(period
June 2002- June 2003)
Making concrete efforts towards achieving the target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national product as official development assistance to developing
countries and to commit a
significant share of such assistance to African countries;
The German government has
committed to achieving the target of 0.33% of GNP as ODA by the year 2006. This
target is taken as an intermediate step towards the goal of reaching 0.7% of
GNP as ODA in the future. Although the German government has not officially
earmarked any specific share of additional ODA as being directed to Africa, it
does intend to channel a significant proportion to the promotion of NEPAD and
Africa in general. Currently more than 1/3 of German ODA is directed to Africa.
Finding a durable solution to the problem of external indebtedness of
the heavily indebted poor countries In Africa;
On the basis of the decisions
taken during the G8‑Summit in Cologne (1999), Germany will provide US$ 6
billion in debt relief to the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC), out of
which approximately half are directed to HIPCs in Africa. To date, debt relief
has been implemented amounting to roughly US$ 2 billion (roughly US$ 1 billion
to African countries); the remaining share will be granted in the course of
further implementation of the HIPC‑initiative
Recognizing the essential role of trade as an engine for economic
development In Africa, and in this regard calls for Improved market access for
African exports within the framework of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, to
assist African countries in improving their capacity, Including by the removal
of the supply‑side constraints and the promotion of diversification,
which Is critical to enabling them to take full advantage of such
opportunities, taking Into account the need to provide market access for
developing countries;
Germany aims at making the next
world trade round a "trade round for development". The most important
aspects in this respect concern the preferential treatment of developing
countries, market access, the reduction of subsidies ‑ especially export
subsidies ‑ and trade related technical assistance. In the context of the
G8‑Africa‑Action‑ Plan, Germany strives for rapid and
tangible results in WTO and EU‑ACP negotiations.
Working towards the objective of duty‑free and quota‑free
access for a// exports of the least developed countries, as envisaged In the
Programme of Action for the
Least Developed Countries for the decade 2001‑2010
Germany is especially engaged in
the following areas of special importance to African countries:
§
Reduction of industrial tariffs
§
Market opening for agricultural products
§
Facilitation of developing country exports outside of the
VVTO round (EBA, EPA, etc.)
§
Trade related technical assistance (support of poverty‑oriented
negotiation positions, support of poverty‑oriented trade‑ and
investment strategies)
Encouraging and facilitating investment by their
private sectors in Africa, to help African countries
to attract Investments and promote policies conducive to attracting Investment, to encourage and
facilitate the transfer of technology
needed to African countries on favorable terms, Including on concessional and preferential
terms;
The German government promotes the
investment of its private sector in Africa via the enhancement of general
economic, corporate and political conditions in African countries. Although the
responsibility for creating stability and an attractive environment for
investment lies with African countries themselves, Germany wants to enhance the
investment of its firms in Africa by engaging in bilateral agreements that
reduce the investment risk for private investors (investitionsforder‑ und
‑schutzvertrage).
Furthermore, the German government
supports public private partnerships in Africa, micro financing and the
improvement of regional financial markets.
Channeling financial, technical and other types of resources towards the
priorities of the New Partnership, In particular, Infrastructural development,
health services, education, water and agriculture, In accordance with the
priorities determh7ed by each African country and to explore ways of generating
new public and private Innovative resources of finance for development purposes, provided that those sources do not
unduly burden developing countries,
particularly In Africa;
Germany has earmarked a
substantial amount of financial and technical resources towards the priorities
of NEPAD. The financing of infrastructural development is not a priority of
German support for NEPAD, as we believe that this area belongs to the field of
expertise of the major international financial institutions, namely the African
Development Bank and the World Bank. Nonetheless, Germany intends to make use
of its membership in these institutions and thereby promote the financing of
(regional) infrastructural development projects through them. Germany is
actively engaged in the provision of all other sectoral priorities of NEPAD.
Support for NEPAD Priorities
The German
government has provided support for the following areas:
Governance ‑ Political,
Economic & Corporate
Peace & Security
Infrastructure, (Energy, Water
& Sanitation, ICTs)
Agriculture & Market Access
Human Resources Development
(Health, Education)
Environment
Resource
Flows
The main
areas of German support are the promotion of peace and security, the promotion
of good governance and the fight against corruption and the protection of human
rights in Africa.
Approximate financial assistance to African countries
since 2001
Since 2001 the German Government
has extended approximately 1,5 billion pounds to African countries in financial
and technical assistance.
Technical or financial assistance to the AU, ECA, ADB
or the NEPAD secretariat to develop NEPAD projects or programmes
AU: Germany will provide 2 million
pounds to build the "Peace and Security Directorate" of the African
Union. Moreover, the German government has provided roughly 1,1 million pounds
to the AU's 2Conflict Management Center"
ECA: In the year 2002 Germany has provided 1,5 million pounds
worth in technical assistance to ECA.
NEPAD Secretariat: provision of roughly 2,5 million pounds in technical assistance to support the establishment of the necessary structures to conduct the African Peer Review Mechanism.
Germany has welcomed and supported
NEPAD right from the start of the
initiative roughly two years
ago, We highly value the strong commitment African leaders have undertaken to
eradicate poverty and to place the continent on a path of sustainable
development.
Several conferences and workshops
have been held in Germany in support of NEPAD in the past few months. At
present, our African Personal Representative is assiduously working on the
preparation of our summit in Evian, where we expect Africa in general and NEPAD
in particular to play an important role.
Furthermore, we consider the
African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to be one of the core elements of NEPAD.
We welcome the fact that by now, 12 countries have legally committed themselves
to the APRM and hope that more countries will join the process soon.
It is of utmost importance that
the APRM be implemented soon and that it allows African countries to learn from
each other’s experiences and to foster good political, economic and corporate
governance throughout the continent.
Despite a few setbacks, NEPAD has
been developing in the right direction. Now it will be crucial to increase the
pace of this initiative and implement the activities set out in the NEPAD
document as well as in action plans developed by the industrialized countries.