GA/EF/2913

ACCESS TO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY KEY TO ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NEXT MILLENIUM, SECOND COMMITTEE TOLD

The key to economic growth and prosperity in the next millennium would clearly be based on the access to, and ability to harness, science and technology, India�s representative told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this morning, as it continued its general debate.

He said that with innovations overtaking each other continuously, timely transfer and assimilation of evolving technologies was crucial for developing countries. Equally significant were the terms of such access. The functioning of intellectual property regimes must be reviewed to strike a more equitable balance between the need to reward innovation and the need to ensure rapid and widespread dissemination of knowledge and technology.

San Marino�s representative said national plans for promoting information and communication technologies had to become an integral part of development strategies, thus allowing poor countries to have access to services like telemedicine and distant learning. Technology itself would not be sufficient unless adequate training was provided to enable people to use those instruments.

The gap between developed and developing countries, said the representative of the Democratic People�s Republic of Korea, was due to an imbalance in the degree of development of science and technology. While the technology of developed countries was up to date, that which was transferred to developing countries was outdated.

He added that developing countries were unable to elaborate their own technologies due to a lack of financing. The developed countries must get rid of their old conception of gaining commercial profit through technology transfer and render substantial assistance to developing countries.

Costa Rica�s representative agreed that technology was the new weapon in the fight against poverty and in the achievement of development. Since only those who adopted new technologies would succeed in today�s world, developing countries must respond and incorporate them in their economies and models of development.

The Committee also heard from the representatives of Israel, Viet Nam, Senegal, Venezuela, Benin, Botswana, Kenya, Lao People�s Democratic Republic, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Yemen and Jamaica (speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)).

Second Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/EF/2913 6th Meeting (AM) 5 October 2000

Gareth Howell, Deputy Director of the International Labor Organization (ILO), also spoke.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to conclude its general debate.

Second Committee - 2 - Press Release GA/EF/2913 6th Meeting (AM) 5 October 2000

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to continue its general debate, during which it was expected to hear from 19 delegations.

Statements

DANIEL MEGIDDO (Israel) said that while his country was deeply concerned about many of the issues facing the Committee�s deliberations, he would focus on one that was particularly suited to Israel�s experience and expertise -� enhancing food production under harsh climate conditions and developing agriculture-based communities. An integrated people-centred approach could pave the way for real sustainable development. That approach was put into practice by Israel�s Centre for International Cooperation (Mashav).

He said Mashav�s message to partner governments and international agencies was to introduce innovations, learn from experience by �trial and error� processes and stick to the �bottom-up� approach, as reflected in Israel�s experience with its water resources, agricultural and urban programmes. Today, in the drive towards sustainable development, a major concern was the efficient use of water. Water resources for irrigation were becoming more and more scarce, and their availability was increasingly affected by climatic changes. The notion that water was a free resource would not �hold water� any more.

Israeli expertise could help to optimize plant-soil-water relationships in areas with scant water resources, he continued. That kind of know-how had the potential to translate into concrete economic growth. To that end, Mashav had undertaken a special initiative, which it presented to the World Bank and to the Economic Commission for Africa. It proposes consultations and training programmes aimed at implementing practical solutions to enhance food security in vulnerable climatic sub-regions in Africa. In that connection, Israel would support Tajikistan�s proposal to the General Assembly to proclaim the year 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater.

AI XUAN CHIEU (Viet Nam) said the past few years had been a period of rapid and profound change. The world economic situation was bright. Yet, for developing countries, poverty was increasing and the development gap between developing and developed countries continued to widen. Those facts had been repeatedly stressed over the years in many forums. It was now time for action. The Committee had the heavy responsibility to agree on concrete recommendations to address the situation.

As for Viet Nam, over the past years, thanks to the renovation policy, the Vietnamese people had scored important achievements. The economic crisis in the 1980s was overcome, a high growth rate had been maintained, and economic, social and political stability had been ensured. Yet, the people still faced many serious difficulties and challenges. Vietnam�s new strategies for development would be aimed at consolidating the achievements recorded over the years and effectively coping with the existing constraints and weaknesses, such as low per- capita income and an underdeveloped banking system. The delegation was confident that the continued policy of renovation would move the Vietnamese people forward.

