From Afghanistan to Busan: Looking for New Development Cooperation
As a follow up to the Paris Declaration and ACCRA Agenda for Action, Ministers from both developing and donor countries, government representatives, parliamentarians, civil society organisations and private sector representatives will come together for the Fourth High-Level Forum (HLF-4) on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea, from 29 November to 1 December 2011 to review global progress in improving the impact of development aid and make new commitments to further ensure that aid helps reduce poverty and supports progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In 2005, heads of agencies and other senior officials from different countries met in Paris at the High Level Forum, and committed their countries and organizations to the Paris Declaration Commitments by signing the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. In September 2008, development partners came together in Accra, Ghana, to boost efforts to achieve the Paris targets. In addition to all these commitments, findings from the Paris Declaration Evaluation and Monitoring Surveys show slow
progress, particularly by donors, therefore it is important that be addressed the unfinished businesses of the Paris Declaration and the ACCRA Agenda for Action by developing a mechanism to hold all parties accountable for their commitments.
At the HLF-4, more than 2000 delegates from around the globe are expected to discuss and assess global progress in improving the quality of aid against the agreed commitments as well as global best practices in aid management.
As a preparatory event for the HLF-4, the Government of Republic of Korea hosted the 2011 HLF-4 International Essay Contest in order to share young people’s inspiration on aid and development that have affected their own lives. Young people from around the world were invited to submit their innovative ideas on effective aid and development. The theme of the essay was “Vision of Youth on Effective Aid and Development”. The guidelines for being eligible for this competition were: one has to be between the ages of 18 to 32 years old, the essay must be in 2000 words in English and must be unpublished, original and written by one person. In total, 765 people from 100 countries around the world participated in the contest. One of the contestants in this competition was Mr. Ajmal Poya, Aid Effectiveness Officer at the MoF-Government of Afghanistan. The essays were carefully evaluated by the international panels; and Mr. Ajmal Poya was awarded the third prize. Mr. Poya’s paper was built on a vision for effective working of development cooperation through the introduction of key pillars as roots of success for a renewed global partnership for enhanced aid effectiveness and development.
A delegation from the MoF of Government of Afghanistan is attending the HLF-4 to discuss the aid effectiveness priorities. Recognising the complexity of fragile countries in conflict situation, country-tailored systems and development of practical mechanisms for accountability of commitments, are some of the key messages that Government of Afghanistan will raise at this forum.
The world is looking for such an event to set out principles for more effective partnerships and development results to push forward global efforts to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Afghanistan is also expecting renewed commitments from the international community and government counterparts at Busan to address the unfinished business.