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COMPETITIVE CHALLENGES REQUIRE FASTER JAPANESE REFORM
Tokyo, Japan, – Japan's recovery from its "lost decade" of economic growth has come thanks to impressive and painful but regrettably incomplete reforms, senior government and business leaders told participants at the World Economic Forum on East Asia on June 16. Addressing the challenges posed by the rapid rise of China and India in the global economy will require that Japan's next government seize the opportunity to increase the pace with which they internationalize Japan, its industries and workforce.
"Japan has changed enormously in the last five years, but did we change sufficiently? The answer is no," said Heizo Takenaka, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications and for the Privatization of the Postal Services of Japan. "The world is changing very fast and proactive reform is in order. We have only begun."
Japan is at a crossroads. After leading the struggle to transform his party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and the nation's economy, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is due to retire in September. The party has yet to name a successor. So while Japan is reaping the benefits of the latest series of reforms in the form of a sustained economic recovery, the danger, panellists said, is that the next government allows the pace of reform to slacken.
The session heard that Japan was in a much stronger condition to compete than it was 15 years ago. Japan's financial sector, for example, has been significantly overhauled. Non-performing loans have been drastically cut. The cross-shareholdings that bound banks to their biggest corporate borrowers have diminished and companies now turn increasingly to capital markets for financing, said Junichi Ujiie, Chairman, Nomura Holdings, Japan; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on East Asia. "I think we're about to go through a core transformation," he said. Corporations, meanwhile, are now having to answer more than ever to shareholders rather than to bureaucrats, forcing them to improve corporate governance, and room is being made for entrepreneurs, said Kakutaro Kitashiro, Chairman, Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives). With changes to corporate laws, thousands of new companies are being created. Others are being combined thanks to a wave of mergers and acquisitions. And employees feel freer to change jobs and companies to pursue better opportunities without fear of being stigmatized as disloyal.
A corresponding sea change has come to Japanese government. While once the ruling LDP concentrated on using pork-barrel politics and fiscal outlays to gain votes and fuel corporate profitability, it is now committed to reducing Japan's enormous fiscal budget deficits and shrinking the government. "This is a revolution, if I may say so," said Hidenao Nakagawa, Chairman, Policy Research Council, Liberal Democratic Party, House of Representatives, Japan. Perhaps most significantly, the Koizumi government has begun the process of privatizing the Postal Services and thereby freeing up one of the largest repositories for public savings to more efficient and productive use in the economy.
But old attitudes die hard, and panellists said that while many young Japanese have adopted a new global mindset, much of Japan is still afflicted with hidebound notions of the relationship between the employee and the corporation and the role of Japan in the world. There is an insular mentality in Japan and a complacency that still need to be overcome, said Hellmut Schutte, Dean, Asia Campus, INSEAD, Singapore. Many companies still believe in a bottom-up approach to management that hinders them from responding quickly to the changing global marketplace. "People's mentalities haven't changed that much," said Masao Hirano, Director, McKinsey & Company, Japan.
Market-based reforms are facing new resistance from those who espouse these traditional notions. In particular, many Japanese fear that reforms are undermining the cherished egalitarianism of Japan's post-war economic success – a nation of middle-class people. "Many Japanese managers feel reform will destroy the Japanese business regime," said Hirano. Others lament that breaking the lifetime employment once enjoyed by employees at big Japanese corporations is creating a nation of winners and losers, challenging the sense of shared purpose and community that has been instrumental in Japan's post-war miracle and social stability. "We can't always have a winners versus losers situation. People won't accept this," said Yoshihiko Miyauchi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Orix Corporation, Japan.
But the result is a chequered scorecard when it comes to reform and participation in the global economy, panellists said. While the "old economy" industries that anchored Japan's economic rise in the 1980s such as automobiles and electronics are doing well, said Takenaka, Japan is lagging in the development of its software and IT services. Productivity among Japan's service industries is still too low. And for every success story like Toyota, said Schutte, there is a failure like Mitsubishi Motors. Returns on investment are still too low, money supply growth is moribund and Japan's banks have yet to regain the powerful influence they once exerted on international finance.
In government, bureaucrats still wield control over policy creation and implementation, said Takenaka. But along with fiscal reforms, Japan needs to address the need for a stronger social safety net for its rapidly ageing population and to offer better protections for workers as Japan forsakes its vaunted job security.
Japan has embarked steadfastly down the road of reform, panellists agree. But its new leaders will need to take bold steps to reform taxes and untangle the paradox between shrinking the budget while beefing up the nation's social safety net. The government will need to ensure that those who lose out in Japan's new economy have a second chance to succeed, said Kitashiro, and that society isn't rigidly divided between winners and losers. Put another way, the government should emphasize equality of opportunity rather than equality of results, said Sadakazu Tanigaki, Minister of Finance of Japan. It will also need to stimulate Japan's entry into the knowledge economy, moving beyond the manufacture of gadgets to the creation and adoption of productivity-enhancing network technologies.
Most importantly, perhaps, Japan needs to interact more intensely with the world. More Japanese students need to join their counterparts from China and India in top universities. And Japan, Nakagawa added, must find ways to participate and exert leadership in the world commensurate with its economic stature.
"We know what must be done," said Takenaka. "The question is whether there is such a leadership."
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GO REGIONAL BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Tokyo, Japan – Even as East Asian countries integrate, they should not ignore their global responsibilities, Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, told participants on the second and final day of the World Economic Forum on East Asia. During a plenary session on regional integration, Schwab called for more attention to be paid to global issues. "The challenge we have in the 21st Century is to reconcile our global, national and regional identities," Schwab said. "The key will be to make sure we keep up to our global responsibilities."
Earlier, Schwab had expressed concern that current global institutions are not able to meet the challenges posed by the range of risks the world faces today. "We concentrate too much of our efforts on regional institutions instead of really focusing on where there is a need – on the construction of global institutions. We do not have the global structures in place. Practically all our organizations are construction sites."
During the session, panellists discussed what would be the appropriate model for East Asian integration. They agreed that, instead of aiming to emulate the European Union, East Asia should continue to pursue what Sadako Ogata, President, Japan International Cooperation Agency, termed a "bottom-up" approach in which NGOs, business and other non-state actors drive integration and cooperation. Ong Keng-Yong, Secretary-General, ASEAN, Jakarta, underscored the progress in regional integration that South-East Asia has achieved through ASEAN over nearly four decades. He pointed to the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) as an example. "We are not so much working on institutions. We are working on various mechanisms that start off informally and then develop into something more substantial."
East Asian integration has been "market driven," Mari Pangestu, Minister of Trade of Indonesia, agreed. An outward-looking development approach has led to the proliferation of trade and investment links within the region and across the world. That openness should continue, Douglas K. Bereuter, President, The Asia Foundation, USA, argued. "An East Asian community is more aspirational. But it is a very positive aspiration as long as it is not exclusionary." He agreed that what is underpinning East Asian integration is the "thickening web" of connections created by exchanges and cooperation among NGOs and other non-state actors.
Still, governments have a role to play, Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, reckoned. The "bottom-up" approach should not prevent East Asia from tackling common problems such as maritime security. The region must pursue integration with clarity, unimpeded by past enmities. "There must be clarity in our strategic thinking," Najib concluded. "We must look at the big picture and not let the baggage of history deter us."
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| World Economic Forum Meeting For Asia Opens In Tokyo
"The World Economic Forum (WEF) regional meeting for Asia opened Thursday in Tokyo, with economic, political and academic figures from 27 countries to discuss economic integration and other issues in Asia," reports Asia Pulse (Australia).
"The WEF on East Asia, the first such meeting held in Japan, is under the theme of 'creating a new agenda for Asian integration.' During the two-day meeting, some 300 participants are to discuss topics including energy security, environmental issues, partnership between Japan, China and South Korea, and India's economic growth. ."
Agence France Press adds that lead policymakers on Thursday said "the Asian economy will keep soaring ahead but faces growing risks as a young and restless population begins to seek a better quality of life rather than the wider good. . A massive and increasingly skilled labor force and huge consumer markets, particularly in China and India, promise a bright future for Asia, said many of the officials, business leaders and academics at the forum. ."
Kyodo News (Japan) notes that "Japanese Trade Minister Toshihiro Nikai on Thursday urged East Asian economies to set up free trade agreements, an Asian version of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and a scheme to nurture human resources to act as a bridge between neighbors in the region. . These agreements will make trade in the region more comprehensive so that it includes investments, services, intellectual property and economic cooperation, rather than just simply exchanging products and money, he said. . He also called for the expansion of [student] exchange programs. ."
Reuters reports that "clinging to past enmity could harm Asia's currently bright economic prospects, the trade ministers of Vietnam and Japan told the forum on Thursday. While Asia's economy looks set to remain strong, driven largely by emerging economic superpower China as well as India, political will is needed to keep history from chilling growth, said Vietnamese Industry Minister Hoang Trung Hai. . His view was echoed by Japanese Trade Minister Nikai, who said that economic progress must take priority over such differences and that leaders must focus on that. ."