IBRA DEGUENE KA (Senegal) said that, more than ever, the United Nations must be at the heart, not on the periphery, of the development debate. Many international conferences and meetings had been held in the past decade, following which priorities were set, commitments made and strategies outlined in the quest for integrated global development. However, evaluation after evaluation showed that the progress achieved remained far less than the commitments made. Poverty was gaining ground and widening the gap between nations.

Could one speak of a world of solidarity when nothing was being done to overcome poverty, to combat hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to facilitate basic social services for all? he asked. The means to meet those challenges existed, for example by more equitable trade and settlement of the debt crisis. The upcoming event on financing for development would be another test of the international community's will to really resolve the question of debt.

To break the vicious cycle of debt, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit, held in July in Togo, entrusted Senegal to coordinate a continental seminar on debt, which would provide an opportunity for a genuine diagnosis of the causes of indebtedness and seek credible solutions for the problem. At the same time, he was not forgetting that development was primarily a national priority.

In Togo, he continued, the OAU had decided to form an African Union for political and economic integration. Senegal was the second country to ratify the act creating the Union. He hoped that in its cooperation with the OAU, the United Nations would continue to give resolute support for the promotion and consolidation of the newly-formed Union.

IGNACIO ARCAYA (Venezuela) said that the Millennium Summit had highlighted the importance of promoting development. Currently, however, the United Nations lacked the means to act decisively. It was important to provide the United Nations with the backing necessary to promote overall development. In that regard, the Economic and Social Council needed to be transformed, so that it could coordinate effective action. The recent meeting of heads of State of oil producing countries in Caracas had underlined that economic and social development, including the eradication of poverty, should be the primary global priority.

Next year, there would be a high-level meeting for finance and development, he said. That meeting must meet concrete goals. His Government supported an open and fair economic system with clear and transparent rules. The external public debt of developing countries needed to be addressed and the current problems of the international financial system must be tackled. He supported any initiative that would create a new international financial architecture based on equal opportunity and equitable relations. That was important, so that developing countries could reach the goals set forth in the Millennium Summit.

BERND NIEHAUS (Costa Rica) said that two issues that were important to his country were the fight against poverty and the search for economic development. Today, it was impossible to eradicate poverty without development. Both required study and holistic solutions, and should be part of all discussions of the Second Committee. The international community must fight against the structural obstacles, which make poverty more acute, such as lack of capital, restriction of access to international markets and the effects of natural disasters. Countries must be guided by a strong will to promote greater solidarity.

There was a new weapon in the fight against poverty and in promoting development, he said. New technologies had become the key to achieving the well- being of people and societies. In the modern world, only those who adopted new technologies enthusiastically would succeed. Developing countries must respond and incorporate new technologies in their economies and models of development. Costa Rica was already implementing such a strategy, which had reaped good results. Today, the export of microchips constituted 38 per cent of the country�s exports.

Costa Rica, he continued, had various national information programmes and was providing universal access to the Internet. It had also created small mobile centres which allowed technology to reach rural areas. Such examples demonstrated some of the opportunities for economic and social progress offered by new technology. At the same time, the country was seeking a development that was sustainable and eco-friendly. The defence and protection of the environment were indispensable for human development. In that regard, the implementation of Agenda 21, the action programme of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and the Kyoto Protocol, must be a priority for all nations. Costa Rica had just finished its internal process for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.

OUSSOU EDOUARD AHO-GLEL (Benin) said the international community should not be lead astray by the term globalization. Globalization was the perfection of a harmful system, which has lead to the emergence of a category of least developed countries. He was skeptical of the recommendations offered by developed countries for developing countries to follow. The recent format set forth seemed to lack reference points. The prescriptions that were associated with globalization seemed fragile and their components undefined. Certain development experts had to stop promoting illusions. It would be more suitable to focus efforts on strategies that would allow developing countries to have access to the world�s wealth.

Such an effort should begin with a major contribution to development aid, he said. Partial cancellation of debt was not enough. All debt must be completely cancelled. He praised the bold initiates of the Government of Japan in that regard. Japan�s initiative should be adopted and followed within the work of the United Nations

LEUTLWETSE MMUALEFE (Botswana) said that poverty was the greatest challenge facing humanity in the twenty-first century. The United Nations must reassert its leadership role in creating and sustaining global processes and structures. The Second Committee should align its work to meet the goals set out in the Millennium Summit Declaration. Many speakers had stressed the urgent need to adopt strategies to eradicate poverty. Any useful treatment of the issue should examine the impact of globalization on development and how best to ensure growth with equity. It was also important to pursue constructive engagement between the Bretton Woods institutions and civil society.

