Establishing Global Partnerships

The eighth MDG complements the remaining seven in the sense that it not only holds developing countries responsible for having enabling policies and plans in place but it also calls upon developed countries forge partnerships with developing and poor nations to enable the later to meet the MDG targets. There is no doubt that it will take a lot of time, effort, energy and money to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in their fullest sense. Economies need to grow to provide jobs and more incomes for poor people. Health and education systems must deliver services to everyone, men and women, rich and poor. Infrastructure has to work and be accessible to all. And policies need to empower people to participate in the development process. While success depends on the actions of developing countries, which must judiciously direct their own development, there is also much that rich countries must do to help. This is the objective of MDG...

1. Goals 8 consists of the following targets:
   Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system (includes a commitment to good governance, development, and poverty reduction both nationally and internationally)
2. Address the special needs of the least developed countries (includes tariff-and quota-free access for exports enhanced program of debt relief for HIPC and cancellation of official bilateral debt, and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction)
3. Address the special needs of landlocked countries and small island developing states (through the Program of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and 22nd General Assembly provisions)
4. Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term
5. In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth
6. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries
7. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

The above targets call for an open, rule-based trading and financial system, more generous aid to countries committed to poverty reduction, and relief for the debt problems of developing countries. It draws attention to the problems of the least developed countries and of landlocked countries and small-island developing states, which have greater difficulty competing in the global economy. It also calls for cooperation with the private sector to address youth unemployment, ensure access to affordable, essential drugs, and make available the benefits of new technologies.

Translating the global MDG targets into national action requires an operational framework at the national level. In many developing countries, the poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) is the primary framework for working towards the MDGs. The PRSP serves as the practical building block for developing countries to address challenges, and also to gain external funding and debt relief. Let us look at an example of a developing country which is extending Overseas Development Assistance extensively to its low-income neighbours.

Thailand Supports Neighbours

Compared to many European countries, Thailand offers better open trade concessions and provides more as a percentage of its income to Least Developed Countries (LDCs). In fact, nearly all of Thailand's development assistance goes to its low income neighbours, while wealthier nations contribute on average only one-third of their aid to the world's poorest countries. Thailand's overseas development assistance amounted to 0.13 per cent of its gross national income in 2003, not far behind Japan at (0.20 per cent), Italy (0.17 per cent), and the United States (0.15 per cent). OECD countries, on average, give only 33 per cent of their ODA to LDCs, while Thailand gives 93 per cent to the countries most in need of support.

The Royal Thai Government has brought out a report titled 'Global Partnership for Development: Thailand's Contribution to Millennium Development Goal 8' which affirms its strong commitment to the global campaign to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 as contained in the Millennium Declaration. With its report, Thailand becomes the first middle-income developing country to join several countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to publish a report specifically on its contribution to the global partnership for development:

Some of the initiative and steps taken by the Thai Government are as under:

• By opening up its markets to imports from LDCs, Thailand contributes to economic and human development in these countries. Thai imports from LDCs in the region include agricultural products, labour intensive manufactured goods, primary products, electricity, and natural gas.
• Among all developing countries in Asia, Thailand imposes the lowest tariffs on imports from LDCs. As a result, Thailand's imports from LDCs as a percentage of total imports over 3 per cent are higher than any other middle-income country, and higher than any OECD country.
• Thailand provides substantial foreign direct investment into basic infrastructure in Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Maldives - investments that are an essential prerequisite for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in these countries. Thai investments are also channeled into the agricultural, manufacturing and tourism sectors - all with a high potential for income and employment generation for people in recipient countries.
• Through a foreign policy of 'forward engagement', Thailand is playing a leading role in a number of regional and sub-regional development cooperation frameworks and trade agreements aimed at closing the economic disparity between countries in the region.

Looking beyond this region, Thailand is now also pursuing a 'Look West' policy with a view of enhancing its development cooperation with South Asia and Africa.

This report shows that aid is not just about rich countries helping poor countries. It is also about countries of the South helping each other,” said Joana Merlin-Scholtes, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Thailand.

With these initiatives in place, Thailand sees a great opportunity in learning from the successes and failures of decades of development cooperation. The Report recommends that future ODA from Thailand could expand in support of social sectors such as health, education, community development and poverty reduction. It also seeks to have a significant impact outside Thailand by providing a source of ideas and inspiration for other middle-income countries committed to contributing to the global partnership for development called for in Millennium Development Goal Eight.