Economic and Social Council holds dialogue with United Nations regional

commissions on relevant aspects of its 2007 high-level segment

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 6 July (UN Information Service) –- The Economic and Social Council this morning held a dialogue with the Executive Secretaries of the Social Commission for Western Asia, the Economic Commission for Europe, the five United Nations regional commissions on regional aspects of the themes of the high-level segment of the 2007 substantive session, namely “strengthening efforts at all levels to promote pro-poor sustained economic growth” and “strengthening efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger, including through the global partnership for development”.

Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said that there was growth, and this was increasing on an aggregate level.  In spite of this, growth remained fragile, as it was commodity price driven, and Africa continued to be vulnerable to trade shocks.  Africa continued to face challenges of extreme poverty, unemployment and high-income inequality.  Helping Africa to meet the development agenda took different forms.  ECA was increasingly active in analytical work, and capitalised more systematically on South-South cooperation and inter-African networks of support.  Furthermore, ECA was the convener of various high-level fora to develop consensus and provide policy advocacy.

Atif Kubursi, Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), said that sustained growth required the participation of the majority of the citizens and a process guided by the state.  Decent work should be generated, particularly for the poor, allowing them to acquire assets so that they might become a part of the political structure of the country.  The governments of the region needed to jump from the unsustainable economic growth path by moving away from the traditional macroeconomic path.  The empowerment of women was necessary.  On fiscal policies, the state needed to take its proper role, also in developing the social safety nets.  A high level of interest rate, improving the level of savings and encouraging investments and creating a reasonable price exchange rate, was needed.

Marek Belka, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), said that the general overview of the region showed rapid economic growth and favourable situations, but also tremendous diversity.  As far as the middle-income transition countries were concerned, the main challenge was that they went into the knowledge-intensive industries, or their cost-effectiveness would evaporate and they would become either a burden on the European Union or would stall in their growth.  As for the Western part of the continent, one of the major challenges was how to reconcile globalisation and preserve the social welfare state and way of life.  Poverty was significantly related to unemployment in the transition countries.  It had been declining, but was still very high in South-Eastern Europe and some countries of Central Europe.

Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said that the Asia Pacific region was well known for rapid economic growth in the last two decades.  Yet, poverty reduction remained an important challenge.  Most of the poor were in South Asia.  In the Asia Pacific region, rapid economic growth had led to rapid sustainable poverty reduction.  However, with rapid growth, inequalities rose in some countries, such an in China and India.  Over half of the labour force in China, India, Pakistan and Viet Nam was still employed in agriculture.  Investments should be undertaken in this field.  On recommendations, countries needed to adopt pro-poor strategies to enable the poor to benefit.  The results showed that growth and trade openness also helped in reducing poverty.  Increased investments were also needed in health and water sanitation for the benefit of the rural poor.  

Jose Luis Machinea, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said that most of the constituency of ECLAC were Spanish-speaking countries.  The poverty in Latin America had declined substantially over the last years, and the reasons for this were, inter alia, the high growth rate, more employment, an increase in social expenditures, and better quality of social policies.  Much remained to be done with regards to institutions regarding public services.  The distribution of wealth in the Caribbean was better than in Latin America.  The policies to be implemented to improve the situation included an improvement in solidarity, and improved macro-economic policies.  Stability through equitable fiscal policies and improved social situations were also important.  The middle-income countries remained fragile and vulnerable to changes and fluctuations in the world economy. 

In the course of the ensuing interactive dialogue, speakers asked in relation to the main challenges of how to accelerate the development process to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, whether there was enough focus on education and whether there were any plans to place greater emphasis on this in Africa.  On the subject of the empowerment of women, it was asked about the steps being taken by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia to fill the gaps in this field in its region.  With regard to the presentation of the Economic Commission for Europe, it was noted that many Governments spoke about the importance of policies to attract investment and promote the growth of the poor, and the presentation showed how complicated this could be, and how hard it was to find the right mix of policies to promote growth and equity at the same time.  A speaker raised the question on how the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific had tried to improve national policy making with respect to productivity.  For Latin America, the connection between international trade and poverty reduction was of crucial importance, and the more possibilities there were for trade, the greater the possibility of reducing poverty.

