"Poverty is born out of political, economic, social and
historical factors. The problem gets even worse in an irrational
international political and economic order amid unbalanced
development," said Liu Jian, minister in charge of poverty
alleviation in the Chinese State Council. He was speaking at a
Monday afternoon meeting of world leaders convened to explore ways
to eradicate hunger and poverty.
Liu said hunger and poverty have become a global problem
menacing world peace and human development.
He proposed three methods of dealing with these crucial issues:
First is the fostering of a favorable international
environment.
In terms of economics, fair, reasonable, open and transparent
international rules must be put in place for world trade,
investment and finance so that developing countries can have their
fair share of the dividend.
"In the political field, the purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations and universally recognized norms of
international law must be observed in maintaining world peace and
stability," Liu said.
Second, he stated, developing countries need to work out poverty
reduction strategies tailored to their own situations and developed
through self-reliance and hard work.
"Developed nations, on the other hand, are duty-bound to render
more assistance to their developing counterparts, making good their
commitments on financial aid, technology transfer, debt relief and
market access in particular."
International organizations must play a greater role in the
global campaign against poverty, he noted, pressing for action in
the wake of international conferences and exploring new ways to
support global efforts to reduce poverty.
Liu's third point was the mobilization of resources for the
elimination of poverty, giving government, business and society
space to put their strengths to work and complement one another in
their efforts.
Heads of state from nearly 60 countries were among those who
attended the half-day meeting, jointly organized by Brazil, France,
Chile and Spain and held under the auspices of UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan.
(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2004)