Aid partnership: Park Dae-won, center, chairman of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), poses with Christoph Beier, third from right, head of German aid agency GIZ, Thursday, holding a partnership accord signed between the two agencies. / Courtesy of KOICA |
By Park Si-soo
 BUSAN ㅡ Policymakers from some 160 countries agreed to establish a new form of partnership to ensure tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid are spent more efficiently, a joint statement said Thursday.
The statement concluded the three-day 4th High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in this southeastern port city where major donors, including the U.S., Japan and European countries, tried to force fast-developing economies, including China, to share their financial burden in aid.
The move came at a sensitive time as major aid givers are trying to scale down their funding to poor countries amid widespread economic recession.
Delegates in the meeting adopted a declaration that will “establish a new, inclusive and representative global partnership” to seek better ways to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in annual development aid.
“We will establish a new, inclusive and representative Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation to support and ensure accountability for the implementation of commitments at the political level,” the 12-page statement said. “The new aid partnership will offer an open platform that embraces diversity, providing a forum for the exchange of knowledge and the regular review of progress.”
The new aid partnership “will offer an open platform that embraces diversity, providing a forum for the exchange of knowledge and the regular review of progress,” it said.
But the declaration failed to draw binding commitments from all actors involved.
“The principles, commitments and actions agreed to in the outcome document in Busan shall be the reference for South-South partners on a voluntary basis,” it said, referring to an aid partnership between emerging nations such as China and Brazil and developing countries.
How to encourage China to join the club of major donors was one of the key issues at the forum. Amid increasing pressure, Beijing was apparently reluctant to do so.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, whose intergovernmental policy institute assesses and monitors aid quality, said at the end of the conference. “The document here is really a roadmap. It is not the end of the process, but it is the beginning of the process.”
Gurria acknowledged that the current economic woes will have a negative impact on aid flow. Asked whether the global economic crisis could put a strain on aid, Gurria replied, “Yes, but we should not let that happen.”
Private aid groups also expressed regret that the deal was not binding.
The agreement “will only live up to its historic potential if nations follow through on their promises,” said BetterAid, a coalition of private aid organization.
Gregory Adams of international aid agency Oxfam said, “There's too much unfinished business here.” Adams accused donors of putting off important decisions about how to improve aid, saying, “One billion poor people are waiting for more than words, they want measurable action.”
BetterAid, a coalition of more than 1,000 aid groups, also said, “The deal struck at the world's biggest-ever development cooperation meeting will only live up to its historic potential if nations follow through on their promises.” In a statement, it expressed “regret that the agreement apparently does not include binding commitments or specific actions."
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said in a closing ceremony, “There will be those who question why we even have to help others when the economy is in such bad shape. However, we need to cast the ‘light of humanism’ higher especially in times of hardships.”
The Busan conference brought together more than 3,000 delegates, including President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
It was the largest meeting since the event was launched in Paris in 2005 to gauge political commitments by both donors and recipients to improve the quality of aid.
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"北 GPS공격 중단시점, 中이 알게된 때와 같아"
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