Within the context of the interactive dialogue on the presentations of the regional commissions and the general debate, representatives of the following States took the floor: Sudan, Barbados, Haiti, Namibia, Nigeria, United Republic of Tanzania, Belarus, Portugal, United States, International Labour Organization, Kazakhstan, Guinea, Russia, China, Luxembourg, Sweden, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Honduras, Guatemala, Chile, Brazil, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Saudi Arabia.

A representative of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations also took the floor.

The ECOSOC will resume its session this afternoon at 2:45 p.m., when it will conclude the high-level segment with the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration.  It will then open its coordination segment, hearing among other things an introduction of the report of the Secretary-General on the role of the United Nations system in promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all.  This will be followed by a panel discussion on a “toolkit for mainstreaming employment and decent work”.

Documents

The Council has before it the report of the Secretary-General on regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields (E/2007/15), which provides an update to the Council on the perspectives and developments in regional cooperation and the work of the regional commissions in relevant areas since its substantive session of 2006.  Taking the 2005 World Summit Outcome as a main reference point, and in view of 2007 being the midpoint between the adoption of the Millennium Declaration and 2015, the target date for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the report focuses particular attention to an analytical presentation of the status of implementation of the Goals and the lessons that can be drawn from a regional perspective for intensifying the efforts during the coming years. 

The Council has before it the report on economic developments in the Economic Commission for Europe region (E/2007/16), which notes that the Commission's annual publication, Economic Survey of Europe, has been discontinued.  No summary or analysis of the economic trends for the European region is being submitted for the Council's consideration at its 2007 session.

The Council has before it the overview of the economic and social conditions in Africa 2007 (E/2007/17), which reviews the economic and social conditions in Africa for 2006 and presents an outlook for medium-term developments and prospects for growth in 2007.  Overall, the report shows that economic growth has continued to improve in 2006, reaching 5.7 per cent compared to 5.3 per cent in 2005.  A key message of the report is that improvements in social development lag significantly behind improvements in economic performance.  The report concludes with a set of policy recommendations aimed at accelerating and sustaining growth in African countries as a means of reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The Council has before it the summary of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2007 (E/2007/18), which says the Asia-Pacific region grew strongly in 2006, with the developing countries growing at a rate of 7.9 per cent and the developed countries, 2.2 per cent.  Economic growth has been broad-based, with all sub-regions performing robustly.  Economic growth is projected at 7.4 per cent in 2007, somewhat lower than in 2006, due mainly to the slowing economy of the United States.  The Survey also assesses the economic and social costs of gender discrimination in the region.  It assesses the progress made in gender equality in four areas (economic participation, education, health and empowerment), with a comparative analysis that highlights best practices, and proposes policy recommendations to minimize gender discrimination in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Council has before it the report Latin America and the Caribbean: economic situation and outlook, 2006-2007 (E/2007/19), which says, with an economic growth rate in 2006 of 5.6 per cent, the Latin American and Caribbean region marked up its third consecutive year of growth at rates of over 4 per cent, and the volume of goods and services exports was up by 8.4 per cent for the region as a whole.  The rise in national income (7.3 per cent) again exceeded gross domestic product (GDP) growth.  These regional averages, however, mask stark differences between countries and sub-regions.  Economic expansion is expected to slow slightly in 2007, with the region’s per capita GDP expected to show an increase of about 15 per cent for 2003-2007, or about 3.6 per cent per year.

The Council has before it the summary of the Survey of Economic and Social Developments in the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia region, 2006-2007 (E/2007/20), which says 2006-2007 marked another period of robust economic expansion in the region, with the exception of Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, where regional conflicts and political instabilities reduced significantly economic potential.  High oil prices continued to buoy the region.  While a deceleration of the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was observed, the level of growth was still high in most ESCWA member countries in 2006.  Average GDP growth for the ESCWA region was an estimated 5.6 per cent for 2006, down from 6.9 per cent in 2005, and is forecast to decrease to 5.1 per cent in 2007.  The theme of the Survey this year is to draw lessons from the previous oil boom, and to search for policy alternatives capable of retaining financial and human resources in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Statement by Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa

ABDOULIE JANNEH, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said Africa faced challenges, but there was good news.  There was growth, and this was increasing on an aggregate level.  In spite of this, growth remained fragile, as it was commodity price driven, and Africa continued to be vulnerable to trade shocks.  Africa continued to face challenges of extreme poverty, unemployment and high income inequality.  There was also consciousness that meeting the challenges required action at the national, regional and global levels, and in this regard, countries had made significant efforts, including launching ambitious programmes, creating coalitions to raise the resources, and there was also a greater commitment to integration to bring Africa together and give it a common voice.

