Finance Minister Jin
Renqing and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown on
Friday issued a joint statement on global development, calling on
the world to fulfill the commitments they made in Monterrey in 2002
on aid, debt relief and trade, and set urgent targets to increase
their official development assistance (ODA)?to 0.7 percent of
their gross domestic product.?
The following is the full text of the joint statement:
Joint
Statement by the Finance Ministers of China and the UK on Global
Development
April 15, 2005
1. The year 2005 is a critical year for the international
community, which will see the 60th anniversary of the founding of
the UN and the Bretton Woods Institutions. The year will also
witness the Millennium Review Summit at the UN and the WTO
ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, China, which will assess the
progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Doha
Development Round respectively. In 2005 China and the UK hold the
presidencies of the G20 and G7 respectively.
2. World leaders committed in 2000 to meet the MDGs by 2015. But
progress so far has been too slow and uneven. In advance of the
joint spring meeting of the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), which?is a key step in making progress on
this agenda, China and the UK recognize that meeting the MDGs is
vital for sustainable economic growth and poverty elimination.
Progress on meeting the MDGs is therefore one of the key elements
of the G20 and G7's agendas in 2005. We believe that our joint
efforts will be conducive to reaching that goal, and we call upon
the international community to fulfill the commitments they made in
Monterrey in 2002 on aid, debt relief and trade.
Aid
3. Constraints on financing for development are a major obstacle
toward meeting the MDGs as scheduled. To meet this challenge, the
international community should set urgent targets to meet 0.7
percent ODA.
4. Even with an international commitment to 0.7 percent, there
would be an unacceptable delay in raising the required resources.
Innovative financing mechanisms for development are therefore very
important for relieving the constraint on development financing.
China supports the International Financial Facility (IFF) proposed
by the UK. Both China and the UK welcome, and are committed to
exploring the other proposals related to increasing financing
resources for development.
5. Action is also needed to ensure that international aid is
provided in the most effective way. Donors should target aid on the
poorest countries, harmonize aid around country-owned poverty
strategies, provide aid in a more predictable, long-term way; and
deliver aid in a way that imposes the minimum burden on developing
country systems. All countries should also support and enhance
efforts and initiatives, such as untying aid, to make aid more
effective.
Debt relief
6. The HIPC initiative is having a positive impact on reducing
the debts for many of the poorest countries. We reaffirm our
commitment to a complete and successful implementation of the
initiative in order to further enhance the debt relief of eligible
countries. We welcome the successful conclusion of IDA14
negotiations.
7. But too many countries still have to choose between debt
repayments and vital investments in future growth and the
achievement of the MDGs. Eighty percent of the debt of some low
income countries is owed to the multilateral institutions.
8. Further debt reduction of HIPCs should be an international
priority. We call upon the shareholders of the MDBs to finance
their share of the debts owed by HIPCs and other eligible
low-income countries. This debt relief will give countries the
confidence in predictable flows of income over the long term they
need, in order to invest in future growth and poverty
reduction.
Trade
9. China and the UK recognize that it is through trade that
developing countries will drive their economic growth in future.
However, there are many obstacles to trade that urgently need to be
removed.
10. We recognize that the top priority for trade is to achieve
an ambitious outcome to the Doha Development Round that delivers
real benefits to developing countries. China and the UK will work
together to achieve this.?
11. Developed countries should also encourage knowledge and
technology transfer to developing countries.?
12. It will be important to remove barriers to developing
country exports in the developed world, including unfair subsidies
and tariffs, especially in agriculture. It will also be important
to simplify and liberalize rules of origin, so that countries can
source the products they need from the most competitive sources.
However, other action is also required. We call on the
international community to invest in the capacity and
infrastructure developing countries need in order to take advantage
of the opportunities for more open trade.
13. It is also important that developing countries themselves
are able to manage trade liberalization in a way that does not harm
the vulnerable. To ensure this, we call on the international
community to ensure that countries are allowed the flexibility to
sequence trade reform within their own development plans. We
further call upon the international community to provide
transitional support to developing countries adjusting to a
globalized world.
The Bretton Woods Institutions
14. The Bretton Woods Institutions will play a vital role in
helping the international community meet the MDGs. The IMF has a
key role to play through independent surveillance in minimizing
potential risks to the global economy. We believe that the World
Bank should fulfill its commitment to global poverty reduction and
long-term economic development. It should strengthen its role as
the "knowledge bank," and enhance the surveillance on the
implementation of the Monterrey Consensus. The bank should develop
more effective lending instruments, simplify its operating
procedures, and reduce the cost of doing business.?
(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2005)