Xinhua (China) notes that after talks held on the sidelines of the WEF between Nikai and visiting Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, "Japan and India decided on Thursday in Tokyo on a plan to encourage Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises to invest in India."
Vietnam News Agency Bulletin adds that ". under the plan, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will set up a consultation service point called 'India New Window' to offer information to Japanese companies interested in doing business in India.
The Japanese External Trade Organization will open its third office in Bangalore next month to support Japanese businesses in India, following those in New Delhi and Mumbai. The two countries will exchange lists of each other's companies to promote business linkages and technological cooperation, Kyodo News reported."
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"NEW CENTURY BELONGS TO ASIA" - HEARS OPENING SESSION OF WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ON EAST ASIA
Tokyo, Japan – Participants at the opening session of the World Economic Forum on East Asia were told that Asia’s economic growth is steadily enabling it to replace its longstanding reliance on exports to the West with intraregional trade in goods and services aimed at its own increasingly affluent consumers. Ensuring that this transition continues smoothly, however, will depend on how well Asian nations can boost cooperation and integration to find common solutions to disparities of income, scarce resources and environmental pollution.
"The new century belongs to Asia," said Jiang Jianqing, Chairman of the Board, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, People's Republic of China. "But at the same time we need to seriously tackle the many challenges we face today."
Jiang was one of several panellists addressing the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum on East Asia, the Forum’s first ever regional meeting in Japan. The meeting is being held in partnership with Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives) and brings together more than 300 global leaders from business, politics, government, academia, civil society and the media from 35 countries.
Organized around the theme "Creating a New Agenda for Asian Integration," the meeting is being co-chaired by Hassan Marican, President and Chief Executive Officer, PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional), Malaysia; Henry A. McKinnell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer, USA; Kunio Nakamura, President, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Japan; Nandan M. Nilekani, President, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys Technologies, India; Sir Martin Sorrell, Group Chief Executive, WPP, United Kingdom; Junichi Ujiie, Chairman, Nomura Holdings, Japan; and Yun Jong-Yong, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Samsung Electronics, Republic of Korea.
The emergence of China and India into the global economy has given Asia the opportunity to achieve greater economic self-reliance, diminishing its dependence on exporting to the US and the EU. Asia has begun to evolve into a massive consumer market, fostering intraregional trade and reducing the region’s vulnerability to economic cycles in the US and EU.
At the same time, the proliferation of the Internet and other digital technologies is breaking down barriers between nations and industries. This handmaiden of globalization has enabled many in the region to leapfrog ahead in terms of development and compete in the global economy. Japan, South Korea and now China have emerged as centres of technological innovation, while India has seized an expanding niche in providing services to global companies. As a result, said Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, "the Western countries that trumpeted globalization are really witnessing the effects of that globalization."
But with that growth, many challenges to the region have also emerged. Asian nations now compete for increasingly scarce resources, particularly energy, warned Hoang Trung Hai, Minister of Industry of Vietnam. Ecological damage is another threat that doesn’t respect borders. "We also see within countries and within the region the widening gap of the rich and the poor in the region," said Hassan. "This is a risk of instability as we move forward." In particular, Hassan said, Asia needs to address the question of how to prevent its increasingly skilled, English-speaking workforce from emigrating to the West, and reduce barriers to labour movement in Asia to ensure that ageing populations like Japan can find sufficient workers, and young, but poorer, countries like the Philippines can find adequate jobs.
Yun Jong-Yong, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Samsung Electronics, Republic of Korea; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on East Asia, suggested that Asian nations forge closer cooperation in science and technology, developing a programme of academic exchanges that would help develop a regional body of technical expertise.
Towards that end, said Toshihiro Nikai, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Japan is planning to create an Asian version of the Fulbright scholarship, inviting 2,000 students from around Asia to study in Japan each year and helping them find jobs after graduation. He also called for the creation of a regional economic think-tank along the lines of the Organisation for Economic and Co-operation and Development in France. Japan will also continue to try to reduce barriers to Asian trade by pursuing bilateral and multilateral free-trade agreements with its Asian trading partners, Nikai said.
Asia is at an inflection point, warned Yun, and must either seize the opportunity to become the heart of the new global economy or be left behind. It must use its rich history to find a common heritage rather than fuel historical enmities. "We should make an effort to better understand each other’s history and customs in order to increase mutual understanding," he said. "If we hang on to the past we are only impeding each other’s progress."
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Will Global Competition Destroy the American Middle Class?
“The World Isn’t Flat, It’s Tilted,” Claims New Book
Across the country, a growing number of Americans fear that they could be replaced by someone from a developing country. Recent polls indicate that millions of Americans are preoccupied with the outsourcing of American jobs and the threat of global economic competition. From board rooms to class rooms to kitchen tables and water coolers, globalization has become a hot topic of discussion and debate everywhere.
Thomas Friedman’s recent New York Times Bestselling book, The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, asserts that the international economic playing field is now more level than it has ever been. As popular as the book may be, Friedman’s theories on globalization have brought critics out in droves.
“The world isn’t flat as a result of globalization,” says Peter Fingar, noted business expert and author of Extreme Competition: Innovation and the Great 21st Century Business Reformation (MK Press, 2006). “The world is tilted in favor of a fierce new breed of competitors.” These competitors exploit three billion low-paid workers in China, India and the former Soviet Union, countries that have recently adopted capitalism.
“These fierce new competitors are ready to engage you, your company, and your kids in extreme competition,” says Fingar. “They play hardball and dominate their industries. They’ll go to the ends of the earth to employ factors workers for 9 cents an hour and PhDs in science and technology for $20,000 a year. This global search for low-cost labor has already begun to damage, and may even cripple, America’s middle class.”
This epic change in traditional business strategies and assumptions has shaken up the way the world does business. The development of the Internet has eliminated time and distance considerations for workers and added fuel to the fire of global competition. Americans are reluctantly facing a shift of wealth and power to the East.
“The great dot-com crash of 2000 wasn’t the signal for the beginning of the end, it was a signal that we had reached the end of the beginning,” says Fingar. “The tinkering phase of the Internet was complete, and now it’s time to get on with the real transformation of business and society.”
Fingar stresses that this transformation is not something for us to worry about in the future. The time is now to deal with the reality of the global economy. “We are not on the brink of a great transition,” says Fingar. “We’ve already crossed the threshold to a new economic world order.”
Providing the framework and practical strategies needed for action, Extreme Competition acts as a survival guide in this new age of global competition and provides the insight needed to win. “We must be prepared now for extreme competition or lose our standing in the world economy and our standard of living,” he says. Fingar’s message serves as a penetrating wake-up call for governments, businesses and individuals everywhere.
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Australia Pushes For Greater Asian Influence At IMF
"Asian economies must be given more influence at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reflect the region's growing importance, Australian Treasurer Peter Costello said Wednesday," reports Agence France Press.
"Costello's comments follow those of IMF Deputy Chief Anne Krueger who last week was reported as saying that some Asian economies were under-represented at the Washington-based fund. Krueger singled out China and South Korea as deserving an automatic increase in their voting rights at the IMF which has long been dominated by the US, Europe and Japan. Costello said Australia wanted the Fund reformed to reflect current economic realities. . At a joint press conference with IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato, Costello said that he expected progress to be made on reforms at the Fund's meeting in Singapore in September. ."
Dow Jones adds that ". but while restructuring the IMF and World Bank to take greater account of the influence of emerging economic powerhouses such as China and India seems a no-brainer, Costello has his work cut out reaching a consensus at November's G20 meeting in Melbourne. With a membership that comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US, the G20 brings together representatives of both the major industrialized economies and the world's emerging giants. Costello has repeatedly said China and India should have greater representation on the board of the IMF. ."
Also at the joint press conference, The Associated Press notes Rato said "the recent volatility in global share markets is a correction that has been due, and represents a reappraisal of risk amid concerns about rising inflation. . Many countries have run expansionary monetary policies in recent years, Rato said, and the markets were now adjusting to an expected contraction. Signs of inflation were also provoking concern, he added. But the IMF chief said the prospect for global economic growth was still strong over the next two years, with 5 percent growth forecast in 2006 and a 'healthy pace' also expected for 2007. .
Rato was making a four-day visit to Australia and New Zealand, where he will meet with government officials to discuss regional economic issues ahead of the annual meeting of the IMF's Board of Governors in Singapore in September."
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Reuters World News Alert for June 14, 2006
SUDAN CONLFICTS
East Sudan talks to begin in Asmara after delay
Rebels from Sudan's east will open their first talks with the Khartoum government in neighbouring Eritrea, hoping to resolve the simmering conflict in the gold-rich area, officials say.
