Volume X - Issue I - January 2008
News Affecting Projects & PM
UK Gives $863 million For African Development Projects Reported by Miles Shepherd in London, UK
“I very much hope that other shareholders will raise the ambition and also pledge contributions to the replenishment consistent with the needs of Africa today," AfDB President Donald Kaberuka (pictured) said in a statement. Donors are due to meet in London next month to agree on an action plan for the 11th replenishment of the African Development Fund. ..." [Reuters/Factiva] Xinhua added that "...The money would help the ADF work over the next three years with 40 African countries to build better infrastructure including improved water and sanitation and new energy projects. (Note: According to Wikipedia, the Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is one of the two news agencies in the PRC, the other being the China News Service.) It will also help strengthen economic and regional links between African countries and put more money into fragile states, like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone that have recently come out of conflict. ..." [Xinhua/Factiva] The African Development Bank (ADB) is a regional multilateral development finance institution established in 1964 and engaged in mobilising resources towards the economic and social progress of its Regional Member Countries (RMCs). The ADB’s shareholders include 53 African countries and 24 non-African countries from the Americas, Asia, and Europe. It is headquartered in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). ADB authorized capital totals US$ 33 billion; total commitments currently stand at US$ 53 billion. The Bank’s mission is to promote economic and social development through loans, equity investments, and technical assistance. Additional information can be found at http://www.afdb.org/. Source: World Bank Press Review, November 29, 2007 and the AfDB’s website.
African leaders at "Connect Africa" meeting in Rwanda According to them World Bank, African leaders and technology experts met in Rwanda in late October to discuss plans to boost the continent's development by securing universal Internet access by 2012. At the conclusion of the two-day meeting, the head of the United Nations telecommunications agency reminded investors that Africa is “open for business and looking for partnerships.”
The Connect Africa Summit, held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, brought together some 1,000 participants, including political leaders, executives of information and communication technology (ICT) companies and heads of development banks. Organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and supported by the African Union, United Nations and several other international bodies, the 'Connect Africa' gathering was also attended by several heads of state. 'It is now time to deliver for the African continent to achieve its Millennium Development Goals,' ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Toure told AFP before the start of the landmark two-day conference. One of the UN's millennium goals -- which have to be achieved by 2015 -- is to 'make available the benefits of new technologies -- especially information and communications' technologies.'
According to the World Bank, the cost of Internet connectivity in Africa is the highest in the world, at some 250-300 dollars per month. Mobile telephony is also expected to be high on the agenda of the 'Connect Africa' summit, as private operators continue to mushroom across the continent, increasing competitiveness. ..." [Agence France Presse (10/29)/Factiva] The BBC wrote that "More than a third of Africa's citizens should have access to broadband internet by 2012, [the] conference of technology leaders is set to hear. Fewer than four out of 100 Africans currently use the internet, and broadband penetration is below 1 percent. ... The New Times noted that "... The ITU boss said that it is projected that $300 billion will have been invested in ICT in Africa by 2012, adding that the private sector was key in the fulfillment of the recommendations drawn earlier. Toure said 33 percent of Africans are employed in the IT sector. ... Hamadoun Touré, the Secretary General of the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said that African leaders had committed themselves to creating the right regulatory environment, and private sector leaders had pledged to invest in the continent’s ICT sector. “Companies are ready to invest and they know they can make money here.” Highlighting the impact of technology such as mobile phones, Mr. Touré said telecom companies were making profits, farmers were getting the information they need, and teachers were receiving educational aid. “Mobile phones even have an impact on democracy. During elections, people have used mobile phones to get election results fast and in a transparent manner.”
