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Let’s make trade work for the poor – Commonwealth Finance Ministers meet in St Kitts and Nevis

28 September 2004

"Commonwealth countries stand to gain the most or lose the most in the current global trade talks at the World Trade Organisation," said Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon at the meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers in St Kitts and Nevis.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of St Kitts and Nevis, the Hon Dr Denzil Douglas
The meeting will be chaired by the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of St Kitts and Nevis , the Hon Dr Denzil Douglas

The theme of the Meeting, which is being held from 28 to 29 September 2004 , is Capacity of International Financial Institutions to Support Trade Liberalisation in Low-Income and Vulnerable Countries. The meeting is chaired by the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of St Kitts and Nevis , the Hon Dr Denzil Douglas.

"Liberalisation could bring huge benefits to millions of people, but we must make sure small and vulnerable countries don't lose out," said Mr McKinnon.

"We must help poor countries cope with the loss of trade preferences and diversify their economies. This meeting will give Commonwealth Finance Ministers an opportunity to find practical solutions to these new challenges.

"The Commonwealth's members have a long history of trading with each other and today account for 15 per cent of world trade. When Commonwealth Ministers develop common positions on today's pressing issues of international trade and finance, their voice is heard and they can influence positively global outcomes. That is how the Commonwealth makes a real difference."

Professor Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel laureate, who was commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat to undertake an economic study, is presenting it to the Finance Ministers at the Meeting. His study, An Agenda for the development round of the trade negotiations in the aftermath of Cancun , focuses on:

  • the elements of a balanced outcome to the Doha Round Negotiations which delivers a development dimension;
  • the challenges likely to face developing countries in adjusting to such a balanced outcome to the Doha Round; and
  • strengthening international financial institutions' policies and instruments to ensure they give better support to developing countries in adjusting to a more liberalised trading environment.

Finance Ministers are also focusing on the main issues likely to arise at the International Meeting for the 10-year Review of the Barbados Programme of Action on Small Island Developing States to be held in Mauritius (10-14 January 2005). The outcomes of their discussions will be fed into the World Bank's Small States Forum, which will be held in Washington on 3 October, at the time of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank A nnual Meetings.

The Ministers are discussing the Commonwealth Private Investment Initiative (CPII), which in 1995 launched the first of a series of regional investment funds designed to facilitate investment in Commonwealth developing countries. The Initiative raised over US$ 200 million for investment, which was fully invested achieving an average internal rate of return of 10 per cent, with investments in some companies returning profits of up to 75 per cent of capital invested.

The ministerial meeting was preceded by a Senior Officials Meeting on 28 September. Under the theme, Strengthening the Investment Climate in Commonwealth Developing Countries, it discussed the key determinants of a favourable investment environment and how to identify the roles that governments, the private sector and the donor community can play in improving the investment performance of poor and vulnerable economies.

The Commonwealth Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Ministerial Forum (CHMF) also met on 28 September 2004 , under the chairmanship of Minister J B Dauda of Sierra Leone . The report of this forum will be discussed by the main ministerial meeting. During their discussion on the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative ministers discussed how to strengthen its current framework to promote debt sustainability and how countries facing litigation on their debt (vulture funds) can be assisted.

Note to Editors:

The Commonwealth Finance Ministers will hold a press conference in Washington D.C. on Friday 1 October 2004 at 9.15 am in the Auditorium (room R-710) at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters.

An Agenda for the development round of the of trade negotiations in the aftermath of Cancun, by Professor Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton, has been published by the Commonwealth Secretariat and can be bought online at http://www.publications.thecommonwealth.org/

The Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States was adopted by the international community at the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States held in Barbados in 1994. It calls for specific policies, actions and measures to be taken at the national, regional and international levels to enable small island developing states to achieve sustainable development. Thirty-two of the 53 Commonwealth countries are classified as small states.

The Commonwealth Private Investment Initiative (CPII) is an initiative launched in 1995 at the Auckland Summit of Commonwealth Heads of Government. It channels long-term commercial investments to support private sector businesses in Commonwealth developing countries. Under CPII a co-ordinated series of regional investment funds have been set up. These are the Commonwealth Africa Investment Fund (launched in 1996), the Kula Fund for the Pacific Islands and the South Asia Regional Investment Fund (both launched in 1997), the Caribbean Investment Fund (launched in 2000) and the Pan Commonwealth African Partners Fund (launched in 2002). These funds invest in expansion or rehabilitation of existing businesses for the establishment of new ventures. For further details about CPII and examples of the companies it has invested in, read the CPII progress report for the Finance Ministers Meeting on the Commonwealth Secretariat website at http://www.thecommonwealth.org/cfmm.

For further details contact Joel Kibazo, Director of Communications, on + 001-869-6624909

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