S.Africa's Mbeki to push Sudan on U.N. peace force
"You cannot manage without it (a U.N. presence)," says South African Deputy Foreign Minister. "The situation is grave."
Tough times
Suspicion, late wages and a harsh climate: welcome to Darfur peacekeeping.
East Africans drive business in "boom town" Juba
African entrepreneurs are flocking to south Sudan, hoping to get rich on peace.
INDONESIA QUAKE
Indonesians injured by quake face uncertain future
Doctors say earthquake survivors with orthopaedic problems face an uncertain future in makeshift shelters and tents following the destruction of their homes.
Find a charity
Browse this list for a guide to the activities of member organisations and U.N. agencies in the quake-hit area of Java.
INDONESIA VOLCANO
Indonesia volcano back on highest alert level
An Indonesian agency raises the alert status of Mount Merapi volcano to its highest level again.
Java blog
An aid worker tells of the threat posed by the Mountain of Fire.
SOMALIA TROUBLES
Somali Islamists say they not U.S. enemy-official
A U.S. counterterrorism official says Islamist warlords have asked for an open dialogue.
CHAD TROUBLES
CHAD: Spate of hijackings force aid cutbacks
Attacks on aid worker vehicles are forcing U.N. agencies to cut back their support to camps sheltering 160,000 refugees, IRIN reports.
SOUTH ASIA FLOODS
Thousands marooned, 12 killed in South Asia floods
Almost 500,000 people are marooned in Bangladesh, and several killed in northeast India.
CHINA EXTREME WEATHER
Flash floods kill 25 in southwest China
Flash floods kill at least 25 people in remote towns in southwest China where 30 are missing, while the northeast is suffering from drought, the state media says.
ETHNIC CONFLICT IN ETHIOPIA
ETHIOPIA: Ethnic conflict claims 100 lives in the south
Fighting over water and pasture breaks out between the Guji and Borena ethnic groups in southern Ethiopia.
MALI UNREST
Mali government ready for talks with desert rebels
Mali's government is ready to negotiate with Tuareg rebels demanding more autonomy for the desert north, a senior government official says.
FEATURE-Mali desert rebels swap Kalashnikovs for guitars
Music and poetry are integral to Mali's rebel movement.
UGANDA VIOLENCE
UGANDA-SUDAN: New peace bid with LRA won't deter quest for justice ICC
The International Criminal Court insists that efforts to engage the Lord's Resistance Army in peace negotiations will not impede the arrest and prosecution of the indicted rebel leaders, IRIN reports.
EAST TIMOR NATION-BUILDING
UN hears plea for peacekeepers' return to E. Timor
A U.N. special envoy calls for peacekeepers to return to East Timor to help stabilise the country a year after U.N. forces were withdrawn.
SRI LANKA CONFLICT
Sri Lanka violence continues as Tigers return home
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas kill a Home Guard trooper, police say, as the rebels return from failed talks with the Colombo government in Norway.
CONGO ELECTION PREPARATION
EU general vows tough force for Congo elections
European Union troops being sent to help safeguard July 30 elections in Democratic Republic of Congo will use deadly force if necessary, a top commander vows.
NEPAL INSURGENCY
NEPAL: Rebels positive about peace talks
Maoist rebels in Nepal reiterate their commitment to making the ongoing peace talks with the new government a success.
BIRD FLU
Africa needs $760 mln to fight bird flu-report
Africa needs $760 million to fight bird flu over the next three years, about three times as much as donors pencilled into their $1.9 billion pledge made in January, the African Union says.
ARMS TRADING
Amnesty says China arming human rights abusers
Chinese weapons help sustain brutal conflicts, criminal violence and human rights violations in countries such as Sudan, Nepal, Myanmar and South Africa, reports Amnesty International.
MYANMAR DISPLACMENT
WITNESS-Why you shouldn't swim to Myanmar
After 58 years of guerrilla war, the Karen dream of an independent homeland in eastern Myanmar appears as remote as ever. Evidence of their suffering is not.
HIV/AIDS
Monkey trial may show possible way to AIDS vaccine
A shot that helps keep AIDS-infected monkeys alive may offer the best clues yet about how to make an effective HIV vaccine, say researchers.
ISRAELI/PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
Cash Crunch
The wheels of the Palestinian Authority are grinding to a halt since aid was cut.
HAITI UNREST
U.N. peacekeepers, gangs clash in Haiti slum
U.N. troops and gangs exchange gunfire in Haiti's largest slum in the first clash for months, say witnesses.
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The World Economic Forum Inaugurates Its First Office in Asia
Beijing office to be headquarters for Centre for Global Growth Companies
Beijing, People's Republic of China – The World Economic Forum will today, June 13, celebrate the inauguration of its Representative Office in Beijing. The office will become the global headquarters for the Forum's Centre for Global Growth Companies. The opening ceremony will be attended by the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Professor Klaus Schwab, senior members of the Chinese government, as well as key corporate members of the Forum.
Earlier this year at the Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Zhang Xiaoqiang, Vice-Chairman, National Development and Reform Commission, People's Republic of China, and Professor Klaus Schwab. The MoU further strengthened the Forum's long-standing engagement in China and set the stage to open the Forum's first office in Asia.
"The World Economic Forum recognized China's promise many years ago, inviting the first Chinese delegation to its Annual Meeting in 1979. The Forum held its first China Business Summit in 1981. It should come as no surprise that we once again turn to China to help realize what is a key strategic step for the Forum. The Beijing office will be the headquarters of our Global Growth Companies — companies that the Forum will help to become true global champions. The significance of the Beijing office is that it is truly a global centre — we will not only handle relations with Chinese or Asian companies from here but for companies the world over," said Professor Schwab.
The Annual Meeting of Global Growth Companies, which will be held in August 2007, will be the flagship event and primary community-building activity for the Global Growth Companies. The Annual Meeting will bring together Global Growth Companies and the World Economic Forum's top experts and leaders of industry. Industry-specific meetings will emphasize the needs and aspirations of companies that are operating globally, developing recognized global brands and managing extremely rapid expansion.
The World Economic Forum invites cities with strong expertise in hosting major international events to submit proposals. For this purpose, a document outlining the expectations has been prepared.
The Community of Global Growth Companies' mission is to enable emerging multinationals to develop into the next generation of global champions and become a major force driving economic development. It is a cross-industry global community of companies that have demonstrated a clear potential to become leaders in the global economy within five years.
The companies enjoy a strong industry or regional market presence and have both the aspiration and ability to become global champions. They will be selected based on a combination of factors:
Demonstrated growth potential and 15% annual growth over the last two years
Minimum revenue thresholds according to industry and region (an indicative range is between US$ 200 million to US$ 2 billion)
Demonstrated executive leadership
The Community of Global Growth Companies will be a truly global community that brings together companies from all regions of the world. The majority of companies will be based out of China, India, the USA and Europe, with the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, South-East Asia and Japan playing smaller, but important, roles. We expect to have 300 members by 2007 and 500 in total by 2008.
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300 BUSINESS LEADERS FROM 27 COUNTRIES TO CONVENE AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ON EAST ASIA IN TOKYO
Tokyo, Japan, 12 June 2006 – The World Economic Forum released more details today on its first ever regional meeting in Japan, which will be held in partnership with Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives). The World Economic Forum on East Asia, which will take place in Tokyo on 15 and 16 June, will bring together more than 300 global leaders from business, politics, government, academia, civil society and the media from 27 countries.
The overall theme of the meeting is "Creating a New Agenda for Asian Integration". The meeting's Co-Chairs are Hassan Marican, President and Chief Executive Officer, PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional), Malaysia; Henry A. McKinnell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer, USA; Kunio Nakamura, President, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Japan; Nandan M. Nilekani, President, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys Technologies, India; Sir Martin Sorrell, Group Chief Executive, WPP, United Kingdom; Junichi Ujiie, Chairman, Nomura Holdings, Japan; and Yun Jong-Yong, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Samsung Electronics, Republic of Korea.
An opening press conference with all the Co-Chairs of the meeting will be held on Thursday 15 June at 08.15 at the Tokyo Prince Hotel Park Tower. The press conference will be chaired by Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
In addition to the participation of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, there is strong engagement from Japan's top policy-makers including: Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan; Yuriko Koike, Minister of the Environment; Toshihiro Nikai, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; Sadakazu Tanigaki, Minister of Finance; and several other prominent political and government leaders.
"Much more communication is needed to ensure Asia's future growth and stability and so it is very important that Japan's business and political leaders engage in candid and informal discussions with their peers from the region," remarked Keizai Doyukai Vice-Chairman and President Kunio Kojima. "Like Davos, this meeting in Tokyo promotes greater dialogue and healthy debate over a wide range of important and complex issues," added Kojima.
