Korea’s chairmanship of the G20 in 2010 represents an opportunity to bring development issues into the policy discussion on the global economy. As the only G20 country that has successfully transitioned from poor to rich since World War II, Korea offers a unique perspective on international development cooperation and partnerships. Development and poverty reduction continue to be the principal reoccupations of many Asian leaders and by taking up the development agenda which is of high priority for all developing countries, Korea could make the G20 leaders meeting a much more inclusive and relevant event for the whole world.
The November G20 Summit will be the second of three high profile international meetings on development: 20-22 September 2010, New York, “United Nations High-Level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals”; 11-12 November 2010, “Seoul: G20 Leaders Summit”; November 2011, Busan High- Level Forum 4 on Aid Effectiveness.
The G20 should be seen as a way of connecting major international gatherings, ensuring consistency of messages and a focus on results. The UN MDG meeting has concluded that leaders remain committed to achievement of the goals and that renewed efforts are warranted. Hence, it would seem appropriate for the G20 Seoul summit to have specific proposals for next steps on at least a portion of this agenda and to broaden the dialogue beyond aid to a variety of instruments for supporting economic growth in developing countries. Similarly, if the Seoul G20 Communique calls for fresh approaches towards aid and development, it can provide encouragement for Development Ministers who will reconvene one year later in Busan to discuss follow-up to the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action.
International aid and development cooperation now has a track record of working on the basis of multi-year programs, and this fits well into the G20 desire to address longer-term structural issues in the global economy. The UN Millennium Development Goals set global targets through 2015, while the Busan High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness should seek to develop new targets and principles for improving aid effectiveness, building on the progress achieved towards the Paris Declaration targets
Source : Colin I. Bradford, Jr, Wonhyuk Lim, co-editors, 2010. Toward the Consolidation of the G20 : From Crisis Committee to Global Steering Committee. Seoul: Korea Development Institute
