Mr. Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Secretary-General for the International Conference on Small Island Developing States
Closing remarks A renewed global partnership for development for a post-2015 era
7 June 2013, Addis Ababa
State Minister, Ahmed Shide
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me express my gratitude to the Government of Ethiopia – for its hospitality and for hosting such an inspiring meeting.
In this regard, I would also like to extend special thanks to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Sufian Ahmed and State Minister Ahmed Shide and their dedicated colleagues, for the excellent cooperation in organizing this important dialogue under the auspices of the Development Cooperation Forum.
I would also like to thank the Economic Commission for Africa for providing the support for our discussions during these three days.
And, I would also like to thank the Governments of the United Kingdom and New Zealand as well, for generously supporting the meeting arrangements.
My appreciation also goes to all of you, the participants, moderators and panelists.
You are a diverse group. Yet, you have come together, in a candid and constructive exchange, on how to forge a new global partnership for development.
This effort is critical to keeping the promises made under the MDGs.
And it is critical to creating the shared vision and plan of action needed to realize a post-2015 development agenda, focused on poverty eradication and sustainable development for all.
We move now from this Addis moment, to the formidable task still ahead.
Let me summarize some key areas of shared understanding that have emerged from our deliberations during this symposium.
There is consensus that we must build on the history of MDG-8 and the global partnership for development, as set out in the Millennium Declaration and at Monterrey and Johannesburg.
The renewed global partnership should continue to concentrate on ending poverty and achieving the goals agreed at the Millennium Summit. It must take into account all existing international commitments on development finance.
Yet, it must also effectively promote sustainable development and efforts to address both existing and new development challenges.
We share a conviction, a vision, from the vantage of lessons learned, on what it will take to make such a global partnership real. It must be owned, and led, from the outset, by the range of stakeholders, with a clear focus on what will enable it to work in practice.
We have a shared sense that the changing nature of development challenges and the ever more integrated development landscape overcomes the North-South dichotomy of providers and recipients. So must the renewal of the global partnership.
It must build on ODA, as a vital source of development financing, particularly for the most vulnerable countries. The commitment of realizing 0.7 per cent of GNI as ODA must be fulfilled.
The partnership must intensify action on policy coherence for development, to include the range of sources for development financing and address the ‘big picture’ issues that underpin sustainable development for all.
It must effectively support sharing of not only resources, but also knowledge and capabilities.
As partners with a shared purpose, yet different strengths, we must respect each other more and focus on our common agenda. We see a genuine legitimacy for all actors to engage, on equal footing, in the design of the renewed global partnership, as well as its implementation and monitoring.
Still other fundamental principles in international cooperation should guide our policy making. These range from solidarity and non-interference, to common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities, and the right to development and greater distributive justice.
We can also think of principles of effective development cooperation. The quality of available resources must move to the centre of attention when defining the renewed global partnership for development. They must become more stable and predictable, free from conditionality and untied. The principles of effective development cooperation, in fact, must be further codified at the international level.
I am encouraged by the interaction of the Busan Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation with the Development Cooperation Forum to move towards a shared vision on effective development cooperation. This will present a key pillar to support the implementation of a post-2015 development agenda.
Evidence on results has transformative effects. This is another key message. Statistical and other capacity in developing countries must be strengthened to support especially the national monitoring of progress and accountability for development commitments. Citizens must be empowered and multiple accountability relationships established.
Finally, in furthering the global partnership for development, we have to promote partnerships at all levels that are complementary to each other and not duplicative. We should thus further discuss how to create a vibrant hub of knowledge and information, where actors can be brought together, in a flexible and subject-specific manner, to strengthen development partnerships.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I see the DCF as a platform to make progress on all these avenues. Its ability to bring all of us together will be even more important in the future, which will put a premium on a diversity of approaches and experiences in development to address challenges together and proactively.
Southern development partners share a common interest in engaging in the shaping of a renewed global partnership for development. They want to see more broad-based application of their principles and practices that have withstood the test of time. They are keenly pursuing effective cooperation amongst themselves and with others. A shared space is needed to address this emerging demand. Concrete headways have been made towards that direction. This afternoon, for example, the Directors-General of many Southern partners will be meeting to discuss how to create a shared framework for their cooperation, building on the important dialogue that took place in New Delhi in April. The DCF is pleased to be able to facilitate such an important exchange among the Southern partners.
Foundations, as innovators and risk takers, with great flexibility and outcome-orientation, are complementing and scaling-up development efforts. This is a welcome development.
The further engagement of the private sector will depend on governments’ ability to provide incentives for them to engage in partnerships and voluntarily report on efforts to promote sustainable development. The issue of corporate social responsibility will also undoubtedly be part of the overall discussion on how to renew the global partnership for development.
Another issue that has been repeatedly mentioned in our deliberations these two days is the need to make sure that the roles and responsibilities of actors are well defined in the renewed global partnership for development. Without clarity in this area, it will be difficult to hold actors to account for the delivery of commitments.
Our discussions give me further confidence that the international community can arrive at a global partnership as transformative as the development agenda it is meant to support. We can construct a genuine partnership that will support action by all and with effective and efficient monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
The Development Cooperation Forum will continue to serve as a hub for such frank exchange among all of you.
The 2014 DCF will be a milestone in preparing for a post-2015 development agenda.
I hope to see many of you again in the next symposiums in Switzerland and Germany and of course at the 2014 DCF itself.
It is also highly encouraging that the Government of the Republic of Korea has offered to host the first high-level symposium in the next DCF cycle. This symposium will take place in the first quarter of 2015.
Dear colleagues,
I would like to thank each and every member of the Ethiopia team for their hard word in organizing this meeting. They were always there to help us. And I would like to extend thanks to the interpreters as well.
I wish you a safe journey home and look forward to our next dialogue.
Thank you.
