DRAFT STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY
DR.LEONARDO SANTOS SIMAO, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND COOPERATION OF THE
REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE
AT THE THIRD U. N. CONFERENCE ON
THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Brussels, Belgium, 14 - 20 MAY 2001 (Check
against delivery)
Mr. Chairman,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow
me, at the outset, to congratulate you upon your election to preside over this
important Conference. We all know how important the subjects in discussion are
for the development of our countries and I am sure that under your outstanding
leadership our deliberations in this meeting will bear tangible results.
I would
also like to take this opportunity to commend the Secretary General of the
Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries and his team,
for the successful preparation of this event, which will enable us to have a
constructive dialogue aimed at promoting a sustainable economic and social
development of the LDC's.
Let me
also commend the European Union, particularly the Government of Belgium for
hosting this meeting as well as for the hospitality accorded to us since our
arrival in Brussels and for the excellent organisation of the Conference.
Mr. Chairman
In 1990
we met in Paris to collectively attempt to address specific problems of the
poorest countries in the world. This meeting produced the Paris Plan of Action
that laid the foundations for concerted actions by the international community
aimed at supporting those countries' development efforts.
The
1996 meeting to review the five-year implementation of the Paris Plan of Action
recognised that the LDC's have not been able to embark on a steady pattern of
social and economic development and were still grappling with increasing
poverty, underdevelopment and social unrest. To reverse this situation, the
international community adopted relevant recommendations. Unfortunately, both
the Paris Plan of Action and -the outcome of the review conference have not
been fully implemented, thus not yielding the -desired results.
The
last decade has been characterised by the deepening of poverty, marginalisation
and exclusion of the LDC's from the world economy, dominated by globalisation,
liberalisation and fast-growing science and technology. We are concerned that
despite the political and economic reforms, LDC's have not been able to meet
the targets set forth in the Paris Programme of Action. This situation needs to
be urgently addressed and we believe that the debate we are engaged in should
allow us to take stock of the progress made and seek concrete, effective and
appropriate guidelines for the way forward.
Mr. Chairman
Poverty
eradication and promotion of the culture of peace are some of the most pressing
challenges faced by our countries today. Poverty is the root cause of social
instability, frustration, tensions and conflicts. It is also a serious
impediment to development of LDC's thus endangering international peace,
security and stability.
Therefore,
this conference should come up with concrete measures to advance the cause of
poverty eradication and bring about sustainable development for the LDC's, bearing
in mind that without a strong and steady economic development, there will be no
political stability.
LDC's
efforts to tackle poverty are seriously undermined by lack of necessary
resources, thus calling for decisive support of the international community to
achieve their development goals. The effectiveness of this Conference will
depend on the ability to mobilise the much-needed resources for the
implementation of the Programme of Action under negotiation, as well as the
creation of an enabling environment at the international level.
This
can only be achieved by collectively harnessing the globalisation process to
ensure that LDC's benefit from the global economy, increasing ODA and FDI, free
access of all LDC's products to developed countries markets and total
cancellation of the external debt. We believe that the generated resources can
be instrumental in fighting poverty, through public investment in
infrastructure, relevant to the promotion of economic activities and provision
of basic social services.
In this
context, the role of the international community and the financial institutions
in particular must be a constructive one and supportive of the efforts by the
Governments that are striving to build an economic foundation for lasting
political and social stability.
We are
of the view that in order to make any significant progress in advancing LDC's
development agenda, it is pertinent to put in place the necessary structural
and institutional capabilities to address a number of specific issues that pose
obstacles to business activity and jeopardise economic growth in the LDC's.
Mr. Chairman
Mozambique
is successfully carrying out political and economic reforms aimed at creating
and strengthening national, human and institutional capacities to promote
governance. Our Government policies are directed towards improving public
sector institutional performance, legal and judicial system reforms, and
consolidation of democratic institutions. These reforms are vital for the
establishment of a policy framework adequate to effective reduction of absolute
poverty, acceleration of economic growth and social development.
In
order to improve the quality of life of our people a creative and innovative
partnership with the private sector and civil society is indispensable. We have
established a system of permanent consultations on various issues of our
development agenda. This process has proven very effective and it is being
strengthened.
Moreover
we consider the rule of law as being an important element that requires
stronger democratic institutions with capacity to promote transparency,
accountability and fight against corruption.
Mr. Chairman
Our
Government is honoured to present to this august gathering its National
Programme of Action for LDC-III. In this document we present our strategic
vision of Mozambique's socio-economic development for the next ten years, based
on increased economic growth, poverty reduction, social equity and economic
efficiency.
The
National Programme of Action for LDC-111 has benefited extensively from the Plan
of Action for Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA), a strategy for poverty
eradication recently adopted by our Government, aimed at reducing absolute
poverty to 60% by 2004.
To
attain these goals, our focus will be on increased funding in education, health
and rural development, attraction of investment, promotion of private
initiative, reduction of regional imbalances and consolidation of peace,
national unity, justice and democracy.
Mr. Chairman
We
should strive for promotion of dialogue and the culture of peace as part of our
efforts to prevent conflicts. In doing so we need to address the primary causes
of conflicts and create a conducive environment for durable peace, social
stability and sustainable development.
Collective
efforts must be directed towards the strengthening of an effective approach to
eradicate the illicit trade on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which are the main
means of violence as well as political, economic and social instability. In
this context, there must be strong support to the 2001 United Nations
Conference on Illicit Trade on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, it is our hope that at the end of this conference we will be able to come out with a renewed action-oriented strategies that will guide us in our daunting task of developing our countries over the next ten years.
For the
desired success, we need to devise an effective implementation framework in
which LDC's and their development partners will express genuine commitment and
political will to translate the Programme of Action into deeds. The time has
now come to rise above mere rhetoric into concrete actions with a clear impact
on our countries. We stand ready to offer our modest contribution for the
attainment of this goal.
Thank
you.