Making Sustainable Development Work: Governance, Finance and Public-Private Cooperation

Good morning to all of you. Welcome. I'm Paula Dobriansky, the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs. Welcome to our conference here this morning, "Making Sustainable Development Work: Governance, Finance and Public-Private Cooperation."  I would like to welcome the number of ambassadors I see here in the audience today, we're delighted to have you, and distinguished ladies and guests.

On behalf of the State Department, I'm very pleased to welcome you today to this important meeting which is meant not to be just an informative dialogue, but also essentially, a staging ground for action. Indeed, we are here this morning to discuss sustainable development, a challenge whose fulfillment will impact the future of all nations and all peoples. It is a challenge that reaches across the spectrum of interests to touch not only governments, but also corporate leaders, leaders of civil society, investors, and individuals.

The cooperation of all sectors of society is needed to make sustainable development a reality. That is why we felt it was important to bring representatives from business, from government, the NGO community, and international financial institutions together so that we might engage collectively on practical ways to support sustainable development. We need your assistance to help us determine opportunities to devise strategies to meet these opportunities, to find the right actors who can implement these strategies and to consider what resources will be needed to carry out this implementation.

We value the expertise that you are able to bring to the table today, and are very eager to work with you toward real measures to support sustainable development. Now, sustainable development is one of the great concerns of our time as nations of the world attempt to balance the need to use the world's natural resources wisely with the equally urgent need to enhance the quality of life for people, for all people. The United States Government does not believe that these interests are mutually exclusive.

Instead, we subscribe to the vision of a progress that looks to develop without devastating, that enriches rather than exploits, whose benefits are inclusive and not isolated. What is needed is action toward achieving real development results by further reducing mortality among pregnant mothers and the children to whom they give birth, improving access to safe drinking water and clean sources of energy, educating children to provide the human capital needed for long-term growth, lifting families out of poverty, and creating for all people a clean environment in which to live.

Last October, the Meridian International Center hosted another conference on sustainable development which was designed to chart a course as we navigated toward this year's World Summit on Sustainable Development. We have made significant progress since that meeting last October. Now, just seven weeks away from Johannesburg, we have the benefit of several landmark international development meetings behind us, the Doha World Trade Organization Ministerial, which was held last November, the Monterrey Financing for Development Summit in March, and the July meetings of the G-8 and the World Food Summit. Also, last month, I led the American Delegation to Indonesia for the final preparatory conference for the Johannesburg Summit. All of these gatherings have moved forward our strategy for bringing about global economic and social development coupled with environmental stewardship.

The Monterrey conference was particularly groundbreaking. In fact, just prior to Monterrey, President Bush announced a historic anti-poverty initiative that will substantially increase U.S. development assistance in support of those developing countries to undertake reforms and formulate policies to make sustainable development lasting and effective.

This new presidential initiative unleashes the potential of those who are poor instead of locking them into a cycle of dependence. It does so by providing clear support for those who are ruling justly, investing in their own people, and promoting economic freedom and enterprise. Also, at Monterrey, the international community reached consensus that developed and developing countries alike share responsibilities for sustainable development.

The United States and other nations have learned that achieving internationally agreed development goals, including those in the millennium declaration, requires joint actions. At the same time, each country must bear primary responsibility for its own sustainable development through effective leadership, government accountability, respect for human rights, investments in people, open markets and political and economic freedom.

Developed countries agree to support developing countries committed to these goals, including with increased aid and technical assistance to help unlock development resources, opportunity, and progress. This momentum must be carried forward into Johannesburg where the ultimate goal should be to produce not just texts and high-sounding rhetoric, but compelling results. The essence of the United States approach in Johannesburg will be to continue down the path made in Monterrey and to work together with others to build global prosperity. We believe that this approach presents the best opportunity for achieving sustainable development in a way that benefits both developed and developing nations.

Later today, Secretary Powell will elaborate on the message that the United States will carry to Johannesburg. Now, without stealing his thunder, let me stress two points of our vision that I believe he will address.

First, we believe that sustainable development begins with every nation taking responsibility for creating a climate conducive to sustained growth. The unmistakable lesson of past development efforts is that effective domestic policies are essential to creating growth. Development that is not just piecemeal or that benefits only a few, but that is enduring and widespread.

President Bush has emphasized that the hopes of all people, no matter where they live, depend on good governance, political and economic freedom, and the rule of law. These fundamental principles will generate and harness the human and financial resources needed to promote economic growth, a vibrant civil society, natural resource stewardship, and environmental protection. In order to promote sustainable development, the World Summit on Sustainable Development should concentrate on how the world can work together to encourage these needed changes so that a better quality of life may be secured for all.

The second key to our vision is the idea that we must work effectively to address the challenges of sustainable development through partnerships among governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and other elements of civil society. These partnerships can creatively channel our human, technological, and financial capacities toward achieving development goals.

Governments certainly have a critical role to play. But non-government sources can achieve far more with their resources than can be achieved with the comparatively small amount of development aid that is available worldwide. Monterrey sent a clear message in that regard, because the most important engine of growth is in the private sector. There can be no sustainable development that is not grounded in the productivity-driven growth of developing countries.

Active partnerships between diverse actors will be essential to strengthening democratic institutions of governance, open markets, and environmental protections. Today is an important step in that regard, and we look very much forward to cementing partnerships with you as we move closer to Johannesburg. And we look even beyond to what will happen after the summit. We invite your input, especially in this afternoon's roundtable discussions on clean energy, on capacity building for water and coastal resources, and on creating the underlying conditions to support sustainable development.

Henry David Thoreau, one of the greatest nature lovers of history, once wrote, "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. That is where they should be. Now, put the foundations under them." Our task today is to lay a tangible foundation for achieving the ideals we all share, building global prosperity while guarding nature and securing a better world for the future. We appreciate very much your presence here today, and we look forward to your contributions toward these goals. Thank you very much.