From abroad, prominent public figures include: Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia; Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India; Zhang Xiaoqiang, Vice-Chairman, National Development and Reform Commission, People's Republic of China; Tim Adams, US Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs; Hoang Trung Hai, Minister of Industry of Vietnam; Lee Boon-Yang, Minister of Information, Communications and the Arts of Singapore; Ong Keng-Yong, Secretary-General, ASEAN, Jakarta; Mari Pangestu, Minister of Trade of Indonesia; and Tran Trong Toan, Executive Director, APEC Secretariat, Singapore.
Roundtable discussions will focus on the following four sub-themes:
Competitiveness & Creativity: sessions will examine how both corporations and countries approach improving competitiveness and stimulating innovation in key industries.
Integration & Identity: sessions will explore Asia's many integration agendas and their feasibility in light of changing priorities at the national and regional levels.
Security & Sustainability: sessions will explore how governments and companies are developing and integrating effective strategies to address new risks and to ensure sustainable growth.
Regional Change (Japan): sessions will examine the pace and profile of Japan's transformation in politics, business, economics and international affairs.
A pre-meeting survey of the leaders gathering in Tokyo was conducted earlier this month, which identified the following issues as the ones to be put at the top of the regional agenda:
The absence of regional institutions to discuss energy, security and environment issues
The impact of Indian and Chinese growth on ASEAN's future competitiveness
Improving environmental protection at the national and regional levels in Asia
"No single institution can both anticipate as well as address Asia's evolving agenda," observed Lee Howell, the Forum's Director for Asia. "Therefore, the World Economic Forum on East Asia is designed instead to generate insight and to promote action that will improve the alignment of Asia's regional, global and industry agendas," added Howell.
In this context, Tokyo-based media will have an opportunity to take part in the "Asia Forums" focusing on the following topics:
Asia's Growth Model: Can It Continue to Sustain Itself?
Corporate Asia: Who Is Climbing the Value-Added Ladder?
An East Asian Community: Is There a Design that Can Deliver?
The Japan that Returned: Does It Look Like the Rest of Asia?
The Future of Asia: Regional Integration or Global Rivalry?
The Asia Forums will be webcast and podcast LIVE. For more details on the panel, please visit www.weforum.org/eastasia/webcasts and www.weforum.org/eastasia/podcasts.
The host broadcaster of the meeting is NHK – Japan Broadcasting Corporation.
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PanAfrica: Expert urges more public support for agricultural development
By Kathryn McConnell
Public support for agricultural research and education, improved seeds, and more and better roads serving rural areas are key to solving the ongoing problem of world hunger, says the head of one of the world's foremost organizations promoting agricultural development.
Kenneth Quinn, president of World Food Prize Foundation based in the Des Moines, Iowa, said developing and developed country governments should increase their support for research and training institutions that foster long-term improvements in agricultural productivity in food insecure countries that may not meet immediate agribusiness profit needs.
Inflation-adjusted public funding for agricultural research that could lift millions of people from lives of prolonged poverty has been decreasing over approximately the last 10 years, Quinn said.
Quinn, who grew up in Iowa, is a former career diplomat and U.S. ambassador to Cambodia.
World food prize
The foundation will announce June 15 the names of its 2006 World Food Prize laureates at a ceremony at the State Department hosted by Josette Shiner, under secretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs. Norman Borlaug, World Food Prize founder and Nobel Peace Prize laureate known as the father of the green revolution that saved the lives of millions from starvation, also will be present for the announcement.
The World Food Prize, which in 2006 celebrates its 20th year, is considered the Nobel Prize of agriculture. It is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to improving the quality, quantity and availability of food in the world, according to the foundation.
The awards will be presented in mid-October -- on World Food Day -- during the World Food Prize International Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa. The three-day meeting is expected to attract approximately 100 foreign officials as well as hundreds of agricultural scientists, educators and students from around the world.
Education and innovation
In a May 31 interview with the Washington File, Quinn urged all countries to spend more on colleges that nurture agriculture researchers and help farmers learn about what they can do to boost their productivity.
He credited the U.S. system of publicly funded agricultural colleges -- called "land-grant" colleges -- with helping the U.S. Midwest region to significantly develop its farm sector in the 20th century and become one of the world's models of sustainable agricultural production.
Improved seeds also can help developing countries with varying growing conditions produce higher-yielding and more nutritious food, Quinn said. Evidence shows that in places where more food is available from local sources child mortality drops, the spread of disease decreases, and school attendance rises.
Also important are improvements in soil science and varying planting methods that have transformed previously unproductive land into fertile crop areas, Quinn added.
Quinn said investments in transportation infrastructures that serve poor rural areas are essential for helping farmers get their products to markets so they can earn extra income and use the profits to improve the quality of their families' lives.
Recent prize laureates
Together, the World Food Prize laureates have accomplished some of the greatest "life-saving achievements" ever, Quinn said.
Recent prize laureates include:
Modadugu Gupta of India, who developed low-cost technologies to increase fish yields and educate impoverished farmers, specifically women, in freshwater aquaculture practices;
Yuan Longping of China, whose work led to widely grown hybrid rice varieties;
Monty Jones of Sierra Leone, who led a pioneering effort to develop a "New Rice for Africa," recapturing the genetic potential of ancient African rices;
Catherine Bertini of the United States, who in 10 years as leader of the U.N. World Food Programme transformed the agency from primarily a development assistance organization into the largest and most responsive humanitarian relief organization in the world;
Pedro A. Sanchez, who emigrated from Cuba to the United States, pioneered ways to restore fertility to the poorest and most degraded soils in Latin America and Africa, and made a major contribution to preserving delicate ecosystems;
Walter Plowright of the United Kingdom, who developed a vaccine that has resulted in the elimination of rinderpest, commonly known as cattle plague, from most regions of the developing world; and
Per Pinstrup Andersen of Denmark, who initiated research that enabled several governments to reform their food subsidy programs and dramatically increase food availability to the poor. He also laid the foundation for "food for education" programs -- such as the U.S. McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program -- in which families receive food subsidies when children stay in school.
Copyright © 2006 United States Department of State
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| World Bank President Says Africa Is On The Move
"While there are still pockets of misery, Africa is a continent on the move, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said Wednesday," report The Associated Press and African News Dimension (South Africa).
"He said not enough attention is being paid to more than a dozen successful countries who have annual economic growth rates ranging from 5 to 10 percent. 'In order for these rates to make a dent in poverty, growth needs to be sustained and one of the keys to success is creating jobs,' Wolfowitz said at an African investment summit attended by finance ministers, central bank governors and business leaders.
Wolfowitz has made Africa a priority since he became head of the 184-nation lending institution a year ago. Within hours of taking office, he spoke to an African trade group and his first overseas visit was to four African countries. He said the private sector in Africa, a key source of job creation, faced an enormous number of bureaucratic regulations.
'What a lot of African countries can do is clear away the regulatory underbrush to make it easier to start businesses,' Wolfowitz said. He also said African countries should continue to battle corruption and the World Bank and other development partners will help in this effort.
Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank, said that many African governments were adopting good polices but falling short on putting them into practice. 'Investors are not coming even if there are good polices and this is a gap that has to be closed,' he said. Kaberuka also said African countries need to develop roads, harbors and other infrastructure to facilitate trade among themselves. ."
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Reuters ALERTNET June 7, 2006
If the click-through links do not work, go to: http://www.alertnet.org/weeklydigest/digest2006_23.htm
INDONESIA QUAKE
Indonesia starts major quake survivor immunisation
Survivors are vaccinated for tetanus and measles as many complain aid is slow in arriving.
Java blog
A British Red Cross aid worker reports from quake-hit Indonesia on the scramble to get urgent relief to thousands of survivors.
Find a charity
Browse this list for a guide to the activities of member organisations and U.N. agencies in the quake-hit area of Java.
MERAPI VOLCANO
Indonesia volcano emissions spread, intensity drops
Lava from Indonesia's Mount Merapi is flowing in more directions, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents but experts say the volcano's overall emissions have dropped.
SOMALIA TROUBLES
ANALYSIS-Islamist victory may give Somali peace a chance
The seizure of Somalia's capital by Islamist militia may be a new chance for peace, say diplomats.
SUDAN CONFLICTS
Sudan president opposes UN force in Darfur-diplomats
Security Council members fail to convince Sudan's president to allow a U.N. force in Darfur.
SLA accuses Darfur rebel rivals of attack, kidnapping
A Sudan Liberation Army faction say followers of rival Darfur rebel leader Minnawi attacked their base and kidnapped fighters who refused to back the recent peace plan for the region.
CHAD VIOLENCE
U.N. alarmed at Sudan militia attacks on Chadians
Cross-border attacks on Chadian villagers by Janjaweed militia from Sudan's Darfur region have become more systematic and deadly, say UNHCR.
