, policies relating to technology and technology access and so forth.  Pakistan would be happy to have a discussion on the trade policies of all countries and how these contributed to poverty eradication, as well as other topics. 

MIKHAIL SAVOSTYANOV ( Russian Federation) said his country supported the efforts of the international community in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and believed that it was relevant that the Economic and Social Council was focusing on economic growth directed to the poor part of the population.  New prospects had been opened up to eradicate poverty in the last years.  In the report, economic growth alone was insufficient because the link between economic growth and the people’s living standard was not linear.  Experience had shown that the neo liberal approaches to the management of national economies and the world economy, frequently simplified monetarist approaches and led to an increase of social inequality.  The international community was faced with the need to adopt integrated measures from the international to the local level.  The United Nations as the most universal global organization in the world should play a key role in forging a balanced approach, taking into account all sides. 

He said inclusive economic growth by balanced economic policies should be established.  In particular, the steps taken by the Russian Federation were aimed at those goals; increasing the quality of life of the people and eradicating poverty.  Reforms in the economic area had led to an improvement; a clear framework for the private business sector had been established.  The investment climate had improved in Russia.  This laid the foundation for significant economic growth.  National projects aiming at enhancing heath, education and social protection and adopting the market to new conditions were undertaken and had achieved results.  Having completed the transition period, Russia was paying attention to the countries that were in need in the humanitarian and economic areas.    

Mr. MILLER ( United States) thanked Pakistan for its comment.  The very impressive progress that Pakistan had made as a result of economic policy reforms showed the importance of domestic policies, and there was no doubt about that.  However, policies that were taken for domestic reasons could sometimes have international economic effects, and this was particularly true in the case of the United States, which was large both geographically and economically.  With regards to agricultural subsidies, those of the United States had grown out of its experience of the Great Depression in the 1930s, when policies were put in place to protect the agricultural sector so that it did not suffer such a disastrous shortfall again.  The result of this had been large surpluses of agricultural production, which in the case of the United States had gone primarily into international food aid and humanitarian interventions to prevent famine.  This policy had other effects, including on the trade and exports of other countries, and this needed to be discussed.  It was an issue which the United States had raised in the World Trade Organization trade negotiations.

With regards to tariffs and tariff peaks, he said the United States had tried to maintain as open an economy as possible, and if one listened to the introductions and debate the previous day and the remarks on the United States economy, it was hoped Governments would recognise that it was largely the United States economy that was driving the world economic expansion since 2000.  The United States was ready to discuss and engage in international discourse, and such open debate would help in finding a way to move forward on a wide range of issues, including technological change and transfer.  If intellectual property rights were not protected, then there was a risk that forward intellectual progress would slow or even dry up entirely, whereas it was vital for this to continue.  The United States was in constant dialogue with its major trading partners about factors that affected these flows. 

Mr. AKRAM ( Pakistan) said there were a number of points made by the United States where he had no disagreement with the analysis but wanted to nuance it with a perspective of developing countries.  Regarding agricultural subsidies, the trade impact of these subsidies had a debilitating effect on the ability of the developing countries to produce at an international level.  The thesis of the developing countries was that this should be given up because it was trade distorting.  The European Union and the United States should not ask for something in reciprocity for the farmers to give up the subsidies.  On tariffs peaks, they had an effect on the world economy but the United States was willing to trade that off.  The nature of some of the high tariffs was against the most competitive exports of the developing countries, such as textiles.  These were facing the highest tariffs.  Imports of the United States of the same items from Europe faced tariffs that were far less high.  This was a problem that was being addressed in the World Trade Organization negotiations. 

On technology transfer, he said the protection of intellectual property did provide incentives to corporations to put money into it and it had a beneficial effect on development.  But it also had a downside, because intellectual property in the field of health etc. became a constraint for the country’s development.  The whole system of patents and copyrights had led to a proliferation of patenting everything.  There had to be an effective review.  On capital account surpluses, all acknowledged the generator effect that the United States economy had on the rest of the world.  Most of the developing countries would be severely impacted by the solutions that were found or by a melt down of the international financial system.  That was why the developing countries had the right to address the global imbalances.    

Mr. MILLER ( United States) said he had listened closely to the Ambassador of Pakistan, and understood his concerns and interests, which were not unfounded, and closely reflected those of the United States, particularly in the context of this forum where all were trying to find policies and processes to solve problems for the developing world.

