MDGs# 8:
Project director: Bircan ÜNVER,
Main Representative of The Light Millennium to the
Department of Public Information of the United Nations.
Prepared by: Sirin CENGIZALP, Project Assistant, The Light Millennium.

GUATEMALA
- by H.E. Mr. Alvaro Colom Caballeros, President of the Republic of Guatemala, High-level Plenary Meeting of the Sixty-Fifth Session of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals Statement.

“In this manner, I stress my Government’s commitment to lay the foundations to ensure that we will reach a safe port in the remaining five years to achieve the MDGs. We also understand the urgency of addressing the fiscal restrictions that the Guatemalan public sector has historically faced, as well as the need to professionalize our civil service. In summary, we will assume our responsibility to boost our own development and, we hope, in accordance with the spirit of MDG 8, that we will continue to be supported by the international community.”

NEPAL
- by Hon. Bhim Bahadur Rawal, Minister for Home Affairs and the Leader of the Nepalese Delegation at the High-level Plenary Meeting of the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“Global partnership for development is vitally important for all. in this context, we call for the fulfillment of all ODA commitments by the developed countries in a predictable, transparent and accountable manner. Similarly, there is a need for coherence in international economic and development policies so that there is a cumulative and comprehensive positive impact on the development endeavors of the developing and least developed countries. LDCs have not benefited fully from globalization. This requires early and effective implementation of trade related provisions for LDCs, effective and sustainable debt reduction, facilitation of FDIs and technology transfer to the LDCs.”

SWAZILAND
- by His Majesty King Mswati III Head of State of the Kingdom of Swaziland to the 65th Session of the United Nations High-level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals.

“I wish to emphasize that to ensure a better world for our children and future generations, developed and developing countries must continue working together.

Despite the global challenges in finance, the economy and the climate, we are confident that the developed countries shall continue to be committed to honoring their overseas development assistance pledges.

Just as you have done with the global fund, we encourage the developed nations to emulate the same spirit of providing support to developing countries in our endeavours to attain the MDGs.

I would like to thank all the development partners and investors who have supported my country and indeed the African continent in our drive towards sustainable development. This proves that the MDGs are indeed an unprecedented global commitment.”

SWITZERLAND
- by H.E. Mrs. Micheline Calmy-Rey, Federal Councillor, General Assembly 65th Session, High-level Plenary Meeting Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields; and Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit.

“In our globalized world, the cause of development requires a partnership based on mutual accountability. In that context, donor countries have the responsibility to support the efforts of poor countries in a manner that is transparent, predictable and consistent with their national policies.”

General Assembly
“States whose economic success enables them to play a more active role in the governance of the world must accept the new responsibilities that go with this active role.”

NIGERIA
- Statement On Behalf of: H.E. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, On the Nigeria and the Millennium Development Goals: Progress Towards 2015 By Professor C.O. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Honourable Minister of Health.

“In rising to these challenges, we have taken a number of steps; we have prepared and duly committed to implementing a new 5-Year (2010-2015) Countdown Strategy – Roadmap to Accelerate Nigeria’s Progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Countdown Strategy is closely linked with Nigeria’s medium and long term (NV20:2020) vision aimed at enabling Nigeria joining the league of the top 20 economies of the world by 2020 (NV20:2020). It contains four strategic imperatives for achieving the MDGs; namely: improving the governance and accountability environment; strengthening coordination and cooperation among the three tiers and arms of government; mobilizing and committing all communities and key stakeholders to the MDGs; and ensuring effective mainstreaming of MDGs into overall national and subnational development visions and plans.

We wish to reiterate the positions of the African Union in Kampala and the discussion held in Kigali on the MDGs under the auspices of President Paul Kagame as the co-Chair of the Secretary-General’s MDG Advocacy Group. It is important that our international partners meet their commitments today if we are to accelerate our progress towards meeting the MDGs by 2015.”

