Seeking models in poverty allevation efforts

Seeking models in poverty allevation efforts

The United Nation body focusing on development, the UNDP, and
that on social and economic issues, UNESCAP, released a report
recently assessing how the poorest nations in the Asia Pacific
have fared in achieving shared goals to reduce poverty and
improve human rights. The following are excerpts from an
interview conducted with the Under Secretary-General of the UN
and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific, Kim Hak Su,at the time of the recent
regional meeting on attaining the Millennium Development Goals.
He spoke with The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti.

Question: The report (Voices of the least developed coutnries
of Asia and the Pacific) highlights seemingly minor but
significant progress in the poorest countries, such as the
nutrition programs that are said to have been effective in Bhutan
and Bangladesh. What are the main lessons to be gained?
Answer: Without special attention and assistance, it would be
impossible for the least developed countries like landlocked
Bhutan, Mongolia and the Lao PDR, to reach the Millennium
Developing Goals by 2015. But other countries can still learn
from their experiences.

Other countries (including Indonesia) are already learning
from the provision of micro credits for women in Bangladesh; and
Bhutan is very conscious of forestation. It ranks the highest in
Asian countries with 72 percent of land forested -- their first
priority is to maintain the environment.

Among developing countries, Sri Lanka has a high rate of
literacy and also very cheap health services with affordable
drugs. Primary education is compulsory but free. Sri Lanka has
traditionally had very good social indicators. People there want
better skills and better opportunities.

This ministerial meeting, held at Indonesia's initiative, is
the first of its kind in which officials explained what they're
doing in their countries to achieve the goals, and learn from
each other's experiences.

During the MDG conference Jeffrey Sachs (renowned economist
and UN advisor) mentioned Asia's miracles. for instance the
rural-based green revolution in India, before which they had
projected a shortage of grain. The issue is how to maintain this
dynamic development. Many ideas came up. For example, we could
have a grain security system. Asia may produce enough grain but
it is not distributed properly ...

Fears have been raised of the probable failure of the next
round of trade talks, while trade is seen as critical to reducing
poverty and developing countries are said to lack strategies.
Your comments?

There are two (views) from experienced negotiators: one is
that as we are facing a deadline, people will come up under
pressure and have a sense of urgency, so we can hope that the
next round will come up with something, as all countries are
waiting.

The more pessimistic view sees the sticking issues of whether
(among others) the U.S. and European Union countries will phase
out agricultural subsidies ...

But compared to previous years, now the developing countries
are more prepared (for trade negotiations), because UNESCAP has
assisted them through training sessions and seminars, about the
issues and how to negotiate.

The next round (preliminary talks are scheduled for Hong Kong
in December) pretty much depends on the U.S. and EU, and this MDG
conference is a good avenue to push the developed countries.

As trade is the engine (to eventually reduce poverty) all
countries (participating in the conference) pretty much agree,
trade is better than aid.

In this conference it was reiterated that aid for the poorest
countries should come with less conditions, and the issue of "aid
for trade" was also raised in your report. Could you elaborate?

Overseas development aid should be linked to capacity-building
or institution-building in countries so that they are able to
reach their MDG goals; whether this aid is to build a clinic, a
school, or strengthen gender equality, or the environment area.

Aid, as Sachs said, should not be a welfare package but a very
comprehensive development package.

There's a common understanding of how to help each other in
the framework of regional cooperation, and UNESCAP and UNCTAD
(the UN Conference for Trade and Development) is looking at all
the options).

For instance, the trade tariffs among ourselves should be less
discriminatory, some countries are charging higher tariffs among
themselves; we must seek how to reduce barriers among ourselves.

On the regulation side, simple approval procedures like one-
stop services are needed for foreign direct investment.

Then the poorest countries are without entrepreneurs; the
issue here is how to enhance them; your trade minister said even
small-size businesses in Indonesia are getting micro credits.

Is there enough commitment to achieving the Millennium
Development Goals?

Countries (participating in the talks) now have an MDG-based
development strategy; developing countries have also opened their
eyes, not only to economic growth but one that is multifaceted.

If we look at the next 10 years, 2015, some countries will
achieve the goals and some will achieve even more ... but we're
concerned about countries with about 2 percent to 3 percent
growth, and some countries are even regressing with minor growth.

So in 10 or 20 years, we would have a mixture of disparity in
Asia, with worse off countries becoming much worse ...

From this disparity perspective we're looking at more about
how to grow together, the idea of the "regional compact"
(agreement to work together) came from us, where better off
countries can help the others.

This symptom has already started in Asia; there has been more
than US$5 billion in ODA, foreign direct investment among Asian
countries is much higher now. Intra-regional trade volume is
growing fast with China, for instance, importing raw material
from neighboring countries. Asia should be in a position to grow
together to help regressing countries. As in Asian philosophies,
we should help each other.