Document

The Council has before it the report of the Secretary-General on strengthening efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger, including through the global partnership for development (E/2007/71), which notes that, globally, absolute poverty continues to decline.  By 2015, all major regions except sub-Saharan Africa are expected to reduce the proportion of people living in extreme poverty to less than half the 1990 rate.  There has also been global progress in other dimensions of poverty, such as access to education and health care.  Nevertheless, the rate of improvement is insufficient to achieve the goals in the areas established in the United Nations Millennium Declaration.  Meanwhile, the global physical environment continues to deteriorate, with increasing evidence that climate change is reaching a “tipping point”, with potentially devastating consequences for the world’s poor.  However, whereas official development assistance and debt relief to developing countries have increased, net financial flows have been negative.  Official development assistance has not risen to the level of the commitments made by the developed countries, and the promise held out by the possibility of a development-oriented set of trade negotiations has so far failed to materialize.  The policies and actions embodied in the UN development agenda have contributed to the achievement of the desired results, but not yet on the scale required.  Developing countries need to sustain momentum by elaborating and implementing, as called for in the 2005 World Summit Outcome, national development strategies that will accelerate progress.  Development partners need to ensure that they implement their commitments to increase official development assistance in a predictable fashion; they should also accelerate progress towards a development-friendly outcome to the trade negotiations of the Doha Round.

Annual Ministerial Review

SHA ZUKANG, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, introducing the Annual Ministerial Review, said that this was an important juncture in the work of the Council.  It was responding to the World Summit’s decision that the Economic and Social Council should undertake a Ministerial Review of the global effort to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.  The review aimed primarily to improve and accelerate implementation.  It should therefore concentrate on actions.  Eradicating poverty and hunger –- the overarching objective of the global conferences – was an appropriate theme for this inaugural review.  The report pinpointed the key gaps and obstacles.  The goal of reducing poverty by half appeared likely to be met in almost all regions, except Sub-Saharan Africa.  Progress in reducing hunger was less easy to identify.  No recent comprehensive data existed.  The overall strategy for achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, was working, although not at the scale required. 

The strategy must be improved and strengthened, Mr. Sha said.  The Economic and Social Council could certainly contribute to such an effort, not least through the opportunity for evaluation and mutual learning provided by the Annual Ministerial Review.  Yet, the most essential factor in delivering on the development agenda was that all countries continued to implement the policies and actions that they had already agreed upon.  Many countries had already adopted the World Summit’s proposal that they prepared and had begun to implement national development strategies.  This process should become universal.  Each of these development strategies would be unique, attuned to the circumstances of the given country.  First, national development needed to be managed in a way that was effective and achieved the greatest benefits for all segments of the population.  Second, women needed to be enabled to contribute to and benefit from development on an equal basis with men.  Third, poverty reduction efforts must continue to address non-income dimensions, notably access to health services and education. 

This meant investments not only in the social sector, but also in the productive sectors – including industry, agriculture and infrastructure – which yielded the resources to fund programmes for social inclusion and protection, Mr. Sha said.  A fourth and closely related priority was intensifying action to create employment and decent work, which was essential to sustaining reductions in poverty.  All development partners should utilize each country’s development strategy as the framework for their support and tailor their assistance accordingly.  Overall, development partners had made some progress in fulfilling their agreed responsibilities for reducing poverty.  The world was enjoying widespread and sustained economic good fortune.  Developing countries must sustain the momentum they had achieved by continuing to improve their development institutions, policies and actions.  Together, all the countries involved must reach agreement on a new set of trading arrangements that set aside narrow commercial and political interests – and achieved the agreed goal of establishing a trade regime that actively contributed to development in developing countries.

Keynote Address

JEAN-LOUIS SCHILTZ, Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg, in a keynote address, said the report of the Secretary-General was very complete, and painted a picture of the complex situation of poverty and hunger in the world.  It was clear that globally there was clear and encouraging progress towards the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals, but sub-Saharan Africa did not share in this positive thrust, and was, apparently, excluded there from.  Some countries were even going backwards.  It had been clear since the beginning that it was in sub-Saharan Africa that the majority of people lived on less than a dollar of a day, where access to drinking water was the most hazardous, and where HIV/AIDS flourished.  Together, all should persevere and increase efforts, both in terms of financial contributions and partnerships.

Some efforts had been made since the commitments made at the Millennium Summit in 2000, but it was clear that these efforts had been insufficient, and today, halfway to 2015, the international community was still far from its goals in all the fields of importance with regards to the fight against poverty.  The living conditions of millions of women, men and children were at stake.  This was why all were present today, not only just to exchange experiences and identify obstacles, but also to ensure that the Millennium Declaration echoed through the halls of the United Nations once more.  The international community should stand by the side of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries to counsel them, and work together for their sustainable development, but this should be done whilst upholding national priorities. 

