Developed countries come under fire

Developed countries came under fire on Thursday for failing meet United Nations financial targets for overseas development aid. Sir Anerood Jugnauth, the prime minster of Mauritius, urged them to meet their commitments and boost spending in third world countries.

He was speaking at the seventh summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

He said only Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden had honoured the pledge by developed countries to commit 0.7 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to foreign
aid. While some countries had made steps towards improving development aid far more had to be done, he stressed. “We would therefore call on the developed countries to take the appropriate budgetary measures to meet this objective,” he added.

In his speech, he also said peace and stability were key factors in development. “There cannot be sustainable development without addressing conflicts, as peace and stability are fundamental pre-requisites for sustained economic integration and development," he said.

He praised the peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and hailed Ethiopia and Eritrea for accepting last month’s crucial border ruling by the Boundary Commission.

But Sir Anerood spoke of his “extreme concern” over the Madagascar crisis. He called on the international community and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to try and resolve the “deteriorating humanitarian and political situation” in the country. He said the potential of COMESA – the largest regional economic community in Africa – still had to be tapped.

“The low investment performance in the region underscores the challenges facing COMESA in implementing policies that would increase the flow of both inward and outward investment and growth,” he added.