Minister of International Development Anne Kristin Sydnes

Speech to the Diplomatic Corps

Parkveien 50, Oslo, 4 April 2000

Your Excellencies,
Distinguished members of the diplomatic corps,
Ladies and gentlemen,

As some of you may know, I plan to deliver my first Statement to the Storting on International Development Policy on 9 May. Still a freshman in my new position – and not nearly as familiar with public office as the gentleman who spoke before me – I am very much in the learning phase. -- The phase where new ministers listen carefully, pretend we fully understand, but take everything the senior officials tell us with a grain of salt!

However, as some of you may also know, I am not entirely new to the field of North-South relations and international development. And I would like to share with you some thoughts on these issues and where this government wants to go policy-wise.

• These days, more than ever, poverty reduction is on everybody’s lips when discussing development issues. Throughout the family of development partners there is a unity of purpose. I will certainly add my voice to the call for poverty reduction as our single most important goal.

• My first day in office I learned the hottest new abbreviations around: PRSP and CDF, short for Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and Comprehensive Development Framework. I think these inter-linked initiatives go to the heart of the matter: In order to effectively combat poverty, the developing countries must themselves be committed to poverty reduction, define their own anti-poverty strategies and invite support for their own plans. And, to deliver aid effectively, the donors must end their turf battles, concentrate on what they do best, and coordinate their efforts and bring these in line with national priorities at the receiving end.

• I will stress the importance of international framework conditions – the linkages between development, trade, debt, investment and finance. Development cooperation is no longer a narrow niche. It is, and must be, an umbrella, covering much, much more than aid alone.

• In this spirit, I will continue to implement the Norwegian Debt Plan and work towards full funding of the HIPC initiative. Once our debtor countries have gone through HIPC treatment, Norway will be granting 100% debt reduction on commercial claims - thus topping up the HIPC with unilateral debt cancellation.

• In the same spirit, I regard our WTO engagement as part of our development policy. A new round must put the interests and special needs of the developing countries at the forefront. The developing countries, especially the least developed ones, must become better integrated into the global economy. Aid doesn’t work without trade!

• I will also help to highlight the issues of governance and corruption. Without good governance at the national level, you can reform the international framework as much as you like, trade as much as you like, forgive as much debt as you like – but it won’t help the poor!

• Coming as I do from the private sector, I would like to bring something new to the table as regards public-private partnerships , or triple p. I would like to see new ways and means to mobilize and cooperate with the private sector in our development cooperation.

• Corporate Social Responsibility is on the agenda everywhere in the international community. Let us use this momentum for constructive cooperation. One thing is certain: Development without private sector development is meaningless. Sustained economic growth without a thriving private sector is impossible.

• Last Friday, I signed the documents marking Norway’s official participation in the World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund – the very essence of a triple p scheme. The link between environment and development is a matter close to my heart. I worked a lot on these issues in my former job as a researcher, and will continue to do so.

• Health issues will be prominent on my agenda. You have probably noticed the government’s strong support for global vaccination. This is an important initiative that fits well with our focus on strengthening primary health care for the poor.

• I will also do my best to further integrate the struggle against HIV/AIDS into our development efforts. Hardly any country has truly delivered on its rhetoric when it comes to combating this devastating pandemic. Here, too, the private sector should get much more involved. Now that companies operating in Africa often hire three local employees in the hope that one of them will survive, involvement is truly in their own interests.

• Finally, the Government will continue its active involvement in the reform and strengthening of the UN system. The globalized, round-the-clock market economy must be combined with, and sometimes tempered by, a strong international public sector - a voice speaking out on behalf of the poor and the marginalized, and for the victims of war, civil strife, natural disasters and famine. Here there is no alternative to the United Nations.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I hope we have given you some food for thought to justify your spending time with us this afternoon. I look forward to working with you all.