| |
G8 to double aid to Africa by
2010
Tokyo—The Group of Eight rich nations vowed Sunday to step up
cooperation with emerging donors such as China and India and said
they remained committed to a goal to double their own aid to Africa
by 2010.
Underscoring the growing role of fast-growing developing economies
in global aid efforts, Brazil, China, and India and other emerging
donors were invited to talks here that aim to lay the groundwork for
the G8 summit in July.
The G8 agreed on the need for “concrete cooperation with emerging
donors,” Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told a news
conference wrapping up the two days of talks here.
G8 nations hope to see more transparency in aid policies by new
donors along with efforts to encourage good governance,
sustainability of aid and consideration for democratisation,
officials said ahead of the talks.
China has made major diplomatic and economic inroads in mostly
resource-rich nations in Africa and Latin America by giving aid
without imposing any conditions.
This strategy contrasts with that of the United States, the European
Union and Japan, which usually use aid as leverage to improve human
rights and implement other reforms in recipient nations.
“This new aid is at the same time a hope and a difficulty,” said
Alain Joyandet, France’s junior cooperation minister.
He said it was a good thing that new donors who had received aid in
the past now wanted to help other countries, but at the same time
new donors should respect international guidelines on awarding aid.
The goal of the talks with emerging donors “is to have a common
understanding about the question of standards for investment and
regulations,” said German development minister Heidemarie
Wieczorek-Zeul.
“The goal always has to remain that everybody is devoted to the
millennium goals,” she said, referring to a 2000 UN agreement on
poverty reduction.
The Millennium Development Goals aim to achieve targets including
halving extreme poverty and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS in
impoverished areas by 2015.
A report published last week by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development showed that aid to developing countries
fell last year and most donors are falling behind on their pledges
to boost assistance.
The G8 — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and
the United States — expressed concern at the decline and vowed to
strive to fulfil their pledge made in 2005 to double aid for Africa
by 2010.
“Each G8 country is determined to strengthen development aid,” said
Komura.
In order to improve the situation in the fields of poverty, health
care, education and water in impoverished countries, “the G8 needs
to continue strengthening development aid both in quality and
quantity,” he said.
The meeting also discussed the impact on developing countries of
surging food prices and the growing threat of climate change,
ministers said. “The increase in consumer prices, particularly in
Africa, is a concern for us,” said France’s Joyandet. “We hope that
this issue will be taken up at the G8 summit” on the northern
Japanese island of Hokkaido in July, he said.
Humanitarian activists said that rich nations should deliver more
financial aid to help poorer nations fight the effects of rising
greenhouse gases.
The aid money which has been pledged is to be used for “education
and health care systems,” said Takumo Yamada of British-based
charity Oxfam. “Paying for the damage from climate change is the
responsibility of rich nations.” The G8 ministers stressed the
importance of economic growth and the private sector as the drivers
of growth in Africa.
Shinichi Takeuchi, an African specialist at Japan’s Institute of
Developing Economies, said: “Investment in Africa needs to be
accompanied by good governments, which are not corrupt and that can
address rich-poor gaps in their countries.”—AP
|