The technologies to connect the whole of Africa are available, said Craig Barrett, the Chair of the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development and the Chairman of Intel Corporation. “What we are dealing with here is not a technology problem. The technology is ready to be delivered. It is a question of policies, of creating the right environment.” “This is not a technology issue but an implementation issue,” Mr. Barrett said. “It is a question of taking existing technologies, existing models, and implementing them in Africa, as they have been implemented in other parts of the world.” “The challenges are still significant, but let’s not underestimate what has been accomplished, especially by the telecom industry,” said Mohsen Khalil of the World Bank Group. Africa had jumped from 1 per cent to 20 per cent of telephone density within a few years. “We must now take this to the next level, and replicate the model of mobile telephony.” Among the partnerships announced at the Summit, the ITU and the African Development Bank (ADB) agreed to work together on interconnecting all African capitals and major cities with ICT broadband infrastructure and on strengthening connectivity to the rest of the world by 2012. ADB President Donald Kaberuka also announced that the Bank had approved a $150 million loan for a pan-African cable, the East African Submarine Cable System, which would bring speedy and cheap bandwidth to at least 23 African countries. The system would run between South Africa and Sudan, with six landing points along the way, he said. The Connect Africa Summit was attended by the Presidents of Burkina Faso, Burundi, Djibouti, Malawi and Senegal, together with 53 ICT ministers and 19 ICT companies, including Microsoft, Intel, Cisco and Ericsson.
World Bank launches new Country Partnership The World Bank announced on 6 December 2007 that the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors have endorsed a new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Ukraine covering the period of 2008-2011. The CPS outlines the priorities for the Bank Group’s engagement through lending and investments, analytical and advisory services, and technical assistance.
The strategy proposes a lending range of US$ 2-6 billion over the four year period, with annual lending levels based on a series of performance benchmarks, including progress in structural reforms, macroeconomic stability and improvements in the implementation of existing World Bank loans. In addition, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will continue to invest significant resources to support the private sector in Ukraine. Analytical and advisory services will be a central component of the new strategy. This includes research into specific development challenges of Ukraine but also hands-on advice and technical assistance, including assistance through IFC’s expanded advisory services. “As Ukraine’s access to international capital markets has improved, its relationship with the World Bank Group is changing,” says Paul Bermingham, Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. “We are responding to Ukraine’s needs by making our lending cheaper and more efficient. We are also allocating additional resources to bring global knowledge and country-focused solutions to the wide range of development priorities on which there is consensus in Ukraine.”
The new strategy builds on an analysis of Ukraine’s key development challenges. To sustain growth into the future, the CPS notes, Ukraine will need to: (i) improve its international competitiveness, (ii) reform its public finances and the public sector to improve the quality of public services and ensure all Ukrainians benefit from economic growth, and (iii) tackle weaknesses in public and private sector governance. “Ukraine’s political environment is quite dynamic,” says Martin Raiser, Task Team Leader for the CPS. ¬¬“For us this is both a challenge and an opportunity. It is a challenge to respond flexibly to the changing needs of the government and the country and an opportunity to work with a wider group of partners and interested parties to find development solutions that are sustainable, equitable and efficient.” Since Ukraine joined the World Bank in 1992, commitments to the country total around US$5 billion for 36 operations. The Bank’s current portfolio there consists of 13 active projects totaling US$1.3 billion, and about 6 additional projects under preparation. IFC has invested a total of US$742 million in 35 projects to date, while the gross exposure of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) during 1998-2007 has been standing at US$ 244.6 million.
Projects & life in Northwestern USA battered by Storm & Floods Reported by Marc Zocher in Seattle, Washington, USA
A massive Pacific storm hit Oregon and Washington states in the Northwestern USA on Sunday and Monday, December 2-3, with winds exceeding 100 miles per hour and torrential rains. The storm, which killed at least seven people as it battered the Pacific Northwest before moving on Tuesday, left behind flooded homes, fallen trees and washed-out roads, including the region's largest highway. On Wednesday, the storm continued pushing east, dumping snow across the Midwest. The Interstate 5 (I5) highway has been shut down since Monday at the town of Centralia, Washington because of flooding. At one point Tuesday, officials said a three-mile section of the road was under as much as 10 feet of water from the surging Chehalis River. The interstate, which is the main north-south route between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, was expected to be closed at least through Friday.
