*EPF513 03/15/2002
State's Larson Meets With NGOs to Discuss U.S. Aid Proposal
(Bush administration seeking input of advocacy groups) (740)

By Berta Gomez
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- A top State Department policy maker has asked aid advocates for their input as officials develop a blueprint for President Bush's plan to grant an extra $5,000 million in assistance to poor countries that adopt sound economic policies.

"This is an extraordinarily large commitment and it will take a lot of work to get this done," Under Secretary of State Alan Larson told representatives of about two dozen non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that perform development work overseas.

Larson met with the NGOs on March 14 almost immediately after President Bush delivered a speech outlining his vision for "a new compact for global development." Under the proposal, the aid increase would be spread over three years beginning in fiscal year 2004, and would be closely linked to recipient countries' commitment to good governance, health and education programs, and policies that promote economic freedom and opportunity.

"For those of you who ... see this as an important issue, we welcome your support," Larson told the NGOs. He emphasized that planning was still in the early stages, and that administration officials would need "a lot of input on modalities and criteria" as they move the process forward. "This is a serious request," he told them.

For their part, the NGO representatives expressed some surprise over President Bush's announcement -- and strong support for the initiative. "President Bush deserves credit for really taking a step forward" and addressing the need to eradicate poverty, one of the NGO representatives said. Another described the Bush speech as a "major declaration" committing the United States to a more aggressive approach to global development.

Larson said the administration would seek international support for the plan as well. President Bush and the rest of the U.S. delegation to the upcoming Financing for Development (FfD) meeting in Monterrey, Mexico, "will want to discuss these ideas with our partners" there, he said. In fact, Larson said he had already spoken by telephone with NGOs attending a pre-FfD forum in Monterrey, to hear their early reactions to the Bush proposal.

"We need to be working with [NGOs] like you, working with the Congress, and working with our international partners," Larson said. "Our task is to try to get as many countries as possible to work with this approach," he said.

He also made clear that while the specifics of the program would emerge over time, the underlying principle was firmly in place.

"The essential thing is that our focus is on using the increased resources to work with countries that are showing a commitment to development itself," Larson said. "By doing that, [the aid] will attract more resources -- including more private resources -- and we'll be lifting more lives," he said.

Briefing reporters the following day, Larson was asked to comment on the World Bank's recent call for donor countries to double their foreign aid budgets. He noted that Bank President James Wolfensohn was in the audience for Bush's speech and had described the U.S. initiative as "a very positive step."

Larson also suggested that setting specific funding goals was less important than creating a framework to ensure the most effective use of those funds. "I don't think anyone knows the exact amount" of aid necessary to eliminate poverty, he said.

The current U.S. budget for official development assistance is about $11,000 million per year. Larson said that other development-related spending in areas such as international security and economic development would bring that total to about $17,000 million annually.

He stressed that the initiative proposed by President Bush would involve $5,000 million "over and above" existing aid levels, and would be subject to rigorous accountability requirements.

Asked if those requirements would not lead to exclusion of some of the world's poorest and most badly governed countries, Larson acknowledged that the administration would face some "tough choices" in allocating funds.

He added, however, that U.S. aid programs have traditionally targeted some of the poorest countries despite the quality of their governments. The United States was the number one provider of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, Larson pointed out.

The new U.S. focus on accountability is based on the principle that development is too important for donors not to demand positive, concrete results, Larson said. The failure to use aid money effectively, he said, "is something that is really intolerable."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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