EAST TIMOR NATION-BUILDING
Timor PM agrees to violence probe - UN says
East Timor's prime minister agrees to an international investigation into the violence in his country, but refuses to step down as demanded by rebel troops, says a U.N. representative.
SRI LANKA
S.Lanka Tigers say 5 killed by mine ahead of talks
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels accuse the government of killing five civilians in a landmine blast the day before talks in Norway, but the military denies the charge.
UGANDA VIOLENCE
UGANDA: Security in north improved, but child protection still an issue Unicef
Despite improved security in northern Uganda, fear and deprivation continue to plague children in the region, announces the United Nations Children's Fund, reported by IRIN.
ZIMBABWE CRISIS
Zimbabwe risks failed state without world pressure-ICG
Zimbabwe is increasingly likely to become a failed state if the world community does not act to address its deep political and economic crisis, says the International Crisis Group.
CLIMATE AND WEATHER
Tens of thousands flee as floods kill 46 in China
Floods kill at least 46 people in southern China and force more than 120,000 people to flee their homes.
Desert threat
The United Nations uses World Environment Day to warn that the growth of deserts is a growing obstacle to ending poverty and a threat to peace.
FEATURE-Targeting air pollution, poor nations aid climate
China's car efficiency standards reveal how efforts by developing nations to limit pollution may also help brake global warming.
BIRD FLU
China, Indonesia, Africa underreport bird flu-OIE
China, Indonesia and African nations do not give international bodies full reports on bird flu outbreaks because they lack funds to monitor the disease, says a World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) expert.
DISASTER PREPARATION
Cuba Blog
An AlertNet journalist investigates how a country smack in the middle of "hurricane alley" is so successful in keeping natural hazards from becoming disasters.
UNITED NATIONS REFORMS
U.N. risks shutdown over U.S. budget cap-aide
The United Nations faces a potential shutdown if the United States and Japan carry out a threat to withhold funds, says a top U.N. official.
AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION
NATO chiefs to declare Afghan plan on track
NATO defence ministers will declare the alliance's plans to nearly double peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan, say officials.
BLOOD DIAMONDS
Blood diamonds fuel abuses 3 years after accord
The Kimberly Process has helped stem the flow of blood diamonds but they are still entering the world market, and are a major source of income for armed rebels in Ivory Coast, say experts.
BIRD FLU
Less than $300 mln spent on bird flu - World Bank
Just $286 million has been spent to fight bird flu out of nearly $1.9 billion pledged last January, according to a World Bank report.
CONGO (DR) ELECTIONS
DRC: German parliament approves contingent for Congo's EU force
Germany agrees to provide 780 soldiers for a U.N.-mandated EU force to Democratic Republic of the Congo during general elections set for 30 July, reports IRIN.
MYANMAR DISPLACMENT
US seeks UN action on Myanmar over Suu Kyi arrest
The United States says it will ask the U.N. Security Council to pressure Myanmar to change its policies after its military rulers extend opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest for another year.
HIV/AIDS
Nations resist new financial commitments on AIDS
A major U.N. meeting on AIDS strategy falls short of concrete financial commitments but recognises the growing spread of the disease among women and their right to protect themselves.
ISRAELI/PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
Palestinians receive some money but showdown looms
Palestinian government employees crowd into banks in the West Bank and Gaza to get a month's salary in a move to ease an economic crisis.
NEPAL INSURGENCY
India offers Nepal PM aid to rebuild nation
Analysts say the aid package is likely to include grants and soft loans to help rebuild infrastructure and schools wrecked by years of political instability and a Maoist insurgency.
HAITI UNREST
IADB agrees to new infrastructure works in Haiti
The Inter-American Development Bank agrees to develop Haiti s infrastructural services, as part of a broader international aid initiative, says the bank's president.
ALERTNET BLOGS
NEWSBLOG: June 7, 2006
Darfuri asylum seekers sent home to Sudan, Ronaldhino reminds soccer fans of hunger, and U.S. firms give more to charity...
NEWSBLOG: June 6, 2006
Tourism Somali style, alternative football championship, hard times for Indonesia's rice farmers...
NEWSBLOG: June 5, 2006
Reliving the tsunami, deserts could feed the world...
NEWSBLOG: June 2, 2006
Attack of the giant bamboo-eating rats...
TODAY ON THE WEB
Our choice pickings from the world s media
WEEKLY QUIZ - The AlertNet Challenge
Just how informed do you think you are?
APPEAL OF THE WEEK
IRC - Donations falling short in Indonesia quake zone
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Globalization Bears Fruit In The Correct Climate
"World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz travels a lot - through which, as one knows, one also learns a lot. On the way from Seoul to Hamburg, Wolfowitz stopped off in Frankfurt, where he spoke at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the advantages of the globalization," reports Frankfurter Rundschau (Germany).
".According to Wolfowitz, whether or not states can profit from globalization through capital flows depends on three factors: an open investment climate, sufficient infrastructure, and good governance. On the basis of these three factors, the World Bank has put in place a ranking list for 155 countries and their investment fitness ["Doing Business report"].
Wolfowitz notes there is much to do regarding infrastructure in the
South: 1.6 billion people don't have real access to energy, a further 2.6 billion don't have access to water. The World Bank will thus increase its infrastructure spending in the next years. For Wolfowitz, the fight against poverty is also of central importance because otherwise globalization will not find sufficient acceptance in the population.
Wolfowitz said it was important to overcome the wide-spread fatalism in development cooperation. While five years ago there were 16 wars in Africa, there are only five today, which is a pleasing development. Wolfowitz takes the fight against corruption particularly to heart, as corruption 'undermines all development,' The World Bank chief, who has been in office for a year, however points out that corruption has always two sides - the one that gives, and the other that takes.
Meanwhile, about 400 leaders from politics and the business community met at the German World Bank forum in Hamburg on Thursday, which this year is dedicated to the MENA region (the Middle East and North Africa). ."
Die Welt (Germany) writes that ".Wolfowitz called in his introductory speech for support to African development efforts. . While the economic situation for half a billion people, particularly in Asia, improved since 1995, the number of the poorest, which live on less than a dollar a day, has doubled from 150 to 300 million in Africa. Worldwide 1.2 billion people live in [extreme] poverty, Wolfowitz said. At the same time, there are country examples in Africa, which show high growth rates and decreasing poverty. What is important to the World Bank is economic and financial support to assist poor countries in building an efficient economy. 'People want jobs, not [handouts],' said Wolfowitz.
The German World Bank Forum provides a valuable environment to further strengthen the longstanding partnership between Germany, the MENA region, and the World Bank, said Wolfowitz who took office one year ago. 'Germany is one of the largest shareholders of the World Bank and a leader in advancing global development issues,' added the World Bank President.
Federal Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, who also participated in the World Bank Forum said, 'the World Bank is one of the leading contributors in the fight against the poverty. The World Bank also plays a central role in many parts of the world when it comes to renewable energy, energy efficiency and infrastructure projects. German companies have much to offer in these particular sectors.' . "
AP German Worldstream and DPA (German) also report on The German World Bank Forum.
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German World Bank Forum Meets on Middle East and North Africa Region
“The German World Bank Forum is meeting today for the first time in Hamburg, Germany,” reports Die Welt (Germany).
“World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul will jointly open the conference together with Hamburg’s Mayor Ole von Beust and Chamber of Commerce President Karl-Joachim Dreyer. Over the next two days, politicians and economists will discuss the development of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) economic area.
Among others, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of the Economy of the United Arab Emirates, will have as his topic ‘Germany and the Middle East.’ The former Lebanese Finance Minister Nasser Al Saidi, the Jordanian Deputy Finance Minister Hamed Kasasbeh, the Iraqi Finance Minister, Ali Abdul Amir Allawi, and others will discuss the development opportunities within the MENA region’s political economy. Wolfowitz, Wieczorek-Zeul and von Beust also plan on discussing development in a globalized world.
The Vice-President of the World Bank, Christiaan J. Poortman and the World Bank’s Chief Economist for the MENA region Mustapha Nabli stressed at their arrival in Hamburg on Wednesday the great economic potential of the region. ‘While Yemen and Djibouti are two of the world’s poorest countries and are located in the region, we can talk about a medium income structure,’ said Poortman. Nabli added that annual economic growth in the Middle East was at six percent, despite the conflicts. While this was primarily due to the strong increase in oil exports, an analysis of the World Bank showed that this was strongly affecting other sectors and social standards as well. ‘The region is undergoing a change,’ said Nabli.
Corinna Nienstedt, the Manager of International Affairs at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and Hamburg State Councilor for Foreign Affairs Reinhard Stuth emphasized the great importance the MENA region holds for Hamburg. About 800 companies in the Hanseatic city are keeping business relations with the region, said Nienstedt.
German news agency DPA notes that the conference aims at improving the relations with the Muslim world. The two-day conference is organized under the theme ‘Change and Opportunities in the MENA region.’”
