Seanad debates
Wednesday, 26 November 2003
Overseas Development Aid: Motion.
Our strategy is summed up in the old adage of helping people to do things for themselves. Progressively, over the years, we have moved away from donor-owned projects to working in partnership to support self-sustaining development within poor countries. The key requirement in terms of effectiveness is to work with partner countries to create an enabling environment. Our own recent experience of development has shown the central requirement of creating the conditions to promote the growth of indigenous industry and the promotion of exports and inward investment. A key part of our approach is to work with partner countries to create such an environment. Time permitting, I will deal later with the issue of trade, which was rightly referred to by Senator Mooney and others. Lastly, we do not work alone. As mentioned, we work with partner governments; we also avail of the huge capacity and experience of the UN agencies and we work with international, Irish and local NGOs. Together, this represents a wide alliance for a war on poverty on a broad front.
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