The Hindu : National : Pranab urges global partners to meet ODA commitments

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Pranab urges global partners to meet ODA commitments

Special Correspondent

Opens Afro-Asian Rural Development Organisation meet

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday called upon global partners to meet their commitments on investment and transfer of technology to Asia and Africa to cope with the magnitude of the global financial and economic crisis.

Speaking on behalf of the Afro-Asian countries after inaugurating the 16th general session of the Afro-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO) conference, Mr. Mukherjee said it was imperative that at this critical juncture global partners ensured their commitments on Official Development Assistance.

He hoped capacity building would not be diluted but scaled up in view of the ebbing private flows.

Mr. Mukherjee said direct State interventions were a necessity and simply relying on market forces or the trickle down theory would not work to tackle the situation in Asia and Africa, the two regions with the highest incidence of poverty.

He said developing countries were not the cause of the global crisis but unfortunately may become its worst victims.

Millennium Development Goals

The Minister was also worried that it could negatively impact the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. At the halfway mark this would mean many developing countries not being able to achieve them.

He prescribed enhanced investment in infrastructure, including rural infrastructure by the multilateral financial institutions, for strong countercyclical impact.

Other areas emphasised were agriculture, employment, infrastructure development such as roads, transport, electrification, telecommunications, water and sanitation particularly in rural areas.

On his part, Mr. Mukherjee said India was committed to South-South cooperation and called for a greater unity among Afro-Asian countries. He offered to share India’s knowledge and experience in agriculture and various facets of rural development with member countries of AARDO and strengthen Afro-Asian solidarity.

Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said greater thrust on rural development in the member countries would pump-prime their economies and provide the much-needed fiscal stimulus.

Dr. Singh announced the contribution of an additional Rs. 1 crore every year for the next three years to support technical cooperation through training in institutions of excellence in India.

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