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AFRICA INVESTMENT CLIMATE FACILITY LAUNCHED AT WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ON AFRICA IN CAPE TOWN
Cape Town – The African Investment Climate Facility (ICF), an innovative public-private partnership aimed at making Africa a better place in which to do business, was formally launched at the World Economic Forum on Africa, which is taking place in Cape Town from 31 May to 2 June.
An independent trust launched in 2005 that is to dissolve in 2012, the ICF had set a target of US$ 550 million – US$ 50 million from business and US$ 500 million from governments and donor countries and organizations. The goal of the ICF is to remove obstacles – both real and perceived – to doing business in Africa. Run out of South Africa by SBP, a non-profit organization, it is focusing on property rights and contract enforcement, reducing red tape, taxation and customs reform, development of financial markets, infrastructure facilitation, labour market restructuring, the promotion of competition, and the control of corruption and crime.
The ICF is co-chaired by Niall FitzGerald, Chairman, Reuters, United Kingdom, and Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, and Benjamin William Mkapa, President of Tanzania from 1995 to 2005. Both Co-Chairs will participate in the session on Thursday.
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GLOBAL HEALTH INITIATIVE OF THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM CALLS ON BUSINESS TO PARTNER WITH PUBLIC SECTOR TO IMPROVE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
World's leading organization for public-private partnerships in health launches first ever initiative of its kind
Cape Town, 1 June 2006 – Business is being urged to use its resources and expertise in partnership with the public sector to improve sub-Saharan Africa's weak healthcare systems in a White Paper, From Funding to Action: Strengthening Healthcare Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, launched today by the Global Health Initiative at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town.
"Sub-Saharan Africa's healthcare systems are failing its people. Throughout the region, people are dying because healthcare systems are often inadequately managed and resourced and fail to connect to Africa's poorest and most disadvantaged people. While new funding to address diseases such as AIDS, TB and malaria are much needed, we need to start addressing the cause, not the symptoms," said Francesca Boldrini, Director of the World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative. "This new White Paper identifies clear, specific areas where businesses can use their skills and resources in partnership with the public sector to quickly affect change and make a real difference to people's lives."
While in recent years there has been much investment from business, NGOs, international organizations and governments to tackle health problems such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa, the weakness of the region's healthcare systems – the infrastructures that organize, finance and ensure the quality of health services – means that much of the new funding is not used as efficiently as it could be.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world which is expected not to meet any of the health-related Millennium Development Goals. The human cost of this failure is enormous; for example a child born in Niger is 40 times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than a child born in the United Kingdom. Much of the reason for this lies in the poor quality of the healthcare systems currently in place.
In the first ever project of its kind, the World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative has brought together a range of stakeholders to identify how business could partner with the public sector to improve healthcare systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The resulting White Paper collects the views of diverse stakeholders on the barriers to effective healthcare systems in the region, and identifies opportunities for business to use its knowledge and skills to help tackle the problems through new public-private partnerships. If turned into action, some of the strategic interventions identified in this paper could contribute to improving access to health for millions of Africans.
However, there are already some great examples that demonstrate the critical role that public-private partnerships (PPPs) can play in this area. BD (Becton, Dickinson & Company, a global medical technology company), is already contributing through a series of PPPs focused on laboratory and clinical practice training, healthcare capacity building, and increasing access to vitally needed technologies on an affordable and sustainable basis. Gary Cohen, President of BD Medical said: "Improving the fundamental capacity to provide health services is vital for breaking down the vicious cycle of disease and poverty that destroys the lives of millions of Africans." Gary Cohen further stated: "I applaud the GHI's leadership in this area and urge businesses to deploy their skills and resources, in partnership with the public sector, toward this achievable goal."
We are actively looking for companies, governments, NGOs and other stakeholders to get involved in the consultation. For further information contact Tanya Mounier, Senior Project Manager, Global Health Initiative at tanya.mounier@weforum.org
About the Global Health Initiative
The goal of the Global Health Initiative (GHI) of the World Economic Forum is to facilitate and stimulate greater business engagement in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. To achieve this goal, the GHI works closely with the World Economic Forum's member companies as well as UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria and the World Health Organization's Stop TB and Roll Back Malaria partnerships. A broad range of NGOs and other members of civil society, as well as governments, have also joined the efforts of the GHI. The GHI provides a unique platform for dialogue, partnership and action on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria involving both the private and the public sector. It coordinates a community of more than 230 companies that are confronting similar fundamental health challenges to their operations. In particular, the GHI provides a forum to share experiences, to define generally accepted standards and to act as an advocate for the private sector. For further information please go to http://www.weforum.org/globalhealth
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World Bank's Wolfowitz Lauds South Korea As A Model For Developing World
“South Korea's successful rise from one of the world's poorest countries half a century ago can be a model for the developing world, particularly Africa, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said Wednesday,” report The Associated Press and Dow Jones.
“On Tuesday, Wolfowitz met President Roh Moo-hyun and other officials to discuss the country's emerging role as an international aid donor and to push for more cooperation in fighting global poverty. Wolfowitz cited sound government policies including investment in industrial and social infrastructure, particularly education, and international aid as among factors key to South Korea's success in rising to become the world's 10th-largest economy. …
Wolfowitz praised South Korea for planning to nearly double its total foreign aid to 0.1 percent of gross domestic product by 2009 and to triple aid to Africa to $100 million by 2008. ‘Korea's leadership brings with it certain responsibilities,’ he said. ‘Today, many countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, are still where Korea was 40 years ago. These countries could learn a great deal from Korea's experience.’ …”
Asia in Focus (Australia) and Asia Pulse notes that “Roh on Tuesday assured Wolfowitz that Seoul is willing to take part in global relief programs, his spokesman said. ‘South Korea has a nationwide consensus to provide overseas relief aid and the government has a strong will (to make it happen),’ the spokesman quoted Roh as saying. …”
Yonhap English News (South Korea) adds that “Wolfowitz further hailed Wednesday South Korea's prowess in information technology, saying the achievement would be a strong catalyst for the economic development of not only East Asia but countries around the globe. … After his speech, Wolfowitz signed an agreement with Hong Ki-hwa, President of South Korea's state-run agency for the promotion of overseas investment, the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency. Before the signing, South Korea's Commerce, Industry and Energy Minister Chung Sye-kyun said his government will boost its role as a donor for developing nations.”
Agence France Press further notes that “Wolfowitz on Wednesday congratulated African nations for launching a campaign against corruption but said rich countries had to cooperate to stamp out graft. In a speech to businessmen in Seoul, Wolfowitz said ‘For every bribe taker, there is a bribe giver and very often that bribe giver comes from a rich country,’ he said, adding: ‘I think we all have the responsibility to crack down.’
Wolfowitz said that until recently corruption was so rife in the energy sector in Africa the situation was considered hopeless but in the past two years, more than a dozen African countries had endorsed or implemented a World Bank blueprint called the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. … The World Bank initiative is aimed at committing governments to transparency on oil revenues so that people would know where the money is going, he said. …”
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| On Last Africa Stop, Bono Pledges Fight Over Trade
"On the last stop of a six-nation African tour, Bono said on Wednesday there was a new mood of optimism on the continent and new entrepreneurs were emerging, but farm subsidies and other trade barriers in large markets like the United States and Europe were blocking progress" reports The Washington Post.
Reuters adds that "Bono hopes his involvement will help give Africa a voice at the World Trade Organization's global Doha Round of talks, currently stalled over agricultural issues 'The social movements will give us political muscle and that makes it doable, but it is going to be a big fight,' he added.
On the Africa tour Bono has visited textile and apparel factories in Lesotho and Tanzania where businesses have closed and jobs were lost because of the phasing out of the Multi-Fibre Agreement, which gave Asian producers greater access to developed markets as quotas under the agreement were scrapped".
The Independent (Zambia) notes "Bono said he recognized taking on the trade issue on behalf of Africa was not going to be easy. .... Reuters further reports that in Ghana...he met Ghanaian businesspeople to better understand constraints on businesses.'People need aid because there is still poverty but more important for everyone is the need for trade,' he told his audience.
The Daily Telegraph write that "at a meeting with Bono today, Ghana's President John Kufuor praised the rock star's work for Africa but told him that increased trade had to go hand-in-hand with aid to address the continent's underlying poverty."
Bono wrote in The Guardian "... I have to admit that we may have, in the past, misread the scale of the problems and the proper response to them because commerce, which is something activists don't generally interest themselves in, is the critical player".
He added ". Africa is not a country - it's a continent wider and more diverse than either the European Union or the Americas, and there is no pan-African, single solution that can be applied to it. We need not be depressed by that, but rather be inspired to gang up on the problem from a lot of different directions."
"I leave Africa optimistic that if we get out of the way, if we level the playing field in the trade talks, this could be not just the Chinese or the Indian century but also Africa's" he concluded in the op-ed.
