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| AGOA records huge increase in African exports to US
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By Jerome Hule
PANA Correspondent
Monterrey, Mexico (PANA) -
The Africa Growth and Opportunity
Act passed by the US Congress in 2000, has led to an increase
of more than 1,000 percent in African exports to the US in
the past year, President George W. Bush said Friday.
Addressing the UN Conference on Financing for Development
in Monterrey, Mexico, he said AGOA has also generated more
than one billion dollars in new investments and many jobs in
Africa.
Such improvement, Bush explained, is indicative of the impact
that trade can make in the fight against poverty.
Calling for trade expansion, the American leader said trade
brings new technology, new ideas and new habits to the
peoples involved, citing South Korea and China, as examples.
In a speech that could pass for a lecture on development
economics, Bush stressed the need for the world
to adopt new ways to fight global poverty.
While reaffirming his announcement of a five-billion-dollar
increase in US development aid over three years, beginning
in 2004, Bush said the money would go to reforming countries.
Countries that have open markets and respect the rule of law
will be able to use aid to improve the lives of their people
as opposed to countries with oppressive and corrupt leaders,
he said.
The US President pointed out that the old practice whereby
donors talked about how much they gave in aid should change
to how much improvement aid was able to achieve.
The best aid, he said, is the one that goes to benefit the
poor and not a the leaders, who oppress their people.
And instead of giving loans that may not be repaid, Bush
advised that donors focus more on grants that will be
invested in health and the fight against HIV/AIDS.
He said he has asked his cabinet Members to develop objective
criteria for the administration in deciding countries deserving
of US aid, assuring that criteria would be applied fairly.
In his speech, French President Jacque Chirac said the
Monterrey Conference should set the stage for the world to
deal with its common destiny.
In today's globalising world with abundant resources, the
French leader said it is a serious concern that two billion
people still live and die in poverty and malaria, while
HIV/AID ravages whole societies.
Chirac called for the globalisation of solidarity to end
unacceptable, politically dangerous and socially absurd
situations
For too long, the world had allowed indifference to prevail
but from Monterrey, the world should allow a new wind to blow
bringing hope and solidarity, he said.
The French leader said the Monterrey Conference Monterrey
was only a beginning.
To achieve the millennium development goals of reducing
poverty, improving the health of mothers and children and
increasing access to education for the youth, he said the
World Bank has calculated that additional 50 billion dollars
would be needed every year.
That amount, he said, was modest given the resources available
in the world, adding that what matters is the determination to
achieve the millennium goals.
Among required efforts, he listed the cancellation of the
debts of poor countries and expanding trade opportunities.
There is also the need to consider proposals for an
international taxation to finance development and the use of
Special Drawing Rights, the reserves allocated to member
States of the International Monetary Fund, that could be
drawn on to
increase resources for development.
"We need to build on Monterrey through partnership for
development," Chirac urged, saying what the world did in
rallying around the US when it was attacked by terrorists
last year could be repeated against poverty.
The Conference ends Friday.
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| Monterrey - 22/03/2002 |
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