Minister of International Development Anne Kristin Sydnes

ECOSOC-Bretton Woods High-Level Meeting

New York, 18 April 2000

Mr. President,

The importance of the issues before us has just been demonstrated in Havana and in Washington.

The Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the G77 South Summit in Havana clearly demonstrate that poverty, debt, trade and international finance are at the top of the agenda for the developing countries. We look forward to studying the proposals from the Summit in detail. Norway is ready to cooperate in dealing with the issues raised.

Among the issues addressed at the meetings in Washington were debt relief, poverty reduction, trade and development, and HIV/AIDS. The similarity of the agendas of Havana and Washington is striking. It reflects a very similar perception of the priorities for international development cooperation.

Perhaps even more striking: the street protesters in Washington had much the same agenda. I only wish they had realized this. I also wish that the institutions themselves, and we who own them, had been more successful putting across our message - the message that our goals are basically the same. Here we have a lot of work to do. We must not allow ourselves to be separated by physical barriers.

Mr. President,

It is encouraging to see the emergence of a new development architecture. The UN Development Assistance Framework, the Common Country Assessments, the Comprehensive Development Framework and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers are all promising tools for our common cause: poverty reduction and sustainable development.

The HIPC initiative, which will help many of the poorest countries escape from the debt trap, is yet another powerful, crucially important tool.

For these tools to work as intended, the developing countries concerned must themselves take the lead and claim ownership of their own development. And for these tools to work, the multilateral institutions and the donor countries must coordinate their efforts: pool their resources, avoid duplication, minimize waste, maximize impact.

Not least, we must make sure that the UN, the Bretton Woods institutions and the regional development banks actually pull together. Next year’s high-level meeting on financing for development will provide an opportunity that should not be missed.

We see the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers as very promising tools for closer cooperation and coordination between the World Bank, the IMF, the UN and bilateral donors, under the overall leadership of the partner countries themselves. National political ownership of the PRSPs is crucially important.

The Beijing and Copenhagen +5 processes also provide opportunities to revitalize international cooperation for poverty reduction through gender-sensitive social development.

The Bretton Woods institutions should actively participate in these important processes. The UN institutions should, equally actively, assist in formulating and implementing PRSPs - if requested by the countries concerned.

Mr. President,

My government is very concerned about the current underfunding of the HIPC initiative. To achieve full financing of the HIPC Trust Fund major efforts will have to be made by donor governments and international financial institutions, side by side, shoulder to shoulder. In order to avoid compromising IDA and other sources of concessional finance, we see no viable alternative to a separate and transparent negotiating process on HIPC financing. Within such a framework Norway is ready to contribute over and above our fair share.

We must do this - but we must do more. We must address the current unacceptably low level of official development assistance. The donor countries must honor the commitments made at the major global conferences of the 1990s. Norway’s ODA is currently equivalent to 0.9 per cent of its GDP. My government aims to increase this percentage to one full per cent. We consider increased ODA to be a key building block in the new development architecture.

Norway is particularly concerned about the decline in financial support to the UNDP. In our view, the UNDP should definitely continue its role as a focal point for UN operational activities. We are encouraged by the Administrator’s Business Plan. We look forward to its implementation. The UNDP, like the UN itself, is indispensable.

Mr. President,

My German colleague was right on target when she said that in the age of globalization, only the strong can afford weak institutions.

The United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions must together take the lead in bringing the benefits of globalization to the poor and the marginalized. To the streets and the villages. To the townships, to the slums and to the family and community farms.

The high-level meetings of ECOSOC, the World Bank and the IMF are very useful occasions for demonstrating our resolve to that end. We meet for one day each year - and it is time well spent. But what is really important is what happens during the remaining 364 days.

Action speaks louder.

Thank you, Mr. President.