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>From Arabic News . CoM
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US President: immediate and effective debt cancellation needed to low income
countries
Regional, Economics, 9/30/99
Here is US President Bill Clinton's speech to the 1999 annual meeting of the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
US President Bill Clinton's: "Let me say, all of you know that a year ago we
were here in a time of crisis, perhaps the most severe financial crisis in the
global economy since the end of the Second World War -- a grave challenge to
the IMF and the World Bank. Thanks to the hard work that you and your countries
have done, economies that were sliding down are rising again.
We have also worked hard, as Secretary Summers said, in the wake of these
crises to prevent future ones, to respond more quickly and effectively, to
lessen the toll they take on ordinary citizens. We have intensified our efforts
to construct a global financial architecture that is stable and strong in the
new conditions of the new economy.
Still, those who were hit by this crisis were hit very hard. And many are still
reeling. People lost jobs and businesses and dreams. So this can only be
considered a continuing challenge for us, certainly not a time for complacency.
We have more to do to restore people's faith in the future and to restore their
faith, frankly, in the global economy and in global markets. Therefore, we have
more to do to reform the global financial foundation upon which the future will
be built.
As we approach the 21st century we must also ask ourselves, however: is it
enough just to fix the market that is? Should we accept the fact that, at a
time when the people in the United States are enjoying perhaps the strongest
economy in their history, 1.3 billion of our fellow human beings survive on
less than a dollar a day? Should we accept the fact that nearly 40 million
people -- after the Green revolution, when most of us discuss agriculture and
food as a cause for international trade conflicts because we want to fight over
who sells the most food, since there are so many places that can produce more
than their own people need -- are we supposed to accept the fact that nearly 40
million people a year die of hunger? That's nearly equal to the number of all
the people killed in World War II.
Are we supposed to accept the fact that even though technology has changed the
equation of the role of energy in the production of wealth; even though
technology has changed the distances in time and space necessary for learning,
and for business, as well as educational, interchanges -- are we supposed to
face the fact that some people and nations are doomed to be left behind
forever?
I hope we will not accept that. I hope we will start the new millennium with a
new resolve: to give every person in the world -- through trade and technology,
through investments in education and health care -- the chance to be part of a
widely shared prosperity, in which all the peoples' potential can be developed
more fully. This is the challenge of the second half-century of the life of the
IMF and the World Bank. And for me it is a personal priority of the highest
order.
Open trade already has improved the prospects of hundreds of millions by
marketing the fruits of their labors and creativity beyond their borders. In
this way, both the IMF and the World Bank have played a vital role in helping
more nations to thrive. We need you to work with the WTO to build a rules-based
framework for global trade. We need you to help developing countries provide
education and training to lift wages, and to establish social safety nets for
tough transitions.
I applaud the strong commitment you've made at these meetings for concrete
manifestations of support. We all must work to keep the economies we have
influence over open, and trade growing, for developing and industrial powers
alike.
In two months, I want to launch a new type of trade round in Seattle, at the
WTO ministerial. I want this round to be about jobs and development. I want it
to raise working conditions for all. I want it to advance our sha
red goal of sustainable development. By breaking down barriers to trade, leveling the
playing field, we will give more workers and farmers in those countries that are
struggling for tomorrow -- and in leading industrial n
ations, as well -- more opportunities to produce for the global marketplace.
In Seattle, I hope we will pledge to keep cyberspace tariff-free, to help developing
countries make better and wider use of technology -- whether biotechnology or the
Internet. I hope we will pledge to open markets in agr
iculture, and industrial products and services, creating new activities for growth and
development.
I hope we will also work to advance the admission of the 38 developing countries
who've applied for WTO membership. And I hope we'll keep working to give the least
developed countries greater access to global markets. Her
e in the United States, I am working hard to persuade our Congress to pass my trade
proposals for Africa and the Caribbean Basin this year.
But the wealth of nations depends on more than trade. It also depends on the health of
nations. Last week at the United Nations I committed the United States to accelerating
the development and delivery of vaccines for AI
DS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases which disproportionately afflict poor
citizens in the developing world.
At the same time, we must help these nations avert the health cost and pollution of
the Industrial Age -- using clean technologies that not only improve the environment,
but grow the economy. Institutions like the World B
ank play a special role here. Your energy strategy is a very good start and I thank
you for it. I urge the Bank to continue setting aggressive targets for lending that
promotes clean energy. It is no longer necessary to h
ave Industrial Age energy use patterns to grow a modern, powerful economy. In fact,
those economies will emerge more quickly with more sustainable development strategies.
