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.