The international community had rarely set itself such a binding timetable for implementation.  It was high time, to say the least, to put the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization back on track.  As regards to effectiveness of aid, the question was whether the international community had lived up to its past commitments.  Since the Millennium Summit, new means for mobilising resources for development had been explored and developed, in particular new sources for financing, as well as private sources, aid for trade initiatives, or others.  These were highly laudatory efforts, however, they should not be a substitute to public aid to development, which was central for the implementation of the world partnership for development. 

Discussion on National Voluntary Presentation of Bangladesh

JAMES RUBIN, World Affairs Commentator for Sky News and Moderator, said that he thankful for the possibility to assist in such an interesting discussion.  It was a particular context in which the meeting was taking place.  Three legs of the stool to help the poorest of the poor were no longer standing, as the Doha round looked doomed to fail, and promised foreign aid was not materializing.  This was the context in which the meeting was taking place, with only one leg of the stool, the debt relief, standing.  There would be presentations from countries around the world, such as Barbados, Bangladesh, Cape Verde and Ghana.  He hoped that today would be a meeting where one could learn from each other. 

IFTEKHAR AHMED CHOWDHURY, Foreign Adviser (Foreign Minister) of Bangladesh, in a National Voluntary Presentation, said a discourse on poverty could not be poor either in focus or contents.  The report of Bangladesh carried a detailed account of the country’s fight against poverty, including achievements and challenges.  Although significant progress had been achieved, there was no complacency.  The journey would not end in 2015 - the achievements would have to continue, and new challenges would have to be encountered.  Discussion on the causes and consequences of poverty only dated back to the beginning of the last century - poverty and the poor were confused, and there was little empathy for the latter.  A lot of progress had been made since then, not only in understanding the issues of poverty, but also in addressing its root causes.  The Ministerial Review was yet another milestone in the unfolding of this dialogue. 

During the past decade, Bangladesh had not only managed to reduce poverty by another 10 per cent, it had also produced two Bengali Nobel laureates.  Professor Mohammad Yunus and Professor Amartya Sen had made outstanding contributions to address the root causes of poverty.  They had changed the way the scourge was viewed - it was fundamentally the lack of entitlement, and the right to dignity and credit.  It was possible to overcome poverty through simple ideas - the simplest concepts could often bring about the profoundest changes.  Poverty was not yet history, but it was certainly on the retreat in Bangladesh.  The current Government, which had just presented its annual budget, had earmarked a significant portion of that budget for the poor.  Stability and good governance were essential for sustainable poverty reduction.  There was a sea change, with significant reforms in restoring public confidence in governance in Bangladesh. 

The report showed that Bangladesh had made substantial progress in reducing poverty, with a significant and robust decline, the outcome of the high priority the Government gave to poverty reduction, implementing its own home-grown poverty reduction strategy.  It also made an attempt to explain the factors making this reduction possible.  Combating poverty required a holistic, multi-pronged approach, with a critical role in increased agriculture production, micro finance, and access to education.  Millennium Development Goal One recognised the critical linkages between poverty and hunger, which latter impeded progress away from poverty on many levels.  Reduction of hunger and ensuring food security were essential for reducing poverty and increasing productivity.  Bangladesh was one of the few countries expected to reach its targets in 2015. 

Mr. Chowdhury, responding to the question by the moderator on corruption and transparency, said that every developing country had to be responsible for its own development, though with support from outside.  Development must be placed on a matrix of pluralism.  On the report of Transparency International, the system of government evolved in a way where it was important for parties to be a part of the government and therefore, corruption became very widespread.

This was a huge systemic problem in Asia, not only in Bangladesh, he said.  In Bangladesh, a very strong anti-corruption commission had been established.  These new institutions would sustain and ensure that there would be a mind change in the institutional behaviour in the country.   There was a problem of absorption.  Bangladesh had one of the best recipient systems.  A methodology to reward sectors that performed well was mentioned.