Winds gusts of more than 100 mph were reported along the Oregon coast, the strongest 129 mph at Bay City. Lincoln City reported 125mph and Cape Meares recorded winds of 114 mph. Nearly a foot of rain fell on Lee's Camp in Oregon. The heavy rains also pushed rivers in Washington over flood stage. Flood warnings and watches were posted for rivers throughout western Washington. Bremerton, Wash., was soaked with more than 12 inches of rain from Sunday night to Monday night, the National Weather Service reported. The storm kicked up waves of 40 feet along the Washington and Oregon coast. The heavy surf was expected Tuesday to extend all the way into Southern California. Seattle experienced more than 5 inches of rain on Monday. According to the Washington State Highways Department, I-5 between Chehalis and Napavine is not expected to repoen until at least the weekend. The detour is 440 miles long, takes 7 hours, and involves crossing the Cascade Mountains and then taking I-82/84. This section of I-5 was planned to be raised to avoid these flooding issues. However, the project has been postponed and cancelled as funding continues to be cut due to various initiatives and programs. Numerous other highways are also closed in the region, including many roads on the Olympic Peninsula west of Seattle.
The flood-related closure halted traffic between Portland, Oregon and Seattle on a portion of the freeway that normally carries about 54,000 vehicles a day. High water also prevented the use of nearby detours, with some trucks heading as far east as Yakima to get around the blockage. State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said 10,000 trucks and 44,000 passenger vehicles use I-5 through the region every day, and delay costs for truckers alone have been about $4 million each day that vital link was out of commission. The total cost to businesses and the state economy as a whole is not yet known, though Washington state Governor Chris Gregoire has said that total damage from the storm could reach the billions. Needless to say, projects involving construction, logistics or deliveries of supplies in the area have been drastically affected by this storm, along with project managers and team members living in the area. Of course, such storms create more projects and work for local transportation departments and many other agencies. Sources:
Multilateral Program Management - According to a UN news release on Thursday, 6 December, the Government of Iraq and seven United Nations (UN) agencies have launched a new initiative aimed at boosting the capacities of local authorities to carry through on development plans in partnership with the private sector and the community.
The programme will be carried out in Sulamaniya, Babel, and the Marshlands in an effort to stimulate local economic development and improve local infrastructure and basic services, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said in a news release. The pilot phase will operate on a contribution of $30 million from the European Commission (EC) channeled through the UN Development Group Iraq Trust Fund and should offer lessons to guide expansion of the programme to other areas, UNAMI said. Participating agencies are the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT), International Labour Organization (ILO), UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), World Health Organization (WHO), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). For additional information, visit http://www.un.org/news/.
South America launches New Bank to help finance economic development projects and responses to natural disasters According to a news report from the World Bank on Monday, 10 December, leaders from across South America have signed agreements setting up a new regional bank known as the Banco del Sur or Southern Bank. Funded by regional powers such as Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, it will aid economic and social projects. Each member will have one vote, irrespective of its size or funding.
According to the BBC, “the Banco del Sur's headquarters are going to be in Caracas, with offices in Buenos Aires and La Paz. ... The bank aims to start with capital of $800 million and eventually gather $7 billion, with funds to deal with natural disasters and develop joint scientific and economic projects across the region. ..." [The BBC (12/10)] AFP reports that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil said "... the regional bank 'will finance projects in key economic sectors such as infrastructure, science and technology, and bring more balance to the region.' Brazilian government spokesman Marcelo Baumbach added that the new institution 'will play a significant role in regional integration and in consolidating the Union of South American Nations.' ..." [Agence France Presse (12/09)/Factiva]
The World Bank's Vice President for Latin America, Pamela Cox (pictured), told EFE that "the Bank of the South is a complement, not a competitor' because 'financing requirements to development in the area are enormous.' 'Countries need to have options,' according to Cox, who offered a hand to the new entity to indicate: 'We can be a good partner and we are happy to work (with them) and help them if they want advice or assistance'. ..." [Agencia EFE (12/07)/Factiva] Source: World Bank Press Review, December 10, 2007
UN Expects Climate Change to result in more CDM (Green) Projects and increased employment According to the head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in early December, despite the detrimental effects brought on by climate change, new industries to combat global warming could spur employment.
