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The requested resource (/editor/default/) is not available
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Security & Development: Why Aid Effectiveness Matters
An Interview with Kazuo Sunaga, Minister of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations |
 Kazuo Sunaga, Minister of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in New York, was formerly Director of the Economic Cooperation Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he was responsible for Japan’s Official Development Assistance charter. He is the author of the November 2004 paper "The Reshaping of Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) Charter". At the UN, he recently served as Vice President of the 14th session of the High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation. Formerly, Mr. Sunaga served at the Permanent Mission of Japan in Geneva where he has involved in trade negotiations related to the World Trade Organization. From 2003 to 2004 he was a Professional Fellow in the School of International Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University, New York. | |
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 Japan has been a major donor to the developing world for ten years. Why did the country recently increase its Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment to such a high level at the recent G8 Summit? |
 Japan’s Junichiro Prime Minister Koizumi announced at the G8 Summit in July that Japan intends to increase its ODA volume by $10 billion in aggregate over the next five years and double its ODA to Africa in the next three years. Japan has also committed to the highest amount of debt cancellation for African countries of all creditor nations.
There are, I think, two reasons for this increase. The first has to do with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Right now, with ten years left until 2015, the international community is stepping up its efforts to achieve the goals. They represent an enormous challenge that requires substantial financial resources. As a major donor country, Japan wants to do its part to help make the MDGs a reality and is committed to addressing the threats of hunger, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, environmental degradation, and so on in Africa and around the globe. Secondly, as stated in the report of the UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change and Secretary-General Annan’s report In Larger Freedom there is a fundamental interrelationship between security and development. ODA is a major tool for achieving not only the MDGs, but also for the broader goal of ensuring lasting peace and prosperity in the world. I think both of these reasons were motivating factors behind Japan’s commitment to increase its ODA.
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| What is the viewpoint of the Japanese government about harmonizing ODA with other donors and with the priorities of recipient countries? |
First, I would like to say that the international community has been making progress in improving aid effectiveness and harmonization. The importance of both of these goals is now widely recognized. I believe that the scaling up of ODA needs to go hand in hand with efforts to enhance aid effectiveness. Simply increasing the amount of ODA without improving aid effectiveness is, in my opinion, counterproductive.
Japan’s ODA policy accords with the principles agreed upon in the Rome Declaration—respect for developing countries’ ownership, countries based approaches, and respect for a diversity of aid modalities.
I would like to elaborate on three points that I feel are important here. First of all, a strong sense of ownership is a prerequisite for any successful development strategy. Second, capacity matters. Recipient countries need to have capacities that allow them to take charge of their own development, and donors need to help them build that capacity. Lastly, ODA must be aligned with recipient countries’ development strategies. Program-based approaches (PBAs) are very effective in this regard. Currently, Japan is supporting PBAs in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Tanzania, and Nicaragua, among other countries.
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| Do you think donor harmonization will work? |
As for the question of whether or not harmonization will work, I think that in the long run the answer depends on how strongly donor countries commit themselves to the principles which I just explained. I am rather optimistic. There have already been some positive steps forward in improving aid effectiveness in some Asian and African countries. The most important thing to remember is that there is no one-size-fits-all policy for development. Development aid needs to be flexible. The socioeconomic landscape varies not only from country to country, but often from region to region and community to community within a given country. Furthermore, a developing country’s needs are constantly evolving as it moves ahead with its development. To take East Asia as an example, some countries that started off as recipients of Japanese grant aid gradually reached a point where loans become a better option for promoting trade and industry. As their economies developed further, Japan extended technical cooperation to transfer advanced technology and know-how. Some of these countries have graduated or are in the process of graduating from Japanese ODA. This is an illustration of the benefit of having a flexible ODA policy.
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| What is Japan’s position towards the MDGs, which tend toward social sector support rather than support of grassroots enterprise? |
Japan is committed to the MDGs and will continue to make every effort to bring about their achievement. When it comes to that, Japan believes a comprehensive approach is necessary. Above all, besides ODA, financial resources available in developing countries need to be mobilized effectively. For example, resources made available through trade and investment are often far greater than ODA. For their part, donor countries should redouble their efforts to strengthen appropriate initiatives within their capacity and based on their own institutional systems and circumstances. Sustainable economic growth is essential for poverty reduction. But it is difficult to achieve through foreign aid alone, however generous. Measures to improve the investment environment in developing countries, including infrastructure, are critically important. The significant drop in people living in absolute poverty in Asia in the last fifty years is a testimony to success of this approach.