MONTENEGRO
- by H.E. Mr. Igor Luksic, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro at the High-level Plenary Meeting of the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“In today’s world full of challenges, partnerships are of great importance. Among those particularly important I would like to highlight one that Montenegro is implementing with much success together with the organizations from the UN system. Montenegro participates in the programme “Delivering as One”, within a system of comprehensive UN activity, enabling the UN agencies and the Government to maximize the potential at the local and national levels.

Regional, as well global integration processes strengthen political stability and economic prosperity and help countries ensure public facilities necessary for a sustainable development. Thus, they too are conductive to achieving the MDGs. Montenegro is giving particular attention to building good relations with neighbors and promoting institutional forms of regional cooperation.

Guided by these premises Montenegro fully supports a renewed commitment of the EU and developed countries to increase and enhance aid to developing countries, as well as give additional attention to the countries, regions and goals most lagging behind, focusing on the Sub-Saharan Africa and the least developed countries. In this process it is vital that coordination mechanisms be defined within and between countries and that donor aid be harmonized and integrated based on the provisions of the Monterrey Consensus (2002), the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005), the Accra Action Agenda and the Doha Declaration (2008).”

General Assembly
- by H.E. Mr. Filip Vujanovic, President of Montenegro at the General Debate of the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly - New York 24 September 2010.
“As a country in the process of the European integrations, Montenegro supports partnership relations between the EU and Africa, as well as efforts undertaken with a view to solving development challenges and eradication of poverty on the African continent.”

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
- by H.E. Mr. Victor Bodiu, Minister of State, at the High-level Plenary Meeting of the Sixty-Fifth Session of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals.

“The Government of Moldova would like to express its gratitude and appreciation to the UN Office and UN Agencies in Moldova as well as to all our development partners for the support we received in implementing, monitoring and evaluating the progress on MDGs.

I would like to emphasize our appreciation for the close partnership Moldova has enjoyed in the past two decades with the World Bank and the International Development Association. We call on donor countries to generously support IDA in its current round of replenishment so that IDA can continue to be a strong partner for developing countries like Moldova in their efforts to achieve the MDGs.”

General Assembly
- by H.E. Mr. Alexandru Cujba, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Moldova to the United Nations at the General Debate of the Sixty-Fifth Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“On behalf of my Government, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the development partners, governments and multilateral organizations, for their prompt response and assistance in overcoming the consequences of the severe floods that affected our country last summer. I would also like to extend particular gratitude to the UN Office in Moldova for its support in assessing the post disaster needs. On its own side, my country extended a hand of help to others in need, contributing to the people of Haiti 100,000 US dollars.”

JORDAN
-by His Majesty King Abdullah II, High Level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, UN General Assembly

“Development programs can help build a foundation for peace, but they ultimately depend on peace to succeed long-term. This is why friends of development must also be friends of peace. The Middle East has for long been denied the peace that could unleash its enormous potential for development. We count on the support of the international community, to help us reach a comprehensive regional peace, which can only be realized through the resolution of the Palestinian Israeli conflict, on the basis of the two-state solution.”

BHUTAN
- by The Honorable Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan, at the High Level Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations, New York

“I take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to our development partners without whose generous assistance, such progress would not have been possible. I would also like to pay tribute to the UN and the other multilateral development agencies. The World Bank and ADB are to be thanked for their current lending focus on the achievement of MDGs to the middle and low-income countries at preferential rates through such windows as the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA).

This summit, I am confident, will generate the determination and the means to ensure that those governments, which are in danger of failing their people, will continue to receive the necessary technical and financial resources from the international community.”

General Assembly
- by H.E. Dasho Daw Penjo, Foreign Secretary, Royal Government of Bhutan at the General Debate of the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“We [also] pleased to note that with the resolution on System-wide Coherence, the operational activities of the UN will be enhanced making the funding system more systematic and harmonizing the overall governance structure. This would improve the capacity of the UN to more effectively deliver assistance to countries thus strengthening its development pillar.”