“Millions of new jobs are among the many silver, if not indeed gold-plated, linings on the cloud of climate change,” said Achim Steiner (pictured), UNEP’s Executive Director. He pointed out that research shows that these are not just ‘green collar’ jobs targeted at the middle classes, but that opportunities abound for workers in areas ranging from construction, sustainable forestry and agriculture, engineering and transportation. “Talk of environmental sustainability and climate change often emphasizes the costs, but downplays the significant employment opportunities from the transition to a global economy that is not only resource efficient and without the huge emissions of greenhouse gases, but one that also restores environmental and social values,” Mr. Steiner said.
The research is part of a draft report entitled “Green Jobs: Can the Transition to Environmental Sustainability Spur New Kinds and Higher Levels of Employment?” that was commissioned by UNEP. It found that the United States environmental industry in 2005 generated over 5.3 million jobs, ten times the number in the country’s pharmaceutical industry. Delhi, it noted, is introducing new eco-friendly compressed natural gas buses in India that will create 18,000 new jobs, while Brazil’s ethanol programme has led to half a million new jobs. Meanwhile, the top UN climate change official today said that greater efforts are necessary to extend the benefits of the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – which allows projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries and contribute to sustainable development to earn certified emission reduction credits (CERs) – to Africa. “There are 850 clean development mechanism projects in 49 developing countries, but only 23 of those projects are in Africa,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “It’s time that the benefits of this important Kyoto Protocol mechanism were expanded in Africa.” Last November, former Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched the Nairobi Framework aimed at spreading the spreading the benefits of the CDM. Since then, several projects have been launched in Africa, but the total number of CDM initiatives on the continent comprise only 2.6 per cent of the some 800 registered projects. Source: UN Daily News Digest, December 6, 2007.
UN partners with European Commission to boost The United Nations (UN) has announced a new agreement between the United Nations telecommunications agency and the European Commission (EC) that aims to attract greater investments in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The collaboration between the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Commission is a follow-up to commitments made at the Connect Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, in October when the EC expressed support for the agency’s regulatory reform initiatives in Africa.
In a press statement from its Geneva headquarters, the ITU notes that over the past decade, most countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific and the Caribbean have begun reforms in the telecommunication sector, including through setting up national regulatory bodies and introducing competition. At the same time, large sections of the population remain without basic access to ICT services. Many countries still need to undertake crucial reforms that would provide regulators with the tools and authority to effectively regulate the sector and thereby attract greater investment, promote innovation and build confidence in ICT markets. The new agreement aims to harmonize regulatory frameworks within the different regions. It also seeks to build human and institutional capacity in the field of ICT through a range of training, education and knowledge-sharing measures. An effective and harmonized regulatory framework will encourage private sector investment, while more competition will lead to lower prices and better service for customers. The ITU says a fundamental shift in policy and regulatory frameworks is considered essential to achieve by 2015 the connectivity targets contained in the set of global anti-poverty objectives known as the Millennium Development Goals (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/MDGs). It will also contribute to achieving the objectives of the World Summit on the Information Society (http://www.itu.int/wsis/index.html WSIS), which recognized that “to maximize the social, economic and environmental benefits of the Information Society, governments need to create a trustworthy, transparent and non-discriminatory legal, regulatory and policy environment.” As part of the agreement, the European Union has allocated 8 million Euros from the European Development Fund, to which ITU will add $500,000 of its own resources. The work will be managed and implemented by ITU. For more details visit http://www.un.org/news. ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues, and a global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services. For more than 40 years, ITU has coordinated shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoted international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, worked to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, and established worldwide standards to assure seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. ITU also organizes worldwide and regional exhibitions and forums bringing together the most influential representatives of government and the telecommunications industry to exchange ideas, knowledge and technology for the benefit of the global community, and in particular the developing world. From broadband internet to latest-generation wireless technologies, from aeronautical and maritime navigation to radio astronomy and satellite-based meteorology, from phone and fax services to TV broadcasting and next-generation networks, ITU continues to play a central role in helping the world communicate.