It was quite telling, he said, that despite the commitments undertaken, the five-year reviews of the major United Nations conferences attributed limited progress in a significant number of areas. That was no surprise, in view of the fact that underlying factors influencing the mobilization of resources had not been adequately addressed. Economic performance could not be addressed without speaking of human development. The devastating impact of HIV/AIDS was the single most pressing health problem that had the potential to negate economic and social development efforts. He supported the convening of a special session on AIDS.

The international community should take concrete steps to reform the multilateral trading system, in order to reflect the interests of developing countries, he continued. Special provisions for countries in infant stages of development should be preserved and measures to build trade capacities in the developing world, particularly in land-locked countries, further enhanced. The enormous and mounting development challenges required donor communities to provide adequate resources to United Nations funds and programmes. The only impediment to the work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was a lack of funding. Development financing was critical for addressing underdevelopment and food insecurity in the developing world.

FARES M. KUINDWA (Kenya) said he fully reaffirmed the common goals of the Millennium Summit Declaration. It was said that globalization and increased interdependence was a process, which could be uneven and unpredictable. If properly harnessed and managed, the process could provide the foundation for enduring and equitable growth. He believed that, in order for developing countries to realize the benefits of globalization, the international community needed to focus on the democratization of international economic decision-making. It must also address the problem of marginalization, through improved access to resources, markets and technology.

The international community must help the developing countries, especially the sub-Saharan African countries, to formulate a sound and workable development agenda designed to eradicate hunger, illiteracy, disease and poverty. It was necessary to establish and strengthen an open, rule-based multilateral trading system. A new global partnership was required, as a matter of priority, in order to place financing for development on a sound and reliable basis.

He called for the cancellation of external debt in order to give developing countries a fresh start. Also, all trade barriers must be removed to accommodate export products from developing countries. He reaffirmed the importance of the United Nations as the universal forum for dialogue, negotiation and policy-making. It was essential that the leading international and multilateral financial institutions ensure that their policies were responsive to the development needs and objectives of the developing countries. He supported the need for harmonizing the initiatives of the United Nations in a holistic manner.

ALOUNKEO KITTIKHOUN (Lao People�s Democratic Republic) said information technology was now playing a leading role in the process of globalization. The present knowledge-based economy could bring miraculous profits to highly equipped countries but, unfortunately, not to those with poor means of communications. All efforts should, therefore, be made so that all countries, particularly developing ones and the poorest and most vulnerable among them, could benefit from such technology. In that regard, the United Nations had an important role to play and could contribute through its normative and analytical work to the creation of an enabling international environment favourable to overcoming the problems the world was now facing. Eradicating poverty remained a key concern for the Third World. The challenge was so daunting that it seriously put into doubt the attainment of the goal of reducing poverty by half by the year 2015.

Trade was an important engine for growth and social development, he said. However, although several developing countries had benefited from increasing trading opportunities, many poor countries, including landlocked developing countries, had not been in a position to draw on the advantages offered. The landlocked developing countries faced greater risks of further marginalization due to their geographical handicap with their very high transport costs.

During the first meeting of landlocked developing countries at the ministerial level, held on 18 September, ministers had expressed their full support for the holding in Kazakhstan of an International Ministerial Meeting on transit transport issues in 2003. That event would provide an opportunity to chart and adopt a collective programme of action to further develop transit transport systems, which would enable landlocked developing countries to effectively participate in the international trading system.

DUMISANI SHADRACK KUMALO (South Africa) said that the goal of eradicating poverty and facing the challenge of underdevelopment required a holistic approach. The issues of fair trade, foreign direct investment, debt relief, and the protection of the environment required collective action. His delegation believed that tangible progress on sustainable development could only be achieved through cooperation and partnerships between the countries of the North and the South. It was for this reason that his country would be honoured to host the 2002 Earth Summit in South Africa. South Africa believed that the 10-year review conference should reinforce the global community commitment to the principle of Agenda 21 and the ideals of sustainable development.

Much had been said about the all pervasive phenomenon of globalization, he said. This phenomenon had provided many a promise and posed many a challenge while shining the spotlight on the serious inequalities within and among countries. A particularly serious and immediate challenge was the growing digital divide. The high level event on financing for development in 2001 offered a unique opportunity to address the issue of declining official development assistance. In the field of trade, there was a growing urgency to launch a new and comprehensive round of multilateral trade negotiations. Such a new round should take into account the development concerns of the developing countries.

The annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Prague last week had again underlined the importance of debt relief in the development equation, he said. It was disconcerting that in the four years since the initial introduction of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative there had only been 10 countries that had qualified. Was this number not an indication of an intrinsic flaw in the initiative? The Second Committee should send a clear message to all that there should be full funding of the Debt Initiative and consideration of even wider and deeper debt relief.

FAWZI BIN ABDUL MAJEED SHOBOKSHI (Saudi Arabia) said that the strong emergence of globalization, which had removed geographical barriers, required adjustments to avoid the marginalization of certain countries. Globalization allowed developed countries to have greater knowledge and increased capital, which widened the gap between the rich and poor countries. That was totally unacceptable, because it further strengthened hegemony within international relations. The dialogue between the North and the South had not led to a reduction in the gap.

He called on developing countries to improve their tools for development and remove the obstacles to it, and work to achieve economic stability. He called on developed countries to respect their commitments with regard to assistance and not to develop new obstacles to the access of developing countries to the global economy. Saudi Arabia had promoted development in the developing countries. It had provided generous assistance to enable them to confront poverty and underdevelopment, amounting to about $75 billion by 1999 -- a little less than 4 per cent of Saudi Arabia�s annual gross domestic product (GDP).

He stressed the importance of economic cooperation among countries. The World Trade Organization (WTO) should become more universal and allow those who were not members to become part of the organization.

JACOB DUNGAU SAGAN (Malaysia) said that globalization, far from being a panacea, posed new challenges to the development aspirations of the developing countries. South-East Asia�s traumatic experience was a strong reminder of the negative effects of globalization on developing countries. Malaysia�s own experience was an example of how the economies of developing countries were virtually defenceless against the onslaught of powerful currency traders and speculators. In that regard, his delegation reiterated its belief that there was a need for the international community to rethink seriously the design of the international economic cooperation.

Regarding the problem of poverty, Malaysia wished to reiterate that eradication of poverty was central to all efforts at enhancing social and economic development worldwide. The debt situation continued to deteriorate and Malaysia placed great hope in the international community to help people live a decent life. There could not be development if there was no financing for development. His delegation looked forward to the convening of the Third Conference on Least Developed Countries in 2001, which would hopefully bring the special needs of the least developed countries to the attention of the international community.

Turning to the issue of sustainable development, he said he was disheartened to note the continued deterioration of the environment during the past decade. In this connection, it was essential to insist that the developed countries take the lead in addressing their unsustainable production and consumption patterns. Malaysia continued to take appropriate action to ensure that its development was sustainable and balanced. The international community should work together in a constructive fashion to make globalization work for all countries and not just a few privileged ones.

N. D. TIWARI, Member of Parliament of India, said experience showed that market forces by themselves would not distribute the benefits from global economic integration and technological innovation equitably across nations or among different groups within countries. Globalization and the information technology revolution had provided many countries with more opportunities to raise incomes and living standards. At the same time, they were also among the factors that had led to growing inequality both domestically and internationally, with the poorest countries being further marginalized.

The key to economic growth and prosperity in the next millennium would clearly be based on access to and ability to harness scientific and technological development, he said. Having recognized the crucial importance of science and technology as the critical determinant of development and long-term growth, India was seeking to ensure that it remained on the fast track to knowledge-based growth. It was imperative that national efforts be complemented by international rules of the game that took into account the needs of developing countries for access to a broad spectrum of technology.

With new innovations overtaking each other continuously, timely transfer and assimilation of evolving technologies was crucial for developing countries, he said. Equally significant were the terms of such access. The functioning of the intellectual property regimes must be reviewed to strike a more equitable balance between the need to reward innovation and the need to ensure rapid and widespread dissemination of knowledge and technology.

ENRICA TADDEI (San Marino) said that this seemed to be the year of great contradictions. While some countries had experienced an unprecedented growth, others still lagged far behind. It had been rightly said that the international community should adopt a new concept of human security, one involving not only the absence of wars, but also freedom from poverty and the scourge of HIV/AIDS. It had been estimated that a minimum of 3 per cent annual GDP growth was needed. Most of the countries that did not reach this goal were in sub-Saharan Africa. External aid would be critical in fostering development.

She was convinced that information technology was an instrument for development. National plans for promoting such technology had to become an integral part of development strategies, thus allowing poor countries to have access to services like telemedicine and distant learning. Technology itself would not be sufficient unless adequate training was provided to enable people to use these instruments. San Marino had great hope for the United Nations Information Technology Service, which would help to train communities in the developing world in the use of information technologies.

AHMED A. AL-HADDAD (Yemen) said that all countries were seeking a vision that would enhance global security, stability, prosperity and social harmony. Globalization was an irreversible process and would have an impact on global prosperity. But who would obtain the advantages of globalization both today and in the future? he asked. Least developed countries still suffered from poverty and the inability to achieve development. The doors of international markets were closed to their agricultural exports, and there was a lack of respect for the commitments made on financing for development.

Yemen was doing all it could to take up its development challenges and achieve sustainable development, he said. Its greatest efforts were focused on the fight against poverty and involved the opening up of the economy, good governance, freedom of the press and giving women their rightful place in society. He hoped that developed countries would be responsive during the Third Conference on Least Developed Countries to be held in Brussels. The goal of strengthening the economies of developing countries and integrating them into the global economy could only be achieved by altering the world order to make it more fair.

SIN SON HO (Democratic People�s Republic of Korea) said that economic development could only be guaranteed by the development of science and technology. The gap between developed and developing countries was due to an imbalance in the degree of development of science and technology. While the technology of developed countries was up to date, that which was transferred to developing countries was outdated. Developing countries were unable to develop their own technologies due to a lack of finance.

The developed countries must get rid of their old conception of gaining commercial profit through technology transfer and render substantial assistance to developing countries in their efforts to develop their own economies, he said. The United Nations, for its part, should revitalize the multilateral negotiation system for the dissemination and transfer of science and technology to developing countries.

The unilateral application of economic sanctions, which hindered the development of the international economy, must be stopped, he said. The cold war had ended. sanctions �- the product of �power policy" -� had seriously undermined the economic development of developing countries. At the dawn of a new century, all nations should promote mutual interests and settle issues through negotiations and dialogue. They should reject any attempt to achieve their own purposes by coercive measures.

GARETH HOWELL, Deputy Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said the international community must manage and use globalization to benefit everybody. To achieve that, it was essential to fashion closer integration between economic and social policies. There was a clear feeling that the multilateral system was underperforming. The capacity to deliver coherent, non-contradictory policy advice was the most important global public good that could be offered. For this to work, international organizations must increasingly develop their capacity for integrated thinking, and for solutions that reached beyond their respective mandates and experiences.

The ILO�s contribution to the integration of economic and social policy was accomplished within the framework of the �Decent Work Agenda�. The concept for the Agenda had been built upon the four pillars of creating jobs, securing fundamental rights at work, enhancing social protection and promoting social dialogue. Cross-cutting themes were gender and development. The ILO encouraged policies that exploited the �digital opportunity� and diminished the �digital divide�, and which had the aim of reducing inequalities within and between nations.

The days when HIV/AIDS could be contained in a box marked �health� had passed, he said. The pandemic was now a prime determinant of economic and social development in many of the world�s poorest countries. The virulence of the disease and its concentration among adults of working age only compounded the human tragedy. The workplace was already profoundly affected, and the ILO had joined international efforts to confront this challenge.

PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that the advent of the new millennium had inspired enthusiasm to evaluate progress and rethink strategies to promote prosperity in the future. It was disappointing that the international community had yet to make real progress in bridging the divide in perspective and opinion on how to move forward to address challenges. That was evident in the progressive splintering in the development agenda. No strategy for development could ignore the crippling of debt and debt servicing that undermined a government�s ability to finance basic social programmes for the poor.

The CARICOM States remained concerned at the maintenance by developed countries of protectionist policies and subsidies that had affected the levels of market access for products and services. The need for special and differential treatment for vulnerable countries was crucial. If the process of globalization was to succeed, then a new regime of international economic governance that was genuinely inclusive must be advanced.

The CARICOM States reaffirmed the central role that economic and technical cooperation among developing countries must continue to play within the strategy for sustained economic growth and development. CARICOM strongly supported the strengthening of mechanisms to advance South-South relations and promote self- reliance. In that regard, the importance of the first South-South Summit held in Havana could not be overemphasized. She also noted with appreciation the report on action taken so far in the effort to promote an integrated management approach to the Caribbean Sea in the context of sustainable development.

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