High-level meetings had resulted in common action plans to face Africa’s challenges and reach the Millennium Development Goals, Mr. Janneh said.  The African Union brought every country together, and had, in the past, focussed in meetings on such topics as climate change, which did and would continue to have tremendous impact on the continent.  Leaders were aware of this, and would put into place common policies.  African trade ministers would also meet to discuss policy.  ECA had repositioned the institution, after wide consultations, to better respond to the emerging needs of Member States.  It had revamped its programmes, and was working to enhance organisational structures and administrative processes.  As its two pillars, it supported regional integration, and worked to meet Africa’s special needs.  A key aspect of the repositioning was the strengthening of partnerships, including with civil society and the private sector. 

Helping Africa to meet the development agenda took different forms.  ECA was increasingly active in analytical work, and capitalised more systematically on South-South cooperation, and inter-African networks of support.  Furthermore, ECA was the convener of various high-level fora to develop consensus and provide policy advocacy.  The challenge in Africa was really that given the current trends, it would not meet the Millennium Development Goals, and therefore growth needed to be increased and stabilised, and there were needs for investment in gender equality, climate change, resource mobilisation, and employment creation.  Africa had before it an ambitious programme of work to implement, which would require efforts at every level.  However, if they were implemented together, then this would result in growth in every country at a sustainable level.

Discussion

Speakers then posed questions and made comments on the presentation of the report, raising, among other things, such issues as what was the position in ECA of the African diaspora; what were the criteria in determining the regional centres, as some of these were very close to each other geographically.  Another comment was on the political interaction between African Governments and the cooperation politically and economically within the continent, resulting in a stronger and more confident voice coming out of Africa, and this gave donors confidence to invest more and more willingly in what was going on in the continent.  In relation to the main challenges of how to accelerate the development process to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, a speaker asked whether there was much focus on education and whether there were any plans to place greater emphasis on this in the region.  There was a need for continuing efforts from other regions to support Africa if it were to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to achieve better development results and impacts. 

A speaker commented that Africa felt the impact of the work of ECA at the regional as well as sub-regional levels.  As Africa assumed its collective responsibility, it was important that the policies that would be implemented in the industrialisation strategies were consistent with what was happening with regards to mitigation efforts on climate change.  There were two crucial areas which had to be addressed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and these were employment generation and micro-financing.  If African integration was to be improved, then the issue of infrastructure had to be taken seriously, a speaker said, and in future, there was a need for greater emphasis on this issue, as without connectivity it was difficult to communicate effectively.  An NGO representative commented that ECA was opening a space for civil society in Africa, and said this was a very positive development. 

Mr. JANNEH, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), responding to these issues and others, said Africa was committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and in this was comforted by the support it received from other countries and regions.  Africa was developing policies on the diaspora and how to use this in capacity building, as well as using the resources coming from this such as remittances.  On education, Africa was considering this seriously, and this issue took centre stage in the development agenda.  Africa was governing itself better, and this was impacting positively on the ability to deal with the development agenda.  Leadership was aware of climate change, and ECA was working closely with the African Development Bank and the African Union to develop and implement policies in this regard.  Issues of employment generation and microfinance were being considered seriously.  Infrastructure continued to be seen as a pillar to move forward the African development agenda, including with regards to managing energy at the continental level.  ECA appreciated working with NGOs and civil society, and would continue to give them space and consideration in the development activities.

Statement by Executive Secretary of Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

ATIF KUBURSI, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), said that sustained growth required the participation of the majority of the citizens and a process guided by the state.  Decent work should be generated, particularly for the poor, allowing them to acquire assets so that they might become a part of the political structure of the country.  It aimed at reducing absolute hunger and poverty.  There had to be a self-sustained growth, seeking to secure the tangible reduction in the inequalities.  These were not the traditional macroeconomic policies.  There were weaknesses of fundamental freedoms.  There was a general tendency to believe that if one took care of the GDP, one would be able to take care of everything else.  There was an inherent dichotomy in economics.  There was also a terrible discourse prevalent in economics.  The world today was described as having an economy that was free for all but this was not the world they lived in.  Information was not symmetric and different macroeconomics would be required. 

