USUN PRESS RELEASE # 13 (04)
January 27, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mr. Chairman, 

The United States continues to support the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) process and the achievements made so far in the Barbados Program of Action. This week we can further our understanding of how best to achieve the Barbados goals by sharing success stories and “lessons learned,” and generating ideas on how to develop our partnerships.  

Our common challenge is to achieve sustained growth and lasting development that benefits all people. President Bush’s National Security Strategy places economic development alongside diplomacy and defense.  The President has recognized development as a moral imperative, stating that a world where half of humanity lives on less than $2 per day is neither just nor stable. Bringing the world’s poor into an expanding circle of development and opportunity is a top priority of U.S. foreign policy. 

President Bush’s initiative to increase development assistance by 50 percent through the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) represents the largest increase in U.S. foreign assistance since the Marshall Plan.  Congress has just approved the first MCA allocation of $1 billion for 2004.  In addition, we will provide $15 billion to fight HIV/AIDS over the next five years. 

We all need to ensure that official aid is used effectively.  The eligibility criteria for the MCA – ruling justly, investing in people, and encouraging economic freedom – are designed for this.  An equally important factor is that each country takes primary responsibility for its own development.  We support the SIDS’ effort to do just that. 

Aid is but one resource for development.  Trade and investment are the main engines that drive economic growth.  The World Bank estimates that multilateral trade liberalization under the Doha Agenda could add more than $500 billion per year to developing country incomes by 2015, far more than to developed countries.  But it is not just access to developed country markets that is important. About 70% of the tariffs that developing country exporters pay today are paid to other developing countries.  Private investment in developing countries has averaged $115 billion per year over the last decade.  This could increase further if developing countries create climates even more hospitable to investment.  The total annual GDP of developing countries now tops $6 trillion, including over $2 trillion in exports, a huge reservoir of development resources and investment opportunities. 

Despite the recent set-back at Cancun, the United States remains committed to the successful completion of the Doha Round, and more broadly, to continued global trade liberalization.  Ambassador Zoellick will spend much of February visiting our major trade partners to hear their concerns and look for ways to get Doha back on track.  We recognize that developing countries often need help with undertaking and seizing the benefits of trade liberalization.  For this reason, we are providing approximately $750 million in trade capacity-building assistance this year alone. 

As Monterrey and Johannesburg made clear, the efforts of governments alone are not enough.  Secretary of State Colin Powell recently stressed that “partnership is the watchword of U.S. strategy.”  At Johannesburg, the United States established and joined more than 20 partnerships with governments and civil society stakeholders, including NGOs and the business sector, to advance sustainable development.  A successful outcome at Mauritius must involve a pragmatic approach that focuses on collaborative problem solving. 

I highlight here some U.S. initiatives, spurred by Johannesburg and the SIDS process. 

In July 2003, the United States hosted more than 30 nations at the Earth Observation Summit.  This was a landmark process to develop a coordinated, sustained, and comprehensive international Earth Observation System.  SIDS are an essential partner in this effort. Capacity building is important.  We need a coordinated effort to improve SIDS’ access to, and effective use of, observation products, and SIDS’ contributions to observing systems. Belize and Cyprus are already partners in this effort. We encourage all SIDS to take an active role.

Climate change is an important issue for SIDS and for all of us.  America remains committed to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.  We have undertaken a comprehensive, innovative program of domestic and international actions that address the issue in an effective manner.  We strongly support efforts to improve understanding of regional impacts, to enhance the resilience of SIDS, and to mainstream adaptation across sustainable development activities.

Barbados saw the beginning of what became the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI).  SIDS should take credit for focusing the world’s attention and effort on these immensely rich and important ecosystems.  As a founding member of ICRI, America remains dedicated to coral reef conservation at home and globally.  ICRI was the catalyst for establishing the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force– comprised of federal, state, and territorial government agencies.  Through the Task Force, the United States and our island territories have launched major research and conservation programs to protect our reefs.  ICRI demonstrates what we can achieve when we collaborate on an issue.

The spread of invasive alien species, both terrestrial and marine, is a growing problem recognized by SIDS and the United States.  In my country alone, the estimate annual damage from invasive species is nearly $137 billion.

The International Maritime Organization is convening a conference in February to consider an international convention on this matter.  We believe it is of critical importance to conclude a stringent, environmentally sound ballast water convention to diminish – and ultimately eliminate – the risks from the transfer of invasive species.  SIDS will benefit directly from such an international instrument.

Over the years, the United States has also been active in providing technical training and support to assist SIDS in addressing terrestrial invasive species problems.

We are encouraged by statements made by distinguished delegates earlier on the importance of clean water. This is a top priority for America. Two water initiatives demonstrate our concrete commitment to partnerships with SIDS.  

Launched at Johannesburg, “White Water to Blue Water” promotes a regional approach to the integrated management of watersheds and marine ecosystems through partnerships. We led the initiative in the Wider Caribbean, and we envision other governments leading similar efforts in other regions. 

The “Water for the Poor” initiative is a partnership designed to accelerate and expand international efforts to carry out the Johannesburg Plan.  Through this three-year $970 million program, 50 million additional people will now have access to clean water.  In 2003, we obligated approximately $329 million, which is slightly ahead of our budget target for this initiative.  SIDS play a vital role in this program.

These examples and others, which have more details in the distributed copies of my statement, show that partnerships that involve all stakeholders work.  Through them we are improving peoples’ lives, raising hope, and creating a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world.  And the Barbados review process provides us with an opportunity to further this important work. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.