Statement by H.E. Mr. Jun Yamazaki,
Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations
“High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development”
7 October 2013
Mr. President,
This High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development is very timely in the sense that by means of this two-day dialogue the follow-up process of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development can be properly fed into the deliberation of the post-2015 development agenda, particularly the discussion on what will come after the current MDG 8.
The comprehensive character of Monterrey and Doha, which in their six or seven chapters talk about various modalities of development finance starting from domestic resources, in our view, is a very good basis for a future post-MDG 8. Therefore again, we can see that today’s dialogue is important. Of course we have to go further than Monterrey and Doha. Reflecting on the changing landscape that surrounds development cooperation in today’s world, my delegation would like to emphasize the importance of not only ODA commitments but also various other financial resources. The future development finance must involve all the various actors in development cooperation, including emerging economies, the private sector and civil society. Their finances and human resources should be maximized in terms of both quantity and quality.
Financing for development has long been an essential tool to attain one of the fundamental goals of the United Nations; namely to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. Therefore, while donor countries should remain firmly dedicated to meet the commitments they have made to provide ODA and other assistance, more coordinated action by all development actors is very much needed. Furthermore, innovative mechanisms for financing for development deserve more attention.
At the same time, we must keep in mind that financing is not an end in itself but rather it is a means for realizing development. Therefore, we need to be results-oriented, paying more attention to the effective delivery of resources to meet real development needs. In this regard, it is important that all development partners participate in the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, whose first high-level meeting will be held in Mexico next April following up on what we agreed at the High-level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in Busan in 2011. Collaborative work between the United Nations and the Global Partnership, through the UNDP and the OECD, is essential in this regard.
Mr. President,
The Special Event to follow up on efforts made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, held two weeks ago, was a great opportunity to renew our political commitment to the achievement of the MDGs, and to develop guidelines for the concrete actions of various actors.
During the General Debate of the General Assembly two weeks ago, Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Shinzo Abe, said that Japan has set aside USD 500 million to address health issues in Africa, and has set up training programmes for some 120,000 health and medical services providers. Prime Minister Abe also mentioned that Japan intends to make an appropriate contribution at the upcoming fourth replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which seeks to secure additional financing for the Fund at the global level.
Last June, Japan hosted the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V). At the conference, African heads of state and government repeatedly expressed great eagerness to welcome private sector investment. This reflects the fact that investment flow to Africa now exceeds the flow of assistance. We believe, therefore, that Japan’s assistance to Africa should be utilized strategically by focusing on fostering of human resources as a catalyst inviting further investment. Such cooperation between Africa and Japan will promote sustainable growth while cultivating ownership by African countries themselves.
Mr. President,
My delegation welcomes the fact that the outcome document of the Special Event on the MDGs lays out a clear work plan to organically integrate various related processes on the post-2015 development agenda, such as the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, with a view to working towards a single framework and set of goals. In this regard, the issue of development finance should also be appropriately integrated in line with the right work plan. Therefore, various processes including the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing, the FFD process and the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation should take a coherent approach to agree on a new global partnership to be included in the post-2015 development agenda, which involves a variety of development actors.
Mr. President,
In conclusion, I would like to express my hope again that the discussions at this High-level Dialogue will provide valuable inputs and insights to the deliberations in various fora on the post-2015 development agenda.
