THE OKINAWA G-8 SUMMIT:

THE OKINAWA G-8 SUMMIT:

BUILDING A GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP

July 22, 2000

 

This year, for the first time ever, G8 leaders met with leaders of developing nations, international institutions, the private sector, and civil society in support of global poverty alleviation. The Summit will create a framework for significantly increased bilateral, multilateral, and private sector assistance to poor countries with effective policies in three interrelated areas: infectious diseases, basic education, and information technology. The goal is to mobilize a more comprehensive response by the international community in support of developing countries that exert leadership at home on these issues. Today, President Clinton will announce progress at the Okinawa Summit in two key areas:

Infectious Diseases. The Clinton-Gore Administration has been working to strengthen resources and leadership among G-8 nations for the fight against HIV/AIDS and other infectious disease threats. The global challenge of infectious disease is the major focus at this year's Summit. A majority of G-8 nations are making significant new pledges to prevent and control HIV/AIDS.

Digital Divide. President Clinton will announce a number of new public and private sector efforts to bridge the global digital divide and to create digital opportunity for the people of the developing world, including:

These announcements are part of an Okinawa Summit that will help promote a coordinated approach to poverty reduction around the world. Trade and technology are potentially powerful engines of growth and development for poor countries, but they are not always sufficient to reduce poverty. Lack of human capacity due to disease, malnutrition, and illiteracy make the opportunity created by trade and technology more theoretical than real for many. Sick and malnourished people have less access to education and perform less well in school, reducing their economic opportunity. Illiterate people are harder to reach through HIV/AIDS and other public health campaigns and are less equipped to follow prescribed medical treatments for diseases and other illnesses. And while information technology holds enormous promise for improving health care, education, and economic opportunity in poor, remote areas, it also has the potential to widen social disparities without explicit efforts to ensure broad access.

The Okinawa Summit's unprecedented emphasis on development builds on one of the primary achievements of last year's G-7/G-8 Summit, the Cologne Debt Initiative. The expanded Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative launched in Cologne will triple the scale of debt relief for the world's most heavily indebted poor countries, freeing up additional resources for investment in the health and education of their people. The President has requested $435 million for this year's participation in the Cologne Debt Initiative, $810 million including FY 2002 and 2003. As many as 33 countries stand to see their foreign debts reduced by about 70 percent when combined with previous initiatives, reducing their annual external debt service payments by as much as half. Nine countries have qualified for expanded relief thus far. For example:

Promoting economic development in poor countries is in the U.S. national interest. There is a growing disparity in income levels between the richest and poorest countries in the world, posing a challenge to our moral, economic, and security interests.

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