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Business urged to do more in war on AIDS
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON - Four leading companies pledged to to do more in the fight against AIDS in Africa on Monday, in a move designed to spur other corporations into action.
The initiatives come on the heels of rock star Bono's "Red" scheme, under which companies with global brands -- from credit cards to clothing -- agree to channel a portion of profits to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Former U.S. ambassador Richard Holbroke, who heads the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC), said attitudes were starting to change but more businesses needed to get involved, with Japanese firms notable by their absence.
Executives and policymakers attended a meeting at Reuters Group Plc headquarters in London to discuss ways to tackle the pandemic, which has already killed 25 million people.
Companies are seen as pivotal in the fight, since prevention and treatment schemes are often most practical in the workplace.
"Corporations can do more. They have the skills, networks and resources to make a difference," Standard Chartered Plc Chief Executive Mervyn Davies said.
A key objective is finding new ways to mobilise resources for the Global Fund, which has already committed $5 billion to providing life-saving medicines and money for disease prevention programmes to poor countries.
Standard Chartered, which has extensive banking operations in Africa, said it was offering to second staff to help countries manage HIV/AIDS projects more efficiently.
International consultancy Accenture is also providing management expertise, while Nike Foundation and Becton Dickinson Co. are each giving $200,000 for support programmes.
Companies around the world are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of AIDS, according to a survey in January by the World Economic Forum, which found 46 percent expected it to affect their operations in the next five years.
GOOD BUSINESS
The GBC has seen its membership grow to 220 from just 15 in the past five years and its members now employ over 11 million people in every country of the world.
Britain's foreign minister Margaret Beckett and singer Elton John will honour successful programmes from, among others, American Express Co , Unilever Tea Kenya Plc and Merck & Co Inc at a dinner in London.
With an estimated 40.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and a record 4.9 million new infections last year, the disease has the potential to cripple economies and decimate workforces, hitting the bottom line of many businesses.
Mark Moody-Stuart, chairman of mining giant Anglo American Plc , said offering testing and treatment for workers in its South African mines was "a good business opportunity", as well as the right thing to do, since it had an enormous impact on productivity and industrial relations.
Standard Chartered calculates that more than 10 percent of its Kenyan employees are off work every day as a result of AIDS, either because they are sick, are caring for relatives or are attending a funeral.
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What do you mean you don't speak English?
by Stefano Rellandini
Jack Campbell, from ActionAid's Emergencies and Conflict team, says the new U.N. "cluster" approach to disasters isn't working, if experience after October's Kashmir quake is anything to go by.
Imagine disaster strikes in a corner of France. Casualties are high, chaos is total. An international relief effort rolls in, and proceeds to carry out all meetings and briefings in English, with not a French translator in sight. It just wouldn't happen.
But in Pakistan, ActionAid found that the United Nations failed to provide Urdu translators in coordination meetings in the aftermath of the Kashmir earthquake.
This was just one of the shortcomings of the U.N.'s new "cluster" approach to humanitarian relief coordination - piloted in Pakistan - that, in many ways, ignored or excluded local organisations and groups responding to the crisis.
Clustering was first mooted in late 2004. It was triggered by the failures of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, and the U.N. launched a "Humanitarian Response Review" to look at improving its record.
The cluster approach is an attempt to increase international readiness to respond to major disasters in a coordinated way.
It seeks to plug the gaps that currently emerge time after time when an emergency happens - in shelter, or water and sanitation - by prior identification of lead agencies to coordinate specific clusters of work around key issues.
Yet despite the good intentions, ActionAid found that the Pakistan pilot was shambolic. The numbers of clusters spiralled out of control and became impossible to track for many organisations busy working on the relief effort. Attendance was hit-and-miss, with no overall strategy to maximise local involvement.
Even more fundamental was the inherent bias of the system towards English speaking foreign relief workers. Consequently, local knowledge and views often went unnoticed, and local government structures were by-passed.
When a local Kashmiri non-governmental organisation, tried to influence the cluster responsible for shelter, the Kashmiri representative drew a blank,
"We warned that tents would not stand up to the winter snowfall but the shelter cluster lead did not take this into consideration, with the result that the tents collapsed after the first snowfall. If the winter had not been so mild, there could have been disastrous consequences," he said.
It is important to recognise that Kashmir was a pilot, and when the earthquake hit, the approach had not been fully developed at a global level.
But the Kashmir experience does not bode well for the U.N. as it seeks to finalise its guidelines on how to roll out clustering in Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Liberia and Somalia.
In the past few years, disasters on a scale rarely witnessed before have shone an unforgiving light on the inability of the humanitarian community to work with local organisations in times of emergency.
It is vital that the U.N. thinks through how clusters can include local organisations and leave behind stronger local democratic structures. Otherwise next time, the winter may not be so mild, and ignoring local expertise and learning needs on the ground, will inevitably cost lives.
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WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ON MIDDLE EAST HIGHLIGHTS KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt - The World Economic Forum on the Middle East closed today with a call for government, business and civil society leaders to address collectively the many profound challenges confronting the region, including the reconstruction of Iraq, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the lack of essential infrastructure and the need to create 80 million jobs over the next 20 years. "There must be a stronger dialogue between politics and business to move the peace process forward," said Co-Chair M. Shafik Gabr, Chairman and Managing Director, Artoc Group for Investment and Development, Egypt, and Chairman of the Arab Business Council. "Time is of the essence." More than 1,100 participants from 50 countries attended the three-day meeting. Next year's Forum will return to the Dead Sea in Jordan where it had been held for three years before coming to Egypt.
The Co-Chairs reported on the achievements of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East. Among them:
The Forum hosted the highest-level talks in 11 months between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
By linking a group of students with ministers from the region through the Young Global Leaders community, the Forum expanded its network to foster communication and exchange among young people.
The Forum launched the Egypt Education Initiative to benefit 820,000 children in 2,000 schools.
The Women Leaders Programme held a meeting of women ministers from across the Middle East to devise a five-year action plan for public- and private-sector cooperation to address the gender gap.
The Forum moved to launch a private sector-funded branding campaign for the Middle East.
The Forum recognized Egyptian social entrepreneurs for promoting sustainable business practices.
Egypt's National Competitiveness Council published its third report.
Egypt agreed to consider amendments to its open-skies policy.
[For the full closing communiqué, click here: www.weforum.org/middleeast/outcomes]
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MIDDLE EASTERN COMPANIES: GOING GLOBAL FAST
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, - Leaders of some of the biggest and fastest growing companies in the Arab world heralded a new regional confidence. Middle Eastern businesses are rejecting old geographic boundaries, taking their ambitions global.
Despite the continuation of some problems, many of the old assumptions of Middle Eastern headquartered corporations are being turned on their head, said a blue ribbon panel of Arab business leaders. Middle Eastern governments are acting as amplifiers for their homegrown corporations, helping Middle Eastern business take root in other parts of the globe.
For example, Middle Eastern companies are becoming smart about global branding. Meanwhile, free trade agreements between Middle Eastern countries and membership in global organizations such as the World Trade Organization, a large pool of available employees with western educations, a willingness to network far from home, and a new management mentality that emphasizes the importance of training, empowering and retaining employees have combined to lift Middle Eastern companies over old horizons.
"We're going global. We have the confidence of shareholders to deploy the funds necessary to finance expansion," declared Mohammed Alshaya, Chief Executive Officer, Alshaya Group, Kuwait.
Other panel participants included Khalid Abdulla-Janahi, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Shamil Bank of Bahrain; Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways, Qatar; François Loos, Minister Delegate for Industry of France; Naguib O. Sawiris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Orascom Telecom Holding, Egypt; Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, Dubai World, United Arab Emirates; and Michael J. Roux, Chairman, Roux International, Australia.
The panellists gave the audience, drawn from the 1,200 participants from 50 countries attending the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, a primer on the achievements and challenges of taking global a Middle Eastern business.
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SCOTTISH CITY TO PIONEER PERSONALIZED LOCAL WIRELESS INFORMATION
RALEIGH, NC / EXETER, UK – On May 17 Dundee moved a step closer to becoming Scotland's city of wireless innovation, with the announcement of a partnership between the University of Abertay Dundee and LastMile Communications, the British company pioneering a wireless delivery platform using WiFi.
Under the agreement, the Abertay campus will become a test bed for LastMile's state-of-the-art node-based wireless information system. The technology offers end user-focused content to mobile devices on demand, and tailored precisely to their location. Abertay's School of Computing and Creative Technologies will provide the systems expertise, and students will have the opportunity to be involved in the system's interface design, as well as developing a number of games which can be played across the city over the network.