THAILAND
- by His Excellency Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand at the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals.

“It is critical to enhance international cooperation to ensure that developing countries can keep up with the development trend and be on track to achieve the MDGs and other internationally agreed development goals.

International cooperation, especially exchanges of knowledge and skills as well as in providing sound and appropriate technology and technological knowledge to help developing countries deal with the negative effects of climate change, is also critical. Such cooperation would enable developing countries to adapt themselves and carry out their development plans to achieve the MDGs.”

-by His Excellency Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand at the General Debate of the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly - New York 29 September 2010.

“The effectiveness of such international cooperation depends on the strength and willingness of individual nations themselves. And Thailand is such a nation – willing and ready to cooperate with international partners to help bridge such divides, to help the world cross into a better future.

Thailand has engaged actively in regional and international fora such as ASEAN, ASEAN+3, the G-20, and the UN. As ASEAN Chair, Thailand was invited to the G-20 Summits in London and Pittsburgh last year to share ASEAN’s experiences and lessons learnt from the 1997 financial crisis. Thailand believes that regional initiatives like the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM), the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI), and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) would all help complement the ongoing global cooperation to achieve balanced and sustainable growth, as well as to promote a resilient international financial system that also addresses the concerns of developing countries. We believe that ASEAN, through the ASEAN Chair, will continue to contribute to the forum its relevant experiences in achieving these goals.

We also active in building partnerships between the developed and developing world, providing a bridge between them through triangular cooperation, by adapting technology from the developed countries to match the needs of the developing.”

CROATIA
- by H.E. Prof. Dr. Ivo Josipovic, President of the Republic of Croatia, High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 65th Session of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals.

“The Millennium Declaration as a roadmap for the 21st century laid the foundation for global partnership for development. At that point, we subscribed to a new pact of global partnership for development between developed and developing countries.
This partnership was to be fostered by a spirit of shared responsibility and solidarity, by which the developed world on its part, pledged to make available and transfer requisite knowledge and resources to meet development needs.
Under the Declaration, each member state become accountable at the national level and assumed collectively responsibility at the global level.

Croatia embarked on its development as a donor-recipient country. Today, it is important to underscore that only after eighteen years, Croatia has graduated into a donor-country. The main objectives of our donor activities are targeted towards sharing our knowledge and experiences with other countries in the region. We have also focused our efforts towards countries in crisis, where our post-conflict experience in nation building is particularly relevant. It is our deep conviction that, international assistance to least developed countries and crisis-inflicted countries in the world, has to be development-orientated and needs to targeted scaling up essential functions of society.”

QATAR
- by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, the High-Level of the United Nations General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals.

“The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals requires that each of the parties to the partnership carry out its duty. It requires that developing countries adopt comprehensive national strategies, promote good governance, fight corruption, promote sustainable economic growth, and create and attractive environment for foreign direct investments. They should act to engage civil society organizations and the private sector in those programs.

The delay in the negotiations of the Doha round, which was scheduled to finish by the end of June 2006, caused huge disappointment for developing countries, which have continued to attach great hopes to that round. Therefore, countries involved in the negotiations should focus on establishing a multilateral trade system characterized by openness, fairness and non-discrimination.

Qatar has been keen to be a partner in supporting the efforts towards participation and cooperation for development, particularly in relation to combating poverty and dissemination of the fruits of global growth in a more just and equitable manner. In this sense, the State of Qatar put forward during the Second South Summit in June 2005 an initiative to create a fund to support development in the South that would support anti-poverty programs in developing countries, especially least developed countries, and help them to achieve the MDGs.

