The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

ADDRESS BY H.E. Mr. MOHAMED MOUSSA CHEHEM AMBASSADOR OF DJIBOUTI CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE OF AMBASSADORS

 Brussels, 12 November 2008
           

4th meeting of the ACP Ministers of Finance and Economic Affairs Brussels, 12 and 13 November 2008

Honourable Ministers,
Representatives of Regional Organisations,
Representatives of International Institutions,
Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors and myself, welcome to ACP House and this 4th meeting of the ACP Ministers of Finance and Economic Affairs.

Honourable Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Demographic developments and the expected increase in the world population over the coming years pose considerable challenges in terms of poverty, natural and financial resources.

The situation will surely become worse with the current food, financial and energy crises, further exposing our economies to turbulent times that will be difficult to control.

The current trend of reduced development aid efforts means that we must adopt improved and more effective methods for managing development in general, but more particularly in the framework of the implementation of the 10th EDF.

Of course, the responsibility for designing and implementing development policies fall primarily within the purview of the ACP States.

However, it is also important that the ACP countries continue to set up pro-active development strategies within the framework of our partnership with the European Union.

In that respect, the Cotonou Agreement is an important instrument that provides for formal dialogue on all issues of common interest and which concern the most diverse elements of our societies. 

The primary objective of the Cotonou Agreement, namely the fight against poverty, can only be attained if we promote our common vision in the framework of intra-ACP political dialogue first of all, then with our partners, as a united Group.

In-depth political dialogue based on transparent and responsible management of all resources can only enhance development aid effectiveness, for the outcome of such dialogue will be firm and credible commitments to the benefit of the well-being of our populations.

Honourable Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In light of the recent entry into force of the revised Cotonou Agreement, and the upcoming Doha Conference to be held from 29 November to 2 December 2008 to review the Monterrey Consensus, it is imperative that your 4th meeting address certain important issues, such as:

1. new opportunities and challenges in the area of development financing;
2. the financial crisis and its impact on financing for development; and
3. financing the MDGs and the impact of climate change on attainment of the MDGs.
   

This meeting also provides the opportunity to discuss key issues with representatives of the European Commission, and possibly agree on a joint text for the Doha meeting. It will be up to you to decide on the form and content of that text.

That joint exercise will be proof that in the face of the irreversible challenges of globalisation, there is still a place for a real ACP-EU partnership that can provide a contribution and a concrete and effective response to the issue of international financing for development.

Honourable Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At this point, I would like to briefly evoke the issue of Aid Effectiveness.
As you know, the international discussion on the topic of Aid Effectiveness goes back to 1996 in the wake of the work of the Development Aid Committee of the OECD.
An important step in the process is the 2005 Paris Declaration on the harmonisation of aid, which is based on three main pillars, namely:

1. Ownership of development policies by the partner countries;
2.  Donor alignment with partners’ priorities;
3.  Harmonisation of donor actions by the implementation of common arrangements; and
4. simplified procedures and sharing of information.

The ACP Group upholds the principles and objectives of the Paris Declaration. Our recent discussions with the European Commission on the harmonisation of rules and procedures provided the opportunity to promote the principle of ownership as set out in the Paris Declaration and in the Cotonou Agreement, more specifically with regard to the application of national rules for awarding contracts when conditions allow. 

As you know, a technical issue takes on a political dimension whenever governance is cited as a factor of aid effectiveness. “Good governance” is used as a catch-all expression covering standards of transparent procedures, performance and universal principles of public affairs management. The concept is a fundamental element of the Cotonou Agreement.

Good governance underpins the ACP-EU partnership, and is a core element in the programming of aid from the European Community under the 10th EDF. As such, it rests on a basic political concept that takes into account the governance profile of each of our countries, and for which dialogue and reform incentives are essential parameters.

Honourable Ministers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would also like to evoke the current global food and financial crises which are putting a strain on our capacity to adapt and find sustainable solutions to protect our economies.

The current financial crisis poses a serious risk for the countries of the ACP Group. For the donor countries may decide to reduce their contributions to public development aid, which has already been relatively stagnant over the last few years.

Furthermore, the secondary effects of the crisis, more particularly the overall reduction in economic activity in countries that import our products, are even more worrying since we have no idea how long this generalised economic sluggishness will last, nor to what extent it will impact our countries.

And as if that economic situation is not difficult enough, the high price of food has already had a dramatic impact in some of our countries. We are still waiting for the promises made by our partners to materialise.     

Honourable Ministers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I simply wanted to share these few words with you, in the hope that they will contribute to your deliberations. I also want you to know that the ACP Committee of Ambassadors is looking forward to receiving the conclusions of your meeting so as to initiate the necessary follow-up. 

Thank you for you attention.