Some of you in this room -- a minority still -- are nodding your heads "yes" as I say
this. If you believe it, we must work together to achieve it. These efforts must be
part of a broader approach that ensures the integri
ty and openness of emerging economies. Last Saturday, the G-7 finance ministers
outlined specific safeguards for Russia and called for comprehensive review by the
World Bank and the IMF, to make sure that funds are used a
ppropriately in high-risk environments. The United States will continue to insist on
such accountability.
For many developing countries, however, there is a greater obstacle in the path to
progress. For many of them, excessive and completely unsustainable debt can halt
progress, drag down growth, drain resources that are need
ed to meet the most basic human conditions, like clean water, shelter, health care and
education. Debt and debt relief are normally subjects for economists. But there is
nothing academic about them. Simply put, unsustaina
ble debt is helping to keep too many poor countries and poor people in poverty. That
is clearly why the Pope and so many other world leaders from all walks of life have
asked us all to do more to reduce the debt of the po
orest nations as a gift to the new millennium -- not just to them, but to all the rest
of us, as well.
Personally, I don't believe we can possibly agree to the idea that these nations that
are so terribly poor should always be that way. I don't think we can, in good
conscience, say we support the idea that they should choo
se between making interest payments on their debt and investing in their children's
education.
It is an economic and moral imperative that we use this moment of global consensus to
do better. I will do everything I can to aid this trend. Any country, committed to
reforming its economy, to vaccinating and educating
its children, should be able to make those kinds of commitments and keep them.
In June, at the G-7 summit in Cologne, the world's wealthiest nations made an historic
pledge to help developing nations. The debt relief program we agreed upon is a big
step in the right direction, dedicating faster and
deeper debt relief to countries that dedicate themselves to fundamental reform.
This initiative seeks to tie debt relief to poverty reduction and to make sure that
savings are spent where they should be -- on education, on fighting AIDS and
preventing it, on other critical needs. It will help heavily
indebted poor countries to help themselves and help to build a framework to support
similar and important efforts by the IMF, the World Bank and international financial
institutions.
More than 430 million people could benefit from this effort. In Bolivia, for example,
debt relief could help the government nearly double the people's access to clean water
by 2004. In Uganda, it could allow health and ed
ucation spending to increase by 50 percent between 1998 and 2001. Rural development
expenditures there would more than double. That's why we all must provide our fair
share of financing to global debt relief.
Last week, to make good on America's commitment, I amended my budget request to
Congress and asked for nearly $1 billion over four years for this purpose. We must
keep adequate assistance flowing to the developing countri
es, especially through the International Development Association. I'm encouraged by
the financial commitments made by some of the other donor countries this past week.
And I call on our Congress to respond to the moral and economic urgency of this issue,
and see to it that America does its part. I have asked for the money and shown how it
would be paid for, and I ask the Congress to kee
p our country shouldering its fair share of the responsibility. (Applause.)
Now, let me make one final commitment. Today, I am directing my administration to make
it possible to forgive 100 percent of the debt these countries owe to the United
States -- (applause) -- when -- and this is quite imp
ortant -- when needed to help them finance basic human needs, and when the money will
be used to do so. In this context, we will work closely with other countries to
maximize the benefits of the debt reduction initiative.
We believe the agreements reached this weekend will make it possible for three-
quarters of the highly indebted poorest countries, committed to implementing
poverty and growth strategies, to start receiving benefits sometime next year --
actually receiving the benefits sometime next year.
If we do these things as nations, as international institutions, as a global
community, then we can build a trading system that strengthens our economy and
supports our values. We can build a global economy and a global society that
leaves no one behind, that carries all countries into a new century that we
hope will be marked by greater peace and greater prosperity for all people.
We have before us perhaps as great an opportunity as the people of the world
have ever seen. We will be judged -- by our children and grandchildren -- by
whether we seize that opportunity. I hope, and believe, that we all will do
so."
Copyright © 1999 Arabic News .com . All Rights Reserved. Send comments &
suggestions to the webmaster. ArabicNews.com is a trade mark of
ArabicNews.com
>>>End article<<<
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