JEDDAH, 17 September 2003 — Development aid from Arab donors, estimated at 0.85 percent of the GDP, exceeds the assistance by Western donors, according to Prince Talal ibn Abdul Aziz, president of the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Institutions (AGFUND).
In a statement at a seminar to be sponsored by Arab Aid in Dubai on Sept. 20, the prince said Arab donors constituted one of the world’s largest donor groups.
“Even today they consistently outstrip the recommended norms set by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of official development assistance as a percentage of GNP,” he said.
At 0.85 percent their contributions far surpass the 0.3 percent provided by Western donors and even the internationally accepted target of 0.7 percent, he added.
Prince Talal and Moeen Qureshi, former prime minister of Pakistan and chairman of the Emerging Markets Partnership in Washington, will be among the keynote speakers at the Dubai seminar. It will debate economic and social issues facing the developing world.
Arab Aid has assembled a number of speakers from around the world, including senior politicians and leaders from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Arab world for the event at Dubai International Convention Center.
Organized as part of the annual meeting of the boards of governors of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Dubai, the seminar will discuss how Arab Aid has supported projects to alleviate poverty, develop health care programs, fund agricultural development and build infrastructure, including power plants, road and rail systems.
“Three regions — Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa — have received the bulk of the $70 billion that Arab Aid has contributed to projects in 147 countries since coordination of the Arab National & Regional Development Institutions was established in 1974,” a press statement from Arab Aid said.
“As policy makers and development specialists, our common concern has spawned a common vision, that of a more just and equitable global society in which humanity’s basic rights are not only acknowledged but fulfilled and respected,” the statement quoted Prince Talal as saying in advance of the seminar.
Prince Talal highlighted the Arab world’s efforts to create a better society. “This is a work that is still desperately needed in a world where three billion of our fellow citizens are forced to survive on less than $3 a day,” he pointed out.
Arab Aid consists of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the Saudi Fund for Development, the Islamic Development Bank, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and AGFUND.