It was not about the level of aggregation, Mr. Kubursi said.  It should be a social economy in which the poor were a major concern.  The governments of the region needed to jump from the unsustainable economic growth path by moving away from the traditional macroeconomic path.  The region had the highest rate of unemployment in the world and the fastest growth in population and labour force.  The region had also an unequal distribution of the income in favour of the rich.  Crucial elements were needed, such as the improvement of the investment climate.  The region was driven by high consumption.  This should be supported by investments.  There was a major deficit of freedom in the region.  The people’s capacity to engage needed to be improved.  The choices of the people needed to be broadened and the educational gap should be reduced. The digital divide needed to be narrowed. 

Also the empowerment of women was necessary, Mr. Kubursi said.  There needed to be greater opportunities for employment.  The level of integration needed to be broadened as well.  Through regional cooperation and a broader union, a move forward could be made.  On fiscal policies, the state needed to take its proper role, also in developing the social safety nets.  The state should thus assure the social responsibility.  The monetary policies should also be changed.  A high level of interest rate, improving the level of savings and encouraging investments and creating a reasonable price exchange rate, was needed.  An exchange rate policy related to promoting exports and growth was important, also with the view of creating decent jobs.  But the most important was to improve the standards of the most marginalized. 

Discussion

Speakers then posed questions and made comments on the presentation of the report, raising, among other things, such issues as how the situation of the expatriates from that region, living in other countries often as aliens, was being dealt with. On the coordinating work among the regional commissions, it was asked what could be their role within the general United Nations system.  It was acknowledged that good steps were being taken by the organization and the partnerships were encouraged, among others with the civil society.  The United States affirmed that they would take a closer look in the future at the organization following its impressive presentation.  On the subject on the empowerment of women, it was asked about the steps being taken by the Commission to fill the gaps in this field.     

Mr. KUBURSI, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), responding to these issues and others, said that there was an issue in the Gulf region, which was a fundamental sub region of the Commission.  There were many steps taken by these countries, trying to create more domestic capacities, trying to create more jobs for nationals.  In some of the countries, they also relied on educative measures for women.  Systems were being designed to prioritise the countries’ entry into the world market.  The dependence of expatriate labour had to be dealt with in a broader context.  But there was an aspect of South-South cooperation as well.  The level of remittances paid was the largest part of these countries exports.  The Commission recognized that there were some issues that needed to be addressed.  The countries needed to work together and coordinate their activities. 

Any massive responses could be damaging to all participants, Mr. Kubursi said.  Every region had its own characteristics.  The Commission’s region was heavily dependent on oil, and had shortages of water as well as its share of crises.  It was one of the only regions in the world, which had to sustain and deal with foreign occupation.  These specificities were constraints but were not compromising the objectives of reducing poverty.  Sustainable development required a broader view of the way resources interacted.  The abundance of oil was matched by the scarcity of water.  One should look at best practices to forge partnerships.  The Commission has a strong relationship with the Arab League.  The region had multifaceted problems, requiring multifaceted networks to respond.  On the empowerment of women, the Commission had created the ESCWA centre for women.

Statement by Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe

MAREK BELKA, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), said he would concentrate on the transition and post-transition countries of the region only in his presentation.  The general overview of the region showed rapid economic growth and favourable situations, but also tremendous diversity.  As far as the middle-income transition countries were concerned, the main challenge was that they went into the knowledge-intensive industries, or their cost-effectiveness would evaporate and they would become either a burden on the European Union or would stall in their growth.  As for the Western part of the continent, one of the major challenges was how to reconcile globalisation and preserve the social welfare state and way of life.  When looking at growth strength in ECE, CIS countries, South-East countries and new Member States grew consistently faster than North America and the old Member States of the European Union. 

