HAMDULLAH SAYEED, M.P

       STATEMENT BY MR. MUHAMMED HAMDULLAH SAYEED, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT,        ON AGENDA ITEM 19 FOLLOW-UP TO AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OUTCOME OFTHE 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FINANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THE2008 REVIEW CONFERENCE AT THE SECOND COMMITTEE OF THE 65 THE

SESSION OFTHE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON OCTOBER 14, 2010

Mr. Chairman,

 Allow me to begin by expressing my deep appreciation of your stewardship insteering the work of the Second Committee. India aligns itself with the statementdelivered by Yemen on behalf of the G-77.Financing for development lies at the heart of the global development agendaand I hope our deliberations today would help in mobilising action towards addressing our concerns on the issue.

    We note with satisfaction the efforts made by the UN to follow up on theMonterrey Consensus and the Doha Conference including through the 4th High LevelDialogue on Financing for Development organised by the General Assembly in Marchthis year. At the recently held High Level Review meeting on MDGs, the global fraternityhad once again emphasised the importance of adhering to the commitments of theMonterrey Consensus of 2002 and the Doha Conference of 2008.The Declaration adopted at the event stated in clear terms the role that wasenvisaged for ODA, innovative financing, domestic resources, debt relief, globaleconomic governance reforms and international trade and investment to play in the context of achieving the Internationally Agreed Development Goals.

Mr. Chairman,

The developing countries, especially the LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS and countries in Africa quite clearly cannot meet the MDG targets and other developmental challengeswithout external development assistance.These countries, in spite of their best efforts have not been able to mobiliseadequate domestic resources to meet their development needs due to lack of economicopportunities, limited policy space and weak productive capacities.The global financial crisis along with the food and energy shocks has furtherweakened their resource base to fight hunger, poverty and disease. As the global economy contracted, the financing gap for development inexistence prior to 2008 further widened. As of 2009, only five donor countries had met their ODA commitment of 0.7%.The aid flow to developing countries last year stood at US$ 120 billion, representing0.31% of the total GNI of the donor countries and well short of the 0.7% mark.

Mr. Chairman,

The commitment that the international community made in Monterrey and Dohaof ensuring predictable development assistance including ODA, concessional financingand debt relief to developing countries and supporting nationally owned developmentstrategies need to be fulfilled urgently.

India welcomes the reaffirmation of commitments by some countries to reachthe ODA target of 0.7% of GNI by 2015, to channel at least 50% of aid increases to Africa and to meet the target of 0.15% to 0.20% of GNP to the LDCs.

Mr. Chairman,

The gap in financing for development has led to a spurt in global discourse oninnovative and new tools of financing.India believes that innovative sources of financing must be expanded tosupport the global development agenda. We compliment the work undertaken by GAVI to support its health initiative through the International Finance Facility forImmunisation. Such models could also be replicated to support global action in areassuch as education, food security, environment and climate change.We are hopeful that the completion of an ambitious Doha Round, expansion of aid for trade, strong assistance from international financial institutions and policies of financial inclusion would strengthen the capacities of developing countries to mobilizegreater domestic resources in the medium and long term. A comprehensive reform of the international financial architecture to addresssystemic issues is at the heart of general implementation of the financing fordevelopment process. India has been working closely with countries to ensure greatervoice and participatory space for developing countries in the international financialinstitutions.

Mr. Chairman,

The new tools of financing development or strengthening the capacity of developing countries can at best bring additional resources. There is no substitute tothe ODA commitments for financing development.On its part, India remains fully committed to support the development needs of countries in the South. We have extended lines of credit worth more than US$ 5 billionto developing countries since 2003 to enhance their participation in global trade. Ourannual outlay on concessional lending and grants is over US$ 1 billion, coveringcountries in our region, in Africa and beyond. Our companies have invested more thanUS$ 15 billion in Africa in the last few years.South-South financial and technical assistance may be expanding lately but itcannot be a substitute for the North-South commitment.

Mr. Chairman,

The financing for development process, as embodied in the Monterrey Consensusand the Doha Review Conference, is crucial for attainment of our developmentaspirations. We must adhere to its principles in letter and spirit.

                                                               Thank you