I want to mention just a few examples of efforts my government is making to realize the MDGs. Japan initiated the Tokyo International Conference on Trade and Development (TICAD) in 1993 and has been promoting it as well as related projects and programmes which are making important contributions to the MDGs. For instance, at the TICAD Asia-Africa Trade and Investment Conference held last year, participants from both continents agreed to cooperate to foster local industries and strengthen infrastructure and institutions. In the area of health and medical care, Japan hosted a High-Level Forum on Health MDGs in Asia and the Pacific in June. My government also announced a new initiative called Health and Development which will provide $5 billion over the next five years and focus on laying the basic foundation for human capacity building in the health sector.
Japan recognizes that agriculture holds the key for sustainable poverty reduction and is an active supporter of agricultural research and policy development—in fact, Japan provides roughly 40 percent of the total ODA from DAC member countries earmarked for agriculture. Part of Japan’s comprehensive approach to the MDGs includes addressing the unique concerns of least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and small island developing states (SIDS).
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| What is the relationship between the UN Security Council and the UN poverty reduction program? If the G4 countries are admitted to the Security Council, will there be any impact on the UN commitment to meet the MDGs? |
As I mentioned before, security and development are inherently linked, and you cannot have one without the other. Both issues are also integral parts of overall UN reform. That is why Japan has been making efforts on both fronts. A good example of this linkage is peace-building. Timely development aid needs to be provided to countries where conflict or wars have recently ended and which are engaging in national reconstruction. In Africa, for instance, Japan extended assistance totaling approximately $60 million to 14 countries, including Sudan, Somalia, and countries in western Africa and the Great Lakes region.
With regard to the second part of your question, let me emphasize that Japan has already committed itself fully to the MDGs. This commitment will not be shaken by the outcome of the current debate about Security Council reform. If Japan does get a permanent seat, however, it could play a greater role in the maintenance of international peace and security, a role which includes support for development for the reason I just explained.
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| How will South-South relations be enhanced by increased aid harmonization by major donors? |
South-South cooperation, including triangular cooperation—technical cooperation among two or more developing countries with support from Northern donors—has proved effective in contributing to the MDGs. It is an inclusive approach to development which enables countries in the South to provide other developing countries with assistance while still remaining aid recipients themselves. Thus, South-South cooperation helps broaden the donor base by mobilizing additional resources from more advanced developing countries.
Trade and investment is another aspect of South-South cooperation. According to UNCTAD, over 40 percent of developing countries’ exports, including basic commodities and manufactures, are destined for other developing countries. This trade is increasing at an annual rate of 11 percent. These figures are encouraging, since trade and investment are driving forces for economic growth and sustainable development. Japan is supporting this activity through such efforts as last year’s TICAD Asia-Africa Trade and Investment Conference which I mentioned earlier.
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| In addition to e-learning, what online tools can be effective in promoting aid harmonization by major donors? |
Building networks among countries in the developing world can go a long way towards improving aid effectiveness. At the 2005 Asian-African Summit in Indonesia in April 2005, ministers adopted the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership Plan of Action, which acknowledges "the need to build a bridge between Asia and Africa" and "the need to enhance technical cooperation and capacity building as well as human resource development." To these ends, the Plan of Action calls for "developing a network among universities, libraries, research institutions, and centers of excellence in Asia and Africa…with a view to sharing and expanding the pool of resources, skills, and knowledge." In line with the Plan of Action, Japan and some other interested Permanent Missions, as well as relevant UN organizations, are developing the concept of an "Asian-African Development University Network." It would take the form a comprehensive, human-centered platform to strengthen human resources and capacity for development in Asia and Africa. Right now, a pre-feasibility study is under way on both continents to assess existing networks, identify needs, and solidify the objectives of the Network.
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The requested resource (/editor/default/) is not available
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 How did Development Gateway members respond to our Aid
Harmonization Survey questions?
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| How does donor support for the MDGs stack up? Charts and
graphs measuring aid flows and public support- click here. |
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