World Bank Approves USD 400 Million Loan To
The World Bank announced on December 18 that it has approved $400 million to support development programs in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the next four years...The new lending arrangements during the 2008-2011 lending cycle come on top of some $200 million already available as part of ongoing projects, said Marco Mantovanelli (pictured), the World Bank Country Manager in Bosnia-Herzegovina. According to the World Bank Press Review:Mantovanelli told a news conference that the Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved a new strategy last Friday...." [Xinhua/Factiva]AFP notes that "...The project is aimed at supporting investment in infrastructure, regional development, transport and energy, as well as helping to reform both the private and public sectors. Bosnia could receive even more funding if it accelerated the reform process, Mantovanelli said. Mantovanelli said Bosnia would move from soft loans to more commercial deals with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development during the four-year period. ..." [Agence France Presse/Factiva] Reuters reports that "...The Bank approved a $25 million loan for Bosnia's road infrastructure and disbursed a $32 million loan that had been earlier pledged for the improvement of the business environment, Mantovanelli told a news conference. ... 'We want to link our assistance to reforms because the path to Europe will require some reforms and we are ready to be partners in that,' Mantovanelli said. He said the Bank wanted to support growth and an environment conducive to growth so that Bosnia can continue to improve conditions for investments and job creation. ..." [Reuters/Factiva] Mr. Marco Mantovanelli, an Italian national, is the World Bank’s Country Manager for Bosnia and Herzegovena. He joined the World Bank in 1993 where he has held various managerial and technical positions, including Resident Representative for the Dominican Republic and Haiti; senior advisor to the Vice President for External Relations; Head of External Relations for the Africa region of the World Bank, coordinating staff in Washington and 32 Country Offices in Africa; and Task Team Leader of human development projects where he specialized in the delivery of education services in rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean region. He holds a Masters Degree in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University and one in Political Science and International Relations from Bologna University.
India approves Rs 6bn disaster management plan Reported by Raju Rao in Chennai India’s Home Ministry on Monday, December 17, 2007 approved a Rs 6 billion plan to address gaps in the management of earthquake related disasters. The concept paper prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been named National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project (NERMP). A Home Ministry spokesman said the preparatory work for the detailed project spread over for next five years would be initiated after an approval from the Planning Commission. The plan involves the training of engineers, builders, architects, masons and others at a new National Institute for Earthquake Management, to be set up in the Himalayan city of Dehradun. The plan also includes investment in the research and development of safe construction technology, which is low in South Asia. The proposed project is aimed to achieve following goals:
The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) is a premier national organization in India working for human resource development at the national level in the area of disaster mitigation and management. The NIDM was formed in October 2003 by a Government of India order upgrading the National Centre for Disaster Management (NCDM), which was located at the Indian Institute of Public Administration in New Delhi. NIDM will be gearing up the national, state and district level administration to tackle natural calamities and will also be coordinating research projects, training programmes and will build a database on natural disasters with case studies. For additional information, visit http://www.nidm.net. Sources: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk and http://www.nidm.net/vision.asp.