KIM HAK-SU, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said Asia had 700 million absolute poor, more than Africa.  Without the Asia-Pacific success on the Millennium Development Goals, global success could not be achieved.  The presentation had been very informative, and had clearly brought out the successes and challenges identified through the national consultative process in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.  On the resurgent Bangladesh, the speaker had seen how the country had propelled itself economically, and had made significant progress in many areas, surpassing many others in the region, including on girls’ education, child health, and empowerment of women.  It had shown that the poor, if given opportunities, could become an engine for socio-economic improvement.  Bangladesh was now poised to reach new heights in its quest to be a poverty-free society.  How did Bangladesh view the use of its vast human resources.  Responding to a question by the moderator, the speaker said that in Bangladesh there were winners and losers in terms of textiles.  However, there was a need for more market access from the developed countries.

ARCANJO DO NASCIMENTO ( Angola) said his country had a question regarding the financing of programmes on poverty alleviation.  The question was raised on where the funds came from, because Angola also had a need for similar funds.  In Africa, the countries tended to turn to donor countries and were not so successful in getting funds.  Countries needed to have ownership of the development programmes because they knew their situation.  

Mr. CHOWDHURY, Foreign Adviser (Foreign Minister) of Bangladesh, responding, said one of Bangladesh’s basic goals was to reduce its dependence on official development aid, and it was succeeding in this regard.  The great success of Bangladesh was the fact of a public/private civil society partnership in mobilising development in society.  Bangladesh had undergone huge societal transformation, and micro-credit was transforming the landscape of the country.  Women’s empowerment was a tool of development, and it was very important to understand this.  The social security net was cast wide to catch those who required it.  However, the society also lifted itself all together, as the free market helped prop it up.  The mind-set had been transformed with achievement of the development standards. 

Bangladesh had a huge diaspora, and these sent back huge remittances, for which methodologies were being devised to use them for development ends.  The purpose was to move away from dependence on foreign aid in terms of controlling its own destiny and being in the driver’s seat of development policies, and using development partners to buttress the social advances.  Lack of food resources had not been a problem for many years. 

Discussion on National Voluntary Presentation of Barbados

TREVOR PRESCOD, Minister of Social Transformation of Barbados, introducing the national report by Barbados on progress towards achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, said that Barbados attached the highest priority to the work of the Economic and Social Council and was pleased to see that measures had been approved to facilitate the emergence of a revitalized and strengthened Council.  Barbados’ national report had been prepared and elaborated through a process of national, sub-regional and regional consultations involving government and civil society representatives.  The Government of Barbados was confident of its ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.  It was still relevant that the international community recognized the importance in continuing to support the needs of strategies and programmes of such countries, like Barbados, which were “MDG-plus”. 

Extreme poverty and extreme hunger as defined by the target for the first MDG were not prevalent in Barbados, Mr. Prescod said.  The nature of poverty in Barbados was both complex and multi-dimensional.  The country’s development strategy was therefore people-centred, with social capital being its greatest productive source.  Barbados sought to strengthen the institution framework involved in the delivery of social services, remove the threat of marginalization and to empower the poor.  This had been undertaken in collaboration with civil society, including the private sector.  This strengthening of the institution framework resulted in the establishment of additional agencies in the social services sector, which were given specific mandates in the effort to eradicate poverty. 

A national policy on disabilities was adopted which advocated for the provision of a supportive environment, and sought to ensure equal opportunities and access to health care, education, employment and transportation for persons with disabilities, the Minister said.  Barbados was now catering to an ageing population.  The Government through the National Assistance Board had provided an innovative range of social support and recreational services which were acceptable and readily available.  In recent times there had been a paradigm shift regarding the treatment of the poor in Barbados.  The country’s policy was now one of “empowerment” rather than “welfarism”.  It was the world’s inescapable duty to use collective efforts toward the invigoration of the process of achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.   

Mr. RUBIN, Moderator of the discussion, said when it came to promises to double the aid to Africa, or other pledges put forward by the G-8, this was not happening.  If the stated goals on HIV/AIDS were fully implemented, funding and drugs provided, what kind of difference would this make in the Caribbean, and if the developed world provided the drugs, money and expertise - how many lives would be saved and changed. 

Mr. PRESCOD, Minister of Social Transformation of Barbados, said on the question of a supposed total implementation of HIV/AIDS programmes, then certainly the mortality rate would be reduced.  But the direct concern of the country would be that it had an economy resting on tourism.  As a small economy, Barbados was faced with exhausted funds.  Not only the concerns of the national population but also the tourist industry needed to be addressed. 

