DEVELOPMENT: World Bank Lauds U.S., EU Moves To Raise Foreign Aid
close window
World Bank President James Wolfensohn yesterday welcomed U.S. and European Union announcements indicating that they plan to increase their developing world foreign aid. The announcements come days before the Monday start of the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico (World Bank release, March 14).
U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday unveiled a three-year, $5 billion global development assistance program to provide aid for developing world countries that respect human rights, fight corruption, educate their populations and open markets. Bush said in an Inter-American Development Bank address, "Along with significant new resources to fight world poverty, we will insist on the reforms necessary to make this a fight we can win." The $5 billion, subject to congressional approval, is outside of existing aid requests, he said (Sonya Ross, Associated Press/Nando Times, March 14).
Bush said the funds would be available only to countries willing to "walk the hard road" in pursuing reforms that better their trade, corruption and human rights policies. "When nations refuse to enact sound policies, progress against poverty is nearly impossible," Bush said. The World Bank estimates that if those conditions are applied, 28 developing countries with about 500 million of the world's poorest people will be excluded from the list of recipient countries (Bob Deans, Cox News Service/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 15).
The EU also said yesterday its 15 members will increase foreign aid contributions by at least $4 billion a year by 2006, averaging 0.39 percent of gross national product. European Commission President Romano Prodi said the decision "shows that Europe is not complacent about being the world's No. 1 aid donor" (Castle/Nash, London Independent, March 15).
"We applaud the president for his statement on the importance of increasing development assistance," Wolfensohn said in a statement yesterday, referring to Bush. "We look forward to working closely with the administration in pursuing our joint goal of fighting poverty and building long-term peace. We also very much welcome the EU's decision to boost the average annual aid spending of their member states to 0.39 percent of GDP by 2006. These are both important steps in the fight against poverty" (World Bank release).
From UN Wire independent News breifing about the U.N
unfoundation.org |