The State of Qatar has also sought to achieve global partnership through the ratification of several international and regional agreements and treaties concerning international development issues, and through the adoption of an open trading system, and the creation of an attractive environment for foreign investment. It also supported initiatives for cooperation with developing countries to develop and implement strategies that offers young people decent and productive employment, through Silatech, an institution with a capital of 100 million dollars that addresses the problem of unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa by adopting programs aimed at rehabilitation and training of young people in that region, and also through supporting Education Above All, an institution created by the Qatar Foundation in 2008 to protect, support and promote the right to education in areas suffering from or threatened by crises, conflicts and wars.

In the area of international cooperation, the State of Qatar hosted in 2001 the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, which resulted in the Doha Round, the South Summit in 2005, and the Conference for New or Restored Democracies in 2006.

At the political level, the Qatari efforts to bring peace to Darfur, in coordination with the Joint Mediator of the United Nations and African Union have begun to bear fruit. Two agreements have been signed, one was a cease-fire agreement and the other was a framework agreement for peace in Darfur.

In order to support development and reconstruction efforts in that region, we announced on 23 February last the establishment of a bank for the development of Darfur with a capital of two billion dollars to be contributed by interested countries and organizations in order to advance development in Darfur.”

MOROCCO
- by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, King of Morocco to the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the Millennium Goals.

“To promote a global partnership based on solidarity, Morocco has made human development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals the central part of a practical, innovative South-South cooperation policy, especially with respect to sister African nations.”

TURKEY
- by H.E. Abdullah Gul, President of the Republic of Turkey to the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 65th Session of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals.

“The MDGs will continue to guide our development efforts beyond the year 2015. Therefore, we must boost the spirit of global partnership with dedication and focused efforts.

These efforts should not be limited to government activities. We must also rally non-governmental organizations and the private sector around a revitalized development agenda.”

MALAWI
- by His Excellency Ngwazi Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi and Chairman of the African Union on 2010 Malawi MDGs Progress Report.

“On developing global partnership for development, there are technological breakthroughs and competitive pricing has ensured the rapid development of the telecommunications sector. On one of the indicators for this goal is connection to a cell phone network. The number of subscribers wills double such that by 2015 about 34 percent of the population will be subscribed.”

VIETNAM
- by H.E. Mr. Nguyen Minh Triet, President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

“Continue to expand cooperation and create favourable international conditions to assist developing countries in policy making in strengthening management capacity. In this connection, developed countries should deliver on their obligations and commitments, including the maintenance of macroeconomic stability, contribution to the successful conclusion of the Doha round, elimination of unfair trade measures, and increase of development assistance. Viet Nam strongly calls for an end to the economic embargo against Cuba. Within its capacity, Viet Nam has in recent years expanded South-South cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia and other regions.”

SAMOA
- by Honorable Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa.

“In a few days time, the United Nations will review the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action, after its first five years. The Mauritius Strategy provides a comprehensive blueprint to address the national and regional sustainable development of Small Island developing states like Samoa. Thus within the architecture of the different United Nations global frameworks, the MSI should continue to be a primary vehicle through which the international community must engage with the small island developing countries in order to assist them respond effectively to their special vulnerabilities.”

BELGIUM
- by H.E. Yves LETERME, Prime Minister of Belgium.

“Logic of global partnership has brought, decades ago, most donor countries to commit themselves to increase their aid volume to 0.7% of their gross national income. In spite of the financial and economic crisis, the Belgian Government has reconfirmed this target in its 2010 budget. Moreover, the solution to global problems not only requires a global government but also global financing. As a member of the leading group on the issue of innovative financing, we work hard on raising awareness and forging consensus, not only within the European Union but worldwide.”

THE PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN
- by H.E. Dr. Klaus Tschutscher, Prime Minister of The Principality of Liechtenstein.

“The international partnership for development is of particular importance for the achievement of all MDGs. As of today, our Official Development Assistance represents about 0.6% of our Gross National Income. We fully recognize the benchmark of 0.7% ODA/GNI as an internationally agreed development goal and will continue to do so, despite temporary domestic budget constraints as a consequence of the financial and economic crisis.”

