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Kathmandu Wednesday October 11, 2000 Aswin 25, 2057.
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Chokhal points out gap between developed,
developing countries
KATHMANDU, 0ct.10 (RSS) - Member of the Nepalese delegation
to the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations Tek Bahadur Chokhal has said that the
income gaps between developed and developing countries have widened as never before,
particularly with the advent of globalisation and information technology.
Member of Parliament Chokhal, who was participating in the
general debate of the 55th session of the General Assembly the other day, said although
poverty reduction and development are the primary responsibilities of developing countries
themselves, they cannot do it alone.
He said developing countries need better terms of trade, as
well as improved access to developed country markets for their products and services.
He said the conclusion of world conferences under the aegis
of the UN from Rio to Cairo and Copenhagen to Beijing is that poverty reduction entails
sustained macro-economic growth as well as targeted programs for the poor and needy. Only
a growing economy can create jobs and bring opportunities for people that help them to
break loose from the vicious circle of impoverishment. targeted programs in education and
skill development, health and sanitation, as well as in allotment of services and
subsidies can mitigate their plight and enable the poor to move forward. However, the
implementation of the outcomes of those conferences leaves much to be desired, with more
setbacks than advances in the development sphere over the past few years, he said, citing
declining oda as one example.
Appreciating the goal set by the Millennium Summit to halve
poverty by 2015, he hoped the international community will do its best to mobilize
necessary resources and create a favorable external climate to achieve that and other
relevant goals.
Referring to how the debt problem of low-income countries
has strained their internal resources and how a large chunk of their revenue goes to debt
repayment and debt servicing, he urged rich countries to expedite and expand the
implementation to debt relief provisions, particularly to cover all least development
countries.
He further said globalisation has brought uneven benefits
to the rich and poor, with the rich becoming richer and the poor poorer. It has torn down
the barriers to markets in developing countries, but without the commensurate steps by
developed countries to liberalize their markets for products and labor from the south.
This calls for an opening of developed country-markets by amending the provisions of the
world trade organization, he pointed out.
Describing the growing environmental problem as a common
concern for people around the world, he hoped the global community redoubles its efforts
to implement agenda 21, the Kyoto protocol and other global compacts to protect the
environment.
Developing countries have always insisted that there is an
acute need to reform the brettonwood institutions, he said and urged deeper reforms in the
international financial architecture so that developing countries will have a greater
voice in shaping their destiny.
Pointing out that nepal has opened up her economy
considerably over the last several years, he urged its development partners to become more
forthcoming with oda, debt relief, trade concessions, and technology transfers.
Nepal, like other land-locked countries, is deprived of
sea-based resources, its development entails high cost due to geographical terrain and its
trade cannot be competitive due to transit transport problems, he said adding that this
country needs additional support and resources for speedy development and for smooth
integration of its economy with the global economy.
Referring to south-south cooperation as vital for the
progress of poorer countries in the developing world and for their integration with the
regional and global economic mainstreams, he said South Asia has much catching up to do as
the south asian association for regional cooperation finds itself stalled at the moment.
Nepal calls on its South Asian friends to put SAARC back on
track and move forward together so that they can bring prosperity to their people and earn
the place in the world South Asia collectively deserves, he said.
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