There had been a decade-long transition characterised by recession after the fall of the Soviet Union, Mr. Belka said.  Much institutional structure had fallen apart, with increase in unemployment and inequality.  Today, some of the transition countries were doing as well as the Nordic countries, with regards to dealing with inequality.  Poverty in the region was very different in the sub-regions, but with analysis, it became clear that many of the countries of the east of the region registered levels of poverty as high as in the 1990s.  When looking at GDP per capita levels, some of ECE countries were around African levels, such as Tajikistan and Moldova, and even relatively well to do countries such as Armenia and Azerbaijan were below the level of Morocco.  The poverty in the region was concentrated in rural areas, among the unemployed, ethnic minorities, the retired and elderly, the unskilled and single parent households.  There was still a catch-up effort needed.

Poverty was significantly related to unemployment in the transition countries.  It had been declining, but was still very high in South-Eastern Europe and some countries of Central Europe.  Structural unemployment was very high due to past distortions and deep restructuring.  There were large informal sectors with no benefits, and women and youth had higher unemployment rates than average.  With regards to the situation of women, the gender education gap was not discussed, and this was one of the good sides of transition countries, as women’s access to education was equal to that of men, largely speaking.  Poorer countries recorded higher gender pay gaps.  By some measures, the transition economies appeared to be pro-poor, but not all pro-poor policies were pro-growth, and there was a need for this to be changed.  Flat taxation was an issue in this regard, and the tax system should be examined to see how it could be both pro-growth and pro-poor. 

Discussion

Among issues raised by speakers and comments made were that the regional commissions had done a great job by forging mutual partnerships and sharing expertise and abilities to encourage and support the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in the region of Central Asia.  A speaker noted that many Governments spoke about the importance of policies to attract investment and promote the growth of the poor, and the presentation showed how complicated this could be, and how hard it was to find the right mix of policies to promote growth and equity at the same time, showing that Governments had to take extraordinary care to balance these two goals.  The reforms of the ECE were welcomed, as this would improve transparency and strengthen the evaluation system, among others, and would ensure better partnership with all Governments, a speaker noted. 

A representative of the International Labour Organization commented on what Mr. Belka had said, when he said pro-poor strategy, he actually meant pro-employment strategy, as this was a very positive attitude, and very refreshing.  A non-governmental organization representative said the emphasis on gender equality was very positive, despite the gaps between employment, decent work and wages, and asked what specific policies were in the mind of ECE to remedy these, and how the Commission was involved in the overall strategy of United Nations reform. 

Mr. BELKA, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, responding to the questions and comments, said he was glad that it had been noticed that the design of pro-poor growth strategy was not a simple question, and this had to be a major theme for the work of the international community.  The Economic and Social Council was an obvious forum where different lines of thought could meet, and it would be a truly inclusive forum for discussion as all stakeholders were present and could espouse their opinions.  The issue was about sequencing of reforms, balancing of policies, and the ownership of the people of the nations involved, all of whom should be part of the discussion.  Regional commissions participated in the discussion on the system-wide coherence, pointing to the relevance of the United Nations dimension of the development effort. 

Pro-poor strategy could be efficient only if the region was stable, including politically, and this linked to the role of civil society, which was key to filling the gaps in even the most optimal national strategies for fighting poverty and unemployment.  On gender equality, ECE was putting great emphasis on this issue as smart economics, and did not engage in the human rights dimension of this.  A new comprehensive strategy for Central Asia had been adopted by the European Union, promising more financial support, and there would therefore be more official development aid coming from Western Europe to the region, and ECE was playing an important role in this effort. 

Statement by Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

KIM HAK-SU, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, said that the Asia Pacific region was well known for rapid economic growth in the last two decades.  Yet, poverty reduction remained an important challenge.  Most of the poor were in South Asia.  In the Asia Pacific region, rapid economic growth had led to rapid sustainable poverty reduction.  However, with rapid growth, inequalities rose in some countries, such an in China and India.  The impact on poverty reduction would have been higher if the income repartition had been more pro-poor.  The growth process should benefit more to the poor than to the rich.  In the region, pro-poor policy could be pro basic service delivery in the field of health, for example.  Some policies such as in the fields of trade and structural adjustments were important.  The overall thrust should be to reduce the inequalities to reduce the burden on the poor.  Learning from the East-Asian experience, other countries in the region were expanding their budget on education. 