India opens door for drug discovery sans frontiers Reported by Raju Rao in Chennai For the first time, India is planning to launch an innovative drug discovery programme by roping in global IT firms, researchers, companies and even young minds at scientific laboratories to invent drugs at a fraction of the cost of an MNC drug. Under the proposed project, researchers attached to institutions like the Royal Society of UK, Imperial College of London, Medicine Sans Frontiers and various Indian universities will be able to work for a reward The project will also get the brightest scientists at various Indian universities and labs to work on it.The impetus for this project could be the phenomenal success of many open source projects for e.g. Wikipedia .Indian corporates like Kinetic Group, entities like the Welcome Trust and various corporate groups will sponsor these rewards. Either the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) or the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology will implement the project. The government has already started talking to Sun Microsystems to set up Web-management tools for an ‘open source’ drug discovery project.
For more details visit
Finally, with doses of IT, Research & Rewards, Country Looks To Produce Cheaper Drugs than MNCs! Source: The Economic Times Date: Dec 20, 2007
World Bank announces 2005 Global Report According to a World Bank news report in mid December, the International Comparison Program (ICP) has released new data showing the world economy produced goods and services worth almost $55 trillion in 2005 and that almost 40 percent of the world’s output came from developing economies. Carried out with the World Bank and other partners, the preliminary global report provides estimates of internationally comparable price levels and the relative purchasing power of currencies for 146 economies. The principal outputs of the ICP are estimates of Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) benchmarked to the year 2005. PPPs are used instead of exchange rates to convert national economic measures such as gross domestic products into a common currency. By taking account of price differences between countries, PPPs allow comparisons of market size, the structure of economies, and what money can buy. The new PPPs replace previous benchmark estimates, many of them from 1993 and some dating back to the 1980s.
The global report combines the results of the International Comparison Program and the Eurostat-OECD PPP program. The report also provides estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for 146 economies, along with GDP per capita, and their price level index (PLI), which shows which economies are cheapest and which are most expensive when currencies are converted using market exchange rates. This was the most extensive and thorough effort ever to measure PPPs across countries. Teams in each region identified characteristic goods and services to be priced. Surveys conducted during 2005 collected prices for more than 1,000 goods and services. New and innovative data validation tools were implemented to improve data quality. A representative group of economies from each region priced a common, global set of goods and services used to calibrate the regional PPPs to the global level. Major findings
Which are the largest economies?
Which countries are the most expensive?
Measured by GDP per capita, the five richest economies are Luxembourg, Qatar, Norway, Brunei Darussalam, and Kuwait. Collectively, they account for less than 1 percent of the world’s output. Seventeen economies have a GDP per capita of less than $1,000. The world average is approximately $8,900 per capita. Per capita measures of individual consumption, a measure of what households consume, provides a way to compare average living standards. By this measure, the five richest economies are Luxembourg, United States, Iceland, United Kingdom, and Norway. The world average individual consumption is approximately $6,100 per capita.
The US accounts for the largest share of the world’s expenditure for investment, but at 21 percent, it is closely followed by China with 18 percent. The 10 largest economies account for over more than two thirds of the world’s investment. The share of investment in low and middle income economies is larger when world shares of investment are measured in PPP terms. Limitations to the use of the data: Purchasing power parities are statistical estimates. Like all statistics they are subject to sampling errors, measurement errors, and errors of classification. Therefore they should be treated as an approximation to an unknown, true value. Because of the process used to collect the data and calculate the PPPs, is not possible to provide a precise estimate of their margins of error. Therefore, small differences in the estimated values should not be considered significant. PPPs should not be used as indicators of the under- or overvaluation of currencies. They do not tell us what exchange rates “should be”. PPPs do not reflect the demand for currencies as a medium of exchange, speculative investment, or official reserves. Additional details, including per capita measures and relative price levels for three more components of the GDP (actual individual consumption, government consumption, and gross fixed capital formation) along with explanatory materials, can be found at www.worldbank.org/data/icp..
$7.4 Billion for Palestinian People and Projects
Led by Europe, international donors in December pledged $7.4 billion over three years to help Palestinians as new peace talks begin with Israel. World leaders at a conference in