Leaders of Asian and European nations have called on developed countries to make good their commitment to allocate 0.7 % of their gross national income (GNI) by 2015 for official development assistance.
This is in order to raise the effectiveness of foreign aid to developing nations.
In a seven-page “Beijing Declaration on Sustainable Development” at the end of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM-7) summit in Beijing, the world leaders, including President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, reaffirmed their “commitment to establishing a genuine global partnership for development cooperation.
They also stress the “leading role of the United Nations in coordinating international development cooperation and building the international consensus on sustainable development matters.”
To emphasize the primary responsibility of each nation to achieve its own development, complemented by an enabling international environment for development, they called on developed countries to increase resources for development and fulfill the commitment of achieving the overall target of using 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) by 2015. (PIA/Bohol)