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
- by H.E. Reem Ibrahim AI Hashimi Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates.

“The United Arab Emirates has adopted a foreign policy that focuses on cooperation and bilateral and international partnerships to achieve development in other countries. The UAE is one of the major donors in the international partnership for development. A number of national institutions and funds participate in the foreign aid contributions, which forms a high percentage of the gross national income of our country. These contributions are provided as ODA for around 100 developing countries in various continents. 95% of that assistance is given as grants while the rest goes in the form of loans. About 80% of these contributions are directed to major development projects in those countries. For instance the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, founded in 2007 by H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the state, provides relief and development assistance to developing countries and effected countries by natural disasters and conflicts, as well as financing development projects in more than 45 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.

And this year we launched The United Arab Emirates Partnership in the Pacific Program which was launched in February 2010 with an initial capital of US $50 million, solely dedicated to the provision of funding for projects and initiatives focusing on the Pacific island nations in a wide-range of developmental fields, such as education, health and social services, infrastructure and projects in renewable energy.

In 209 the UAE has donated around 3 billion dollars as humanitarian and development assistance, with special focus on countries most affected.”

TUNISIA
- by His Excellency Mr. Kamel Morjane Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“We are deeply convinced that establishing a genuine partnership with Africa represents the most suitable solution to advance development in the continent, help achieve development goals and bring hope to millions of Africans. In this regard, we call upon the G8 and the G20 to renew their commitment towards the African continent so as to enable this continent to attain its development goals.

We are also of the view that the extent of the support extended by the North South cooperation in the endeavor to meet development goals will never affect the scope and importance of the South – South cooperation in promoting economic and social development in the African continent.”

REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
- by H.E. Dr. R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa Minister for Foreign Affairs Republic of Indonesia.

“As part of our responsibility to ensure the success of MDGs in our region, Indonesia once again held a Special Ministerial Meeting for the Millennium Development Goals Reviews in Asia and the Pacific: Run up to 2015, in Jakarta.

In this regard Mr. President, I have the honor to transmit to you the Declaration of the Jakarta Special Ministerial Meeting on the MDGs, as a concrete contribution of Asia and the Pacific countries to this High-level meeting."

REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN
- by R.E. Mr, Elmar Mammadyarov Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

“We have successfully launched and implemented several regional infrastructure projects that made a significant contribution to the development of some neighboring countries. Taking into consideration that the ICT is considered as an important instrument in fostering economic growth and competitiveness and in contributing to poverty eradication and social inclusion, the Government of Azerbaijan has put forward the initiative to jointly build and manage the Trans-Eurasian Information Super Highway, which is expected to facilitate supplying the countries of the region with internet, telecommunication systems, e-information resources and e-economies.”

HOLY SEE
- by H.E. Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Head of the Delegation of the Holy See

“The Holy See emphasizes the importance of strengthening a global partnership for development which is a necessary condition for the achievement of all other goals, and supports the full and integral compliance of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration of Financing for Development.”

OMAN
- by H.E. Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, State Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman and Head of the Omani Delegation “Global partnership is a key tool and an important approach. Donors and recipients must work together with these aims as their common unifying goal.”

MEXICO
“Additionally, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals it is necessary to move forward in the consolidation of the Global Partnership for development. The Foreign Policy of Mexico, as a determined promoter of multilateralism, maintains this goal as a priority.

In this regard, Mexico supports the importance of the agenda in the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development, that due to its holistic aspect, it enlists necessary conditions to achieve the MDG's. It is important to emphasize that the MDG's will not be achieved if the international commitments on Official Development Assistance.

On the other hand, international cooperation for development should be more effective, through a better use of human and financial resources, and by promoting positive synergies among the different kinds of technical and scientific cooperation, including traditional, triangular and South-South cooperation. Mexico fulfils its part as a determined partner in outlines South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation schemes. We are convinced that our experience in development can be useful to other countries, particularly in the achievement of the MDG's.”