Interview: Under Secretary of State Alan Larson on
The Group of Eight Summit in Okinawa
July 13, 2000

Under Secretary of State Alan Larson says information technology and development are two themes that will be emphasized at the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit in Okinawa July 21-23.

The leaders of the seven major industrialized countries plus Russia have recognized that information technology with its far-reaching impact merits their attention and discussion, said Larson, whose portfolio includes economic, business and agricultural affairs. The G-8 leaders will issue a statement on information technology, he said.

The G-8 will also examine progress in development and poverty alleviation in the world's developing countries, reviewing advancements on issues that include debt relief, health, education and trade, Larson said.

There has been "reasonable" progress in implementing the enhanced debt relief initiative for the poorest countries, which was endorsed by the G-8 at their last annual summit in Cologne in June 1999, Larson said. Debt relief should not be granted to countries that are involved in armed conflicts, he added.

The G-8 leaders, and the meetings' communique, will address many other issues, Larson added. These range from international crime to the environment, non-proliferation, regional political issues and conflict prevention -- to cite a few, he said.

The following interview was conducted by Washington File writer Warner Rose.

Question: What will be the main themes at the Okinawa Summit?

LARSON: Two major themes this year will be the information technology revolution and development and poverty alleviation.

Information technology is clearly transforming our economies. In the United States and some other countries where international technology, or IT, has been widely applied we're seeing what appears to be a marked improvement in productivity. There is also an increasing appreciation of the social and political impact IT can have all around the world. The G-8 countries recognize that IT is an issue that has really come of age; that it is so important that it merits discussion by the leaders, and deserves its own summit statement, which will be the Okinawa charter on information technology.

In the charter, we will want to review what is necessary to seize the opportunities offered by IT. We think that there is a set of policies that have proven to be very important. We also want to make certain that the benefits of the IT revolution are widely shared within our countries and beyond our countries. Internationally, we're very cognizant that this is a technology that can help poorer countries leapfrog in their development. We'd like to have the charter set forth an action plan. We know from discussions that we've had with developing countries, international organizations and the business community that for the developing countries to start benefiting from IT, they will need to have the necessary policy framework and they need to know where they stand relative to that. There also needs to be adequate training available; and issues of connectivity must be addressed.

On development, we want to take note of the fact that there has been significant progress achieved in alleviating poverty over the last 25 years, but an awful lot is yet to be done. We think the strategy that has worked for countries is growth oriented and includes open markets. But we also want to talk about some specific areas where we want to do more. These include debt, health, education and trade.

The summit obviously will cover a broader range of subjects -- crime, the environment, some regional issues and conflict prevention -- to cite a few. There will be the ongoing agenda on non-proliferation and regional political issues, such as North Korea, India/Pakistan, and Middle East peace process. But the IT revolution and development will be central.

Q: What is the status of the enhanced debt relief initiative approved at the G-8 Summit in Cologne last year for reducing the debts held by the poorest countries that agree to undertake reform programs?

LARSON: We think that we have made reasonable progress in implementing the debt reduction proposals within the G-8 and the Paris Club -- the forum where developing countries' government-to-government debt are renegotiated. The Cologne Initiative seeks to assure that debt reduction for the poorest countries of the world is larger, faster and deeper than before. We want to make sure that debt will not stand between a country that is dedicated to economic development and improving the life of its own people and its ability to achieve that goal. The way that we are going about this is by making sure that the countries that are potential recipients have poverty reduction strategies, and that the debt relief is granted in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries program. There are a number of countries that are in the pipeline and we're trying to make things move as quickly as possible.

At the same time, some of the countries that have been in the pipeline have been involved in armed conflict. We recognize that conflict itself is one of the biggest causes of poverty throughout the world and we want to make sure that we are operating this debt reduction initiative in a way that reduces conflict and the incentive for conflict rather than facilitates or enables it.

Q: Then countries that have begun the process, but become involved in conflict, will not be able to continue? What is the situation with Uganda, which had completed most of the steps of its debt relief program but which became involved in a conflict in Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

LARSON: Uganda is part way through debt reduction. The Paris Club piece of the debt reduction has been delayed for a while because of the fighting in and around Kisangani. We understand that the forces involved in that fighting have signed a cease fire and are withdrawing. And if all of that sticks, and there is a pull back, and there is an end to the armed conflict, then I imagine we can move forward with the rest of the debt reduction package.

