King Mohammed calls international community to double public assistance to development
Regional, Economics, 3/22/2002

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has called the international community to mobilize energies to double the volume of public assistance to development and consequently half the poverty rate by year 2015.

"Public Assistance to Development is of paramount importance to create suitable conditions and promote national capacities to a sustained development. Morocco, consequently, calls the international community to mobilize its energies in order to double, the soonest possible, the volume of public assistance to development in a bid to contribute to the fulfillment of the goals of the Millennium Summit, including mainly the goal to half the poverty rate by year 2015," said king Mohammed VI in a message to the UN Conference on development financing currently in Monterrey, Mexico.

In the message that was read out Thursday by Moroccan Premier Abderrahmane Youssoufi, the sovereign said, that although the increase of public assistance to development is a much-needed condition to a lasting integration of developing countries into world economy, it is not enough to fulfil the expected goal.

The sovereign stressed the need "to seek lasting and active solutions to developing countries' foreign indebtedness, whose reimbursement exceeds by far the totality of some countries' revenues," and to make efforts so that international trade liberalization, as governed and ruled by the World Trade Organization and materialized in various regional spaces, be fair and non-discriminating. Liberalization, he insisted, should "fully benefit developing countries and enable them to generate substantial resources for their economic and social development." King Mohammed VI also called for incentive measures to foreign direct investment to fill in the widening development gaps in the world and for innovative measures able to mobilize financial resources in favor of the developing world.

Touching on the situation in Africa, King Mohammed VI who recalled Morocco's efforts to promote regional integration in the continent, pointed out that Africa is facing "very numerous difficulties that deserve a special, priority attention." "Thirty three African countries are today among the least advanced nations in the world and our continent continues to suffer from the persistence of various conflicts, the exacerbation of tensions and the growing vulnerability of its populations to various social ailments, pandemics and human tragedies," the sovereign said, adding that African states have taken, at different levels, audacious measures to establish good governance, consolidate the rule of law and liberalize their economies and that the continent has been endowed with a coherent and concrete platform to boost its development, part of a New Partnership for the Development of Africa (NPDA).

Calling on the international community to extend a firm backing to this African strategy, King Mohammed VI renewed Morocco's proposal to see the United Nations Organization create a high level permanent mechanism that will be in charge of implementing decisions of the international community in favor of Africa.

The message said "We are not gathered here to ponder on the causes and outward signs of under-development that weighs on so many peoples. Our intention is not either to look into the frightening gaps and unbalances that led our world to a situation where islets of richness and prosperity are surrounded with large oceans of misery, illiteracy, ravaging epidemics and blatant shortages in various fields of human development."

Previous Stories:
  Exporting natural gas to Jordan, first stage of a pan-Arab venture   (3/19/2002)
  World telecom development conference in Istanbul   (3/18/2002)
  Arabs prepare for first economic congress   (3/16/2002)
  World Bank President Calls for a Doubling of Foreign Aid   (3/6/2002)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search