Mr. CABRAL ( Guinea-Bissau) said the goal of the meeting was to prove a self-evident truth - that poverty was not something that the world was necessarily doomed to.  Poverty was not only the lack of wealth, but was also the lack of opportunities and the lack of participation in the democratic management of a country’s business.  This also highlighted some of the discussions that had taken place before the session - when it had been said that it was necessary to assign the responsibilities in the fight against poverty, both on those governing and the citizens of a country.  One had to increase official development aid, but above all the beneficiary countries should be empowered and helped to emerge from this dependency, as Bangladesh had done.  Where there was true democracy and partnership between the governing and the governed, then inevitably substantial and tangible progress was made.  These presentations showed that there was a way out, providing that countries assumed their own responsibilities, and did what was expected of them by the citizens of the countries.  It should be ensured that it was impossible to get to power by corruption - power should be given to those showing a lofty understanding of their responsibilities.  There were countries doing real work and were innovative in refusing to accept that poverty was inevitable. 

In the early 1990s, Barbados had decided not to join the International Monetary Fund - what were the consequences of this decision, the speaker asked, also requesting more information on the role of the global compact between the public and private sector in reducing poverty. 

FATIMA VEIGA ( Cape Verde) said her country fully understood the constraints posed, being a small island itself.  Cape Verde wished to raise two questions, the first being linked to human capital flight and how it could be curbed.  Another question was on HIV/AIDS, which was the single largest threat to Barbados.  How could the situation be changed and was there a regional framework to address this situation.

Mr. MILLER ( United States) said every time he was offered the floor he was asked a question more in the nature of a press conference than what was usually heard in this forum.  There was a tendency on behalf of the moderator to build conflict between developing and developed countries in the room, and this was not the usual practice of the Council.  Consensus should be built in the room.  The speaker wished to compliment the two ministers, who had given clear and detailed presentations on the situation in their countries.  To Barbados, he wished to ask a question on a sensitive subject.  Millennium Development Goal Six on combating HIV/AIDS appeared to be the only one which Barbados risked not achieving the desired results.   This was sensitive, as it required behavioural change, and there were clearly some cultural and societal behaviours contributing to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country.  It was clear that every country required adequate resources to fund treatment and prevention.  How was this issue approached, and in what direction was the Government envisaging its behaviour in the future?

ALISTAIR FERNIE ( United Kingdom) said that climate change had been identified as one challenge for the future.  What did the countries have in mind when climate change needed to be addressed with foreign aid support?

Mr. PRESCOD, Minister of Social Transformation of Barbados, said with regards to HIV/AIDS, this was a cultural problem, in particular with regards to relationships out of wedlock.  This was due to historical issues linked to migration, but these did not lead to any unethical practices among the people of Barbados in their social relationships.  Reality should be faced - that Barbados, because of its tourist industry, had more people coming into the island than the population, and there were a number of exogenous issues.  Apart from the humanitarian responsibilities, Barbados had to take into consideration its own needs.  The international community should also accept its responsibility in this regard. 

CHRISTOPHER HACKETT ( Barbados) said that climate change required urgent action, but in terms of what these should be, Barbados could not clarify them.  On the implementation of adaptation policies, countries like Barbados required some support from the international community.  In the formulation of the Fund, there was a need to make sure that the principles for addressing these ensured that countries such as Barbados could do this.  Rises in the sea level contributed to various degradation with regards to tourism, and assistance support was required, particularly with regards to beach erosion. 

HUGH SEALY, Representative of civil society in Barbados, said that the highest level of social partnership between the Government and labour had been established in the 1990s, and it had been a success in stabilising the economy, in particular with regards to linking wages and productivity.  The country had consistently drawn on resources in civil society, including the private sector.  The national sustainable development policy had been formulated after true and meaningful participation from all stakeholders.  This participatory approach had been used to formulate national policy at various junctures.  There was a lack of consistent funding to non-governmental organizations.

Mr. PRESCOD, Minister for Social Transformation of Barbados, said with regards to the question of Cape Verde and the flight of capital, this had only happened with regards to teachers and nurses.  There had been cooperation with other countries in this regard, and this had helped to replace those who had left the country.  Many of the persons who had reached tertiary education levels had left the country to seek a better standard of life.  The dynamics of the society had to be understood better to understand why there was a need for external interests and support in ensuring that the society sustained itself. 

Mr. CHOWDHURY, Foreign Adviser (Foreign Minister) of Bangladesh, said he appreciated the comments of the United Kingdom.  Bangladesh was deeply concerned about the issue that had been raised, and would like to work together with the European Union and the United Kingdom on the issue.  It was hoped the next G-8 would issue a document allowing the system to continue to focus on this hugely important issue.

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For information media • not an official record