Lachlan MacKinnon, Professor of Information & Knowledge Engineering at Abertay commented, “Through this project, we are aiming to take the best elements of both local and online communities, giving local residents access to online information which is both relevant and of interest to them. “For Abertay, being involved with this leading-edge technology has obvious synergies with our development of new degree courses and research interests in smart systems, and with our new campus developments in innovative teaching space and upmarket new student residences,” he added. “Personalised and local information is the most popular content on the internet today, as users try to sieve through the plethora of websites to find the answers to what they want to know,” added Antony Abell, CEO, LastMile Communications. “Dundee has developed a reputation for innovation, and our technology has the potential to provide a backbone for the delivery of local services and information well into the future.”
LastMile has designed a node-based content delivery platform, which allows information to be stored and processed at the edge of the network, rather than at the centre as with most conventional networks. Because of this, it reduces the need for unnecessary network traffic by putting processing and information within the network itself, enabling users to access information more quickly and make existing networks more efficient.
Initial trials are expected to take place over the next six months.
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| Conference On Global Warming Opens In Germany
"More than 10,000 officials and experts began meeting in Bonn in western Germany on Monday to plot the way forward from 2012, when the current phase of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change runs out," reports Agence France Presse.
"Opening the conference, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned that global warming was happening 'much faster' than predicted even a few years ago. The 10-day meeting is meant to work towards an agreement on international cooperation to combat climate changes related to gas emissions after 2012. Delegates from 189 countries are due to discuss how they can 'improve cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions' during the first two days of the meeting, the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said. ."
Reuters adds that "Canada defended its leadership of UN talks on fighting global warming on Monday, despite admitting it will not meet its own Kyoto Protocol goals. Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, presiding at the opening of the May 15-26 Bonn meetings, suggested Kyoto should be eased for Canada from 2012 because Ottawa cannot reach its goals. . German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said it was too early for Canada to give up on Kyoto targets for 2012. 'I'm not sure it's true (that Canada will overshoot its goals),' he said. 'We are in 2006, there's six years left.' .
The first two days of the Bonn talks are a non-binding 'dialogue' seeking common ground between about 40 industrial nations which have targets under Kyoto and all other countries. 'We need a common strategy and common targets and also common policies between the industrialized world and the developing world,' Germany's Gabriel said. 'This must include countries such as the United States, Australia, India, China and others,' he said. ."
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| Avian Flu Wanes In Asian Nations It First Hit Hard
"Even as it crops up in the far corners of Europe and Africa, the virulent bird flu that raised fears of a human pandemic has been largely snuffed out in the parts of Southeast Asia where it claimed its first and most numerous victims," reports The New York Times (05/14).
"Health officials are pleased and excited. ''In Thailand and Vietnam, we've had the most fabulous success stories,'' said David Nabarro, chief pandemic flu coordinator for the United Nations. Vietnam, which has had almost half of the human cases of A(H5N1) flu in the world, has not seen a single case in humans or a single outbreak in poultry this year. Thailand, the second-hardest-hit nation until Indonesia recently passed it, has not had a human case in nearly a year or one in poultry in six months. Encouraging signs have also come from China, though they are harder to interpret."
The daily writes that "these are the second positive signals that officials have seen recently in their struggle to prevent avian flu from igniting a human pandemic. Confounding expectations, birds making the spring migration north from Africa have not carried the virus into Europe. Nabarro and other officials warn that it would be highly premature to declare any sort of victory. The virus has moved rapidly across continents and is still rampaging in Myanmar, Indonesia and other countries nearby. It could still hitchhike back in the illegal trade in chicks, fighting cocks or tropical pets, or in migrating birds."
"But this sudden success in the former epicenter of the epidemic is proof that aggressive measures like killing infected chickens, inoculating healthy ones, protecting domestic flocks and educating farmers can work, even in very poor countries."
Dow Jones (05/15) meanwhile writes that "the chair of the European Center For Disease Prevention and Control Management Board, Marc Sprenger, Monday said the European Union is lagging behind the US in developing a joint preparedness plan for handling a possible human strain of bird flu. Sprenger suggested the ECDC should provide the Commission and EU Member States with advice on a research agenda and vaccine development issues."
Reuters (05/15) further reports that "Romania may cull around one million domestic birds to prevent the spread of avian flu to highly populated areas after the deadly strain was detected at a chicken farm, authorities said on Monday. On Saturday, Romania detected a new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, just a month after the strain was said to have been eradicated in the Black Sea state. Around 2,000 domestic fowl were culled in the county of Brasov. Romania has culled nearly half a million fowl and gradually stopped around 60 bird flu outbreaks since the first bird flu case was detected in the Danube delta last October."
The Guardian (UK, 05/15) also notes that a "fifth member of an Indonesian family has died of bird flu, according to local tests, a senior medical official said yesterday. The five are part of a large family in Tanah Karo village on Sumatra island in which eight people are suspected to have contracted the virulent H5N1 virus. Four died from the disease earlier last week, according to local tests, and a fifth was confirmed yesterday, said Nyoman Kandun, head of the health ministry's office of communicable disease control."
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CIGI Book on Haiti Suggests Hope for this Fragile State
WATERLOO - The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is pleased to announce the release of its newest publication, Haiti: Hope for a Fragile State, edited by Yasmine Shamsie and Andrew S. Thompson. The aim of the book is to shed light on the varied and complex roots of the current crisis that Haiti faces, dispel misperceptions, and suggest that the situation in Haiti, despite evidence to the contrary, is not completely desperate.
At present, Haiti is a fragile state, a country in the midst of a
political, economic, ecological, and social crisis. Violence has sabotaged
attempts to establish the rule of law, and state infrastructure is notably
absent in much of the country, leading to an overall climate of insecurity.
This book offers a variety of perspectives on development, the military,
history, NGOs, and politics. The contributors to this volume suggest that
donors, NGOs, and international agencies can indeed assist Haitians in the
task of building a functioning state and society.
John English, CIGI's Executive Director commented, "What makes this book
unique is that it brings together diverse perspectives, discusses the peace-
building efforts of the past, and suggests ways for moving forward so that
Haiti can one day become a stable state."
This book is the outcome of the substantive content from the "Canada in
Haiti: Considering the 3-D Approach" conference that took place at CIGI in
November 2005, co-hosted by the University of Waterloo's Centre for Foreign
Policy, The Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS), the Laurier
Centre for Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS) and CIGI. The conference
analyzed the possibilities and problems of Canada's effort to implement the
defence, development and diplomacy approach in Haiti. The conference and
publication are part of a wider effort by CIGI to analyze what makes states
fragile and what response international institutions and national governments
should make to the challenge that fragility presents to international peace
and stability.
The book is available from Wilfrid Laurier University Press and retails
for $29.95 CDN
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Fostering Greater Equity
By Giovanna Prennushi, Francisco Ferreira, and Michael Walton
The World Bank's World Development Report 2006 on Equity and Development, published in September 2005, argues that greater equity is a key ingredient of long-term prosperity. In the report, equity is defined in terms of two principles: (i) equality of opportunities and (ii) the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes. Societies where all members have equal opportunities and can fully deploy their talents and potential are not only fairer, but also tend to perform better in the long run, than societies that in various ways exclude and discriminate against some of their members.
This issue of Development Outreach gathers a number of different perspectives on the importance of greater equity for development and poverty reduction around the world. The articles that follow, written by leading thinkers and development practitioners, illustrate the three central tenets of the World Development Report: that opportunities are very unequally distributed; that the interaction between different kinds of inequality can create ‘inequality traps’, which hinder development and poverty reduction; and that well-designed policies can tackle these traps, leading to both greater equity and greater efficiency. In this guest editorial we briefly review each of these points in turn, in light of the articles that follow.
On behalf of our colleagues in the WDR team, and of many in the development economics community, we dedicate this special report in Development Outreach to a dear departed friend, Prof. Jean O. Lanjouw, whose piece on Ensuring Access to Low-Cost Drugs is included in this issue, and who was a leading scholar of intellectual property issues in the context of developing economies. She taught at Yale and Berkeley universities, and we were privileged to count her among the members of the WDR team. Jean left us shortly after the WDR 2006 was published this Fall, but her ideas and influence will long remain with us.
Opportunities are very unequally distributed
The WDR 2006 describes how the opportunities to live a healthy life, learn, work, invest and innovate vary widely within and across countries on the basis of predetermined characteristics, such as gender, race and family background. These differences are a clear indication that the world today is far from realizing the ideal of equal opportunities for all.
Measuring opportunities, however, is not straightforward, since they are potentials, rather than actual observables. The main approach we take in the report is to compare outcomes that tell us something about opportunities (e.g. life expectancy), across different groups defined on the basis of predetermined circumstances. In the end, a compelling story emerges: there are major differences within and across countries in the opportunities to live a long and healthy life, to learn, to get a job and earn a living, to access public services, to have one's voice heard and to participate in political life. Within countries, these differences are often correlated with gender, family background, socio-economic status, geographical location, and ethnic-religious characteristics.
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