Over half of the labour force in China, India, Pakistan and Viet Nam was still employed in agriculture, Mr. Kim said.  Investments should be undertaken in this field.  The results showed that growth and trade openness also helped in reducing poverty.  As the per capita share of GDP went up, the share of poverty went down.  Higher population density was associated with higher poverty.  On recommendations, countries needed to adopt pro-poor strategies to enable the poor to benefit.  This must be combined with investments in rural infrastructure and a shift to the service sector, such as in China.  Increased investments were also needed in health and water sanitation for the benefit of the rural poor.  The Commission undertook analytical studies to assist the member countries to adopt good practices.

Discussion

Speakers then posed questions and made comments on the presentation of the report, raising, among other things, such issues as on how the Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) related to the other regional organizations in the region, institutionally and operationally.  In addition, it was mentioned that Asia was a region with no real political organization.  It was asked whether this was impeding or helping the work of ESCAP.  Another speaker mentioned the importance of the strengthening of the role of the regional commissions.  The mandates and prerogatives of the commissions should be preserved.  The regional commissions had solid technical knowledge, allowing them to carry out their activities.  It was necessary to improve the work among the commissions themselves.  The commissions were expected to have a pro-active approach.  A speaker mentioned that the economic momentum had provided good conditions for economic growth.  Although the number of people had increased, the number of poor had decreased.  There should be a focus on implementing the Monterrey consensus. 

Developing countries should rely more on their own efforts.  Trade and investment cooperation should be increased.  A full play should be given to ESCAP to promote policy dialogue and cooperation.  On the issue of the promotion of regional and sub regional cooperation, the discussion of ESCAP meeting held in Kazakhstan was mentioned.  The need to balance out growth and equity had been highlighted.  In relation to that, it was asked whether the tendency of having countries with high economic growth but remaining inequalities was going on.  The delivery of basic services as a poverty reduction strategy and the reduction of indirect taxes for the poor were mentioned as good strategies.  It was asked to what extent an exchange of experience between the various regions was taking place and to what extent the commissions could contribute to that exchange.  A speaker asked how ESCAP had tried to improve national policy making with respect to productivity.  With regard to the United Nations reform, a non-governmental organization raised a question on how the institutionalisation of the interaction with the Commission could take place.         

Mr. KIM, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), responding to these issues and others, said that first he wanted to express his appreciation for the countries that commended his work.  Secondly, he mentioned the group of regional commissions.  In Asia there were many regional sub governmental bodies such as ASEAN, which was growing.  ESCAP was coordinating with regional organizations, as well as all the specialised United Nations agencies.  The Asia-Pacific Business Forum had been launched last year.  Corporate social responsibility and private public partnerships were highlighted there.  The proven best practices were replicated. 

China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Viet Nam would be determining the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in the region, Mr. Kim said.  ESCAP would publish two progress reports for the Millennium Development Goals.  One of them was on the distribution problem of food that was a reason for the hunger.  On the basic services, another report looked at the barriers for delivering them.  Asia still had 14 least developed countries, so widening disparities would take place.  On the investment area, there were a lot of South-South investments.        

Statement by Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

JOSE LUIS MACHINEA, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said there were two topics for the dialogue: how to promote pro-poor sustainable growth; and the efforts to eradicate poverty, including through the Global Partnership for Development.  He would speak mainly about the Global Partnership.  Most of the constituency of ECLAC were Spanish-speaking countries.  The poverty in Latin America had declined substantially over the last years, and the reasons for this were, inter alia, the high growth rate, more employment, an increase in social expenditures, and better quality of social policies.  Much remained to be done with regards to institutions for public services.  Nevertheless, not everything was wonderful throughout the region - inequalities between and within countries were still high, and the distribution of wealth remained the most serious problem. 

The distribution of wealth in the Caribbean was better than in Latin America.  The policies to be implemented to improve the situation included an improvement in solidarity, and improved macro-economic policies.  Stability through equitable fiscal policies and improved social situations was also important.  Improving the situation of the least developed countries was important, as was strengthening employment, for which increased training policies were required.  The poverty cycle from generation to generation needed to be broken.  To fight poverty, there was a need for resources: the countries should redouble their efforts to ensure that growth was sustainable and that the level of performance was improved.  The means needed to be found to finance social expenditures if poverty and hunger were to be eliminated.  The tax burden was higher in the Caribbean countries, which explained why these societies were less unequal that those of Latin America.

With regards to official development assistance (ODA), after a sharp drop in the 1990s after the Monterrey process, it had increased substantially.  However, the region was still well below the levels decided in Monterrey.  Aid was directed primarily to low-income countries, increasingly targeting social expenditures.  However, for middle-income countries, aid for development had declined.  For infrastructure and social sectors, ODA had been enhanced, but greater stress should be given to productive policies for more rapid economic development.  Latin America had lost ground with regards to aid.  Another problem was the lack of well-defined goals and strategies and instruments to help the countries in the middle-income group.  Effectiveness depended on national policies, and also how aid was managed, and there could be improvement in this regard. The middle-income countries remained fragile and vulnerable to changes and fluctuations in the world economy.  Aid for these countries to a great extent depended on the social situation.  

Discussion

Among issues raised by speakers were that one of the most serious problems encountered in the Latin America countries which exported products such as bananas and coffee were restrictions on access to the markets of developed countries, and trade needed to be opened up so that economies could grow at the necessary rate.  Further, financing conditions from the Bretton Woods institutions needed to be relaxed, as these were not favourable to the creation of jobs or the reduction of poverty, a speaker said.  There was value in bringing the situation of middle-income countries to the attention of the Council, as the achievements so far were still fragile.  It was important to note the relevance of seeking out innovative mechanisms for development in combating hunger and poverty, and more should be said on this issue.  Aid flows were an important problem. 

For Latin America, the connection between international trade and poverty reduction was of crucial importance, and the more possibilities there were for trade, the greater the possibility of reducing poverty.  How much importance should Governments and bodies such as the regional Commissions attach to bilateral or multilateral agreements or treaties in the absence of a successful Doha agreement in terms of implementation.  Countries also faced uncertainty in terms of climate change, a speaker said, urging attention to also be paid to this issue, as well as the need to ensure the integration of Caribbean countries into the globalized economy.  The issue of remittances was also raised by a number of speakers, and their relevance to official development aid flows. 

Mr. MACHINEA, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), responding to the questions and comments made, said trade was crucial to the region.  Latin America and the Caribbean had learnt that free trade was fantastic during two or three decades, until lessons about free trade disappeared from the book of the developed countries.  This was currently the situation with regards to the Doha Round.  To reduce the restrictions on trade was the best way for the region to enhance growth, but it had not much hope of making progress in the multilateral round.  The multilateral agreement would be preferred, and a deepening of the regional integration process.  However, progress in the Doha Round would not occur unless there was progress in the regional integration agreements.  In this case, bilateral agreements could be an opportunity.  For some countries, this could be an opportunity, and they should evaluate the cost and benefits of this alternative.

In terms of the Washington Consensus, the most important change in the region was the rejection of the idea that one model would fit all, and countries were applying different policies to grow, and this was fantastic and should be welcomed.  With regards to remittances, these were quite important for the region - they were a significant part of GDP.  Their impact on poverty was also very important, but they were not important when looking at income distribution, as the very poor did not have enough money to emigrate.  With regards to middle-income countries fragility and volatility, this was indeed a problem in the region. 

General Debate

ABDULWAHAB A. ATTAR ( Saudi Arabia) said the reports should have a clear and intensified reference to the efforts made among the regions and should mention the best practices.  On the ESCWA report, reservations were expressed with regard to the political aspects in the report, because the emphasis was expected to be on the economic and not on the political aspects.     

FRANCISCO XAVIER ESTEVES (Portugal), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that the European Union recognised the particular importance of the regional dimension with regards to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and the importance of the regional commissions in this regard, in partnership with other organizations.  The Economic and Social Council would remain the main body for the assessment of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits.  The European Union remained confident with regards to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.  Regional monitoring of the implementation of the international conferences and summits was important.  There should be peer reviews.  South-South cooperation was important with regards to regional cooperation.  These initiatives should be streamlined in the context of the reform efforts currently underway in the United Nations. 

Mr. KUBURSI, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), said that one should look at the theoretical architecture.  With regard to what was said by Saudi Arabia on the political aspects in the report, these were the views on what the Commission considered were the major drifts of what could be done in the region so that the poor could benefit.    

Mr. MACHINEA, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said with regards to improving the coordination between the regional commissions, there were meetings and there had been a very recent one on this, and the coordination had been improved within the regions, as well as on the global level. 

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For information media • not an official record