I don't think anyone imagines that the purpose of debt reduction is to make it easier to engage in conflict. It's a relatively simple proposition, and I think that what we want to do is to make sure that the purpose of debt reduction is to make it possible for countries to devote more resources to basic social investment and poverty alleviation strategies.

Q: Up to now the U.S. Congress has not approved the money President Clinton requested to finance debt relief.

LARSON: I want to emphasize that President Clinton believes it is very important for the Congress to give full funding to the president's overseas budget initiatives -- including funding for debt relief. These programs advance our national interests.

Q: On health, there is currently a great emphasis on the need to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

LARSON: Infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS are a real threat to economic development and stability for a number of countries around the world, and we really need to devote a concerted effort to tackle these challenges. We're looking for genuine commitments to provide more resources and a more coordinated strategy for dealing with all aspects of this problem, making sure that affordable treatments are as available as possible. There needs to be the widest possible communication of public health information; but also there must be a concerted effort to develop new forms of treatment. President Clinton has taken a lead on this with his new vaccine's initiative in the United States. While the focus is on HIV/AIDS, we recognize that there are diseases like malaria that are also huge health problems and huge development problems in many parts of the world and will require similar efforts to combat them.

Q: What about the other areas?

LARSON: They'll be some discussion of education. Investment in education -- in particular, in basic education -- has proved to be one of the most economically and socially beneficial investments a country can make.

We would like to think that any country that is serious about improving primary education and was prepared to set out a credible strategy for achieving these goals in cooperation with the World Bank would find donors ready, willing and able to come forward to support their efforts. We'd like to see the World Bank and various multilateral development banks doing as much as possible. We've doubled our own commitments for basic education in our bilateral aid.

The fourth component is trade. That ties in with the broader idea that strong economic growth is a prerequisite for poverty alleviation. You just can't achieve significant poverty alleviation in the absence of a growing economy. One of the most important policies to facilitate growth is economic openness and trade. We'd like to make sure that through capacity building and training programs, that developing countries can fully participate in world trade and world trade negotiations. We'd like to see trade mainstreamed into the country strategies that the World Bank does. It is very important that trade not be thought of as something separate or something potentially harmful to development. It's just the opposite; we think trade is a real engine of growth and development, and it needs to be seen as such and treated as such.

Q: What about other issues, such as the proposed new trade round?

LARSON: I think we can give some momentum to the multilateral trade round. At the recent European Union-U.S. summit there were calls for a very serious effort to prepare for launching a new round of multilateral trade negotiations this year. We will discuss further in Okinawa what we can do to make that a reality.

Q: How will the summit address biotechnology and agriculture?

LARSON: On biotechnology and agriculture, what we are trying to emphasize is the importance of building confidence in the food safety regulatory regimes of the G-8 countries. We want to give a strong boost to the international organizations that have direct responsibility in this area, like Codex Alimentarius, which works jointly under the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization. We think that it is very important in this work to keep in mind the needs of the developing countries. Biotech/agriculture in itself can make a major contribution to agricultural development and poverty alleviation. If you are in a poor country and food constitutes 50 percent of the family budget, anything that makes food more abundant and less expensive is something that not only helps farmers, but it goes a long way to alleviate the most serious forms of poverty. On the issue of getting a better system for approval of biotech products in developed countries, the focus continues to be on having a science-based, rules-based approach. I think there has been progress since last year.

Q: Environmental protection is a regular item on the G-8 agenda. What are the U.S. objectives here?

LARSON: On environment, we think that the export credit agencies of the world, which finance a larger dollar volume of projects than the multilateral develop banks, ought to operate under strong environmental guidelines. The Export-Import Bank of the United States has operated within these guidelines for several years, and so we think that others need to as well. If not, there is a risk that the G-8 countries are using taxpayer funds in support of projects that degrade the environment. This could be a major adverse contribution to the emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change. So we would like to see an explicit commitment on the part of the G-8 to achieve the goal of putting these guidelines into place by this time next year, 2001. These guidelines should at least include what is already in the sensible guidelines that have been adopted by multilateral development banks.

Q: What is the U.S. priority on international crime?

LARSON: We want to push for the early ratification of the United Nations Convention on Transnational Crime. This convention has three protocols on trafficking of people, which has become a highly important, relevant matter underlined by the 50 or so people who died recently trying to illegally enter the United Kingdom. There will be a strong push for ratification of that convention and the three protocols.

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