Click it and Unblock the Notifications
India favour raising level of economic assistance
Washington, Apr 15 (UNI) India has made out a strong case for raising the level of foreign economic assistance and concessional institutional funding to help developing countries deal with their problem of poverty.
''We would urge the World Bank to increase use of country systems, help increase the Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding flows into infrastructure for development and better align ODA with countries' development priorities,'' India's Finance Secretary Ashok Jha told the development committee, the policy-making body of the World Bank, here today.
He was happy to note that after a protracted decline during the 1990s, funding for ODA has been growing steadily over the last decade.
He, however, said, ''there are a few concerns regarding the composition of ODA in that funding for core development programmes has not seen corresponding growth. Also, total ODA has actually declined in 2006 both in nominal terms and as percentage of GNI of the donor countries.'' Mr Jha lauded the role of the IDA, the concessional lending agency of the World Bank, in assisting key sector programmes in several low-income countries and said, ''we would like the preeminent role of IDA to remain firmly established in the aid architecture.'' ''Now that discussions for the replenishment of IDA - 15 have started, we urge all donors to maintain historical average growth in their contributions in real terms to at least the same level as the last cycle,'' the Indian Finance Secretary said.
Referring
to
the
global
trade
talks,
he
said,
''developing
countries
are
strongly
committed
to
a
rule-based
global
trading
system
and
have
demonstrated
their
willingness
to
be
flexible
in
arriving
at
an
early
positive
conclusion
of
the
Doha
Round.''
''It
must
be
recognised
that,
for
several
of
the
world's
poor,
agriculture
is
not
simply
a
commercial
activity
but
a
way
of
life
and
a
means
of
subsistence.
The
outcome
of
the
Doha
has
to
factor
this
in
and
ameliorate
the
distress
of
large
sections
of
the
world's
poor.''
UNI
XC
SRS
DB2007
