Minister Suvi-Anne Siimes at the Make it happen event
Johannesburg, 3 September 2002
An edited version of an address by Suvi-Anne Siimes, Minister for Development Cooperation of Finland
Dear Ms. Chairperson
Ladies and gentlemen
Let me first express my thanks to the organisers of this Make it happen dialogue: the questions you have put to us are not only essential to all of us but are also intellectually fascinating.
How to mobilise resources for the Millennium Development Goals
It is crucial to strengthen our commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. We cannot replace implementation by setting new global aims again and again.
The most important factor in development financing is always domestic: that is why mobilisation of domestic resources, domestic saving and domestic priorities - is the key issue to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
As agreed in Monterrey, financing for development should be broad based combination of domestic, foreign and private resources. ODA still remains a necessary factor in action for Millennium Development Goals; All industrialized countries, including Finland, have to attain the level of 0.7 per cent of GNP if they really are taking seriously the Millennium Development Goals.
In the longer run this can be done for instance as a part of real development of public goods. The global financing ideas such as global taxation must be taken into consideration. We shall therefore not be afraid of research and experimenting in global taxation.
Resources do not mean only material resources and financing. We also need a true commitment and shared responsibility of all the states and parties and investment in social networks and trust between the people as a main factor for welfare.
How to improve coherence and consistency in national and international institutions
Coherence starts at home! My own experience as Minister at the Ministry of Finance and as Minister for Development Co-operation is I guess unique. We need more cooperation between various ministries inside countries. We cannot imagine real coherence between national and international if we cannot plan all of our policies for eradication of poverty, including in financing, education, trade and other sectors.
I would like to stress once more that I believe in growing participation of people and new possibilities to influence their own life at all level. Participation creates commitment and commitment means growing possibilities for development.
How to promote the priority areas of this summit
As a central part of our commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and decisions of the Summit, our strategy of development co-operation will be further developed consistently with these commitments. I'd like to mention that we will put special emphasis the role of education and specially education of young girls in our development co-operation; we feel that is a key issue also in the questions for more human and socially just development as many others have already mentioned.
Thank You