SPEECH BY H.E. A SELVERAJAH,
AND THE BENELUX COUNTRIES,
AT THE THIRD UN CONFERENCE ON THE
LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES,
MAY 15, 2001 (PM) - BRUSSELS
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Mr Secretary-General,
The
Singapore delegation would like to join others in expressing our appreciation
to the UNCTAD Secretariat in organising this Third UN Conference on the Least
Developed Countries. It is our hope
that all of us present would use this once in a decade opportunity in a
constructive fashion to examine the plight of the Least Developed Countries and
to come up with practical and realistic measures on the way forward for the
next decade.
Report of the High Level Panel for the
Review of Progress in the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the
LDCs for the 1990s and The Least Developed Countries 2000 Report prepared by
UNCTAD Secretariat
Ladies and Gentlemen,
2 We
would like to express our appreciation for the work of the High Level Review
Panel and the UNCTAD Secretariat in providing a comprehensive assessment on the
state of the LDCs and the challenges that they continue to face in their
developmental efforts.
3 As
highlighted by the Report of the High Level Review Panel and the 2000 UNCTAD
Report on the LDCs, the root causes of underdevelopment are myriad and
complex. Besides the heavy burden of
debt, supply-side constraints, and the lack of human and institutional
infrastructures that are pre-requisites for sustainable economic development,
the LDCs also have to deal with extraneous factors that are by and large
outside their sovereign control. The
most important factor in this regard has been globalisation and its impact on
the political, social and economic dynamics within a country and between countries.
4 The
debate on globalisation is no longer an issue of whether it is good or
bad. It is simply an irreversible
feature of the international landscape.
However, having said that, we believe that there still remains
considerable scope for the international community to explore the ways in which
it can become a positive force for all of us.
In this regard, the draft Programme of Action (POA) for the decade 2001
– 2010 is a useful starting point to focus our discussions.
Draft Programme of Action for the LDCs
for the decade 2001-2010
5 Given
the complexities of development, it is relevant that the framework for the POA
is based on the concept of partnership. This recognises that neither the LDCs
nor their development partners alone can offer suitable responses to the
challenges faced. Both have an
important part to play. There is much
to be gained from leveraging on the collective capabilities of both LDCs and their
developmental partners. This is
something that we have learnt from our own developmental experience. We had benefited from the expertise and
advice of UNDP experts in the formulation of our early economic plans.
6 The
draft POA has identified seven areas[1]
to focus national and international developmental efforts. In particular, we would like to focus our
comments on three of these areas, namely, one, measures to build human
and institutional capacities, two, the building of productive capacities
to make globalization work, and three, ways to enhance the role of trade
in development.
Building human and institutional
capacities
7 As
a country with limited natural resources, Singapore has historically depended
on its people to drive development. We
have kept the firm belief that building human capacities is vital for economic
and social progress. We have therefore
continued to emphasise the necessity of continuous education and the retraining
of our workers to keep their skills relevant in this fast-changing world.
8 In
line with this philosophy, we have made human resource development the
cornerstone of our technical assistance programmes to other developing
countries. The Singapore Cooperation
Programme (SCP) is Singapore’s modest contribution to cooperation between developing
countries. It is an untied programme of
technical assistance aimed at sharing our developmental experience with
developing countries. The focus of the
SCP is on the provision of short-term training courses. The objective of which is to equip the
participants with technical expertise, which will enable them to become
catalysts for development and growth in their countries.
9 It
has been almost a decade since the SCP was operationalized. To date, there have been approximately 5,000
participants from 41 LDCs who have attended training courses or study visits in
Singapore. We are happy to continue to
share our developmental experiences with all the LDCs. In the coming year, Singapore will be
offering training courses in trade policy, foreign investment promotion, urban
environmental management and information technology, to name a few.[2] We firmly believe in the catalytic role that
these training programmes play in developmental efforts.
Building productive capacities to make
globalization work
Ladies and Gentlemen,
10 Bridging
the digital divide continue to be an important area of emphasis in
development. The technology revolution
has been responsible for the creation of the global village. At the same time, it has also exposed and
exacerbated the divide between the global haves and have-nots. But while information technology, just like
globalisation, has presented considerable challenges to the LDCs developmental
efforts, it also represents a potential channel for ensuring that the benefits
of globalization are spread to all.
11
The draft POA has acknowledged the need to bridge this digital divide. However, the focus of its recommendations
has been on the development of the ‘hardware’ aspects of the problem. Just as much as hardware is needed for a
computer to operate, the software must also be available, and it must be
software that is appropriate and compatible.
Similarly, while measures to encourage the transfer of technology and
the development of local technological capabilities are necessary, these
measures must be complemented by the building up of an IT-savvy
population. This is an area that should
be further explored. On our part, we
recognize the need to build up relevant IT skills. As such, one focus of the SCP is on the provision of training
courses in computer and IT fundamentals, IT management and E-commerce
strategies.
Enhancing the role of trade in
development
12 Singapore
started off as an entrepot-trading hub. Till today, trade remains an important
feature in Singapore’s economic development.
As such, we have always been strong promoters of an environment that is
conducive to trade. We recognise that
the participation of many LDCs in international trade is hampered by a number
of factors, including demand and supply-side constraints, as well as market
access conditions.
13 As
Singapore maintains an almost duty-free regime, the exports of LDCs have easy
access to the Singapore market. We are
prepared to undertake further measures to improve market access conditions for
LDC exports to Singapore. In addition
to the 107 products that Singapore had extended duty-free treatment to in 1997,
5 more products will be added.
Singapore is committed to maintain zero tariffs on 112 leading products
of export interest to the LDCs, as compiled by the WTO Secretariat.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
14 The
3rd UN Conference on the LDCs is an opportune event. A decade has
passed since the last LDC Conference was held and the global economic environment
has seen much change since then as a result of globalisation. We would like to
reiterate our hope that, armed with a greater understanding and awareness about
the developments in the last decade, discussions at this Conference will
produce concrete and substantive measures that would meet the needs of both the
LDCs and the developmental partners.
Thank you.
.
. . . .
[1] The seven areas are: (I) Fostering a people-centred policy framework; (ii) Promoting transparent and accountable governance; (iii) Building human and institutional capacities; (iv) Building productive capacities to make globalization work for LDCs; (v) Enhancing the role of trade in development; (vi) Reducing vulnerability and Protecting the environment; and (vii) Mobilizing financial resources.
[2] Our offer covers all local costs.