23/9/2005
Poor States Need Trade More Than Aid To Overcome Poverty, Say UN Delegates

The United Nations General Assembly was told this week that aid alone will not enable poor countries to achieve economic growth. Grenada's Foreign Minister, Elvin Nimrod, said Caribbean countries face growing unemployment and poverty because of recent World Trade Organisation (WTO) rulings which resulted in the removal of certain preferential arrangements. As a direct result, two of the most vital industries to the Caribbean, bananas and sugar, are rapidly declining, sending thousands of people into abject poverty.

"Countries of the Caribbean require more than just aid; for aid alone cannot eradicate poverty," he said. "What Caribbean countries desire most fervently are trading opportunities."

Knowlson Gift, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, echoed this view. "For the Caribbean region, in particular, challenges remain in the area of trade, where the rapid erosion of tariff preferences for primary commodities such as bananas and sugar, have been extremely
prejudicial to the socio-economic development of many CARICOM (Caribbean Community) countries," he said, calling for measures to help the region.

"We have been forced to ask ourselves if a pro-development trading regime is something the international community really wants," said Trevor Walker, Minister of State of Antigua and Barbuda. "Our CARICOM neighbours have been dragged through brutal trade battles, struggling to keep their agricultural sectors alive – namely the banana and sugar industries." He added that a pro-development trading regime "would not amputate the feet of such small vulnerable players and leave them to haemorrhage – and that is exactly what has transpired with our banana and sugar-producing CARICOM neighbours."

Norway's Foreign Minister, Jan Petersen, agreed that international trade is a prerequisite for economic growth and development. "The ongoing WTO negotiations are approaching a crucial crossroads in Hong Kong in December," he said, calling for stepped-up efforts to complete the Doha round in 2006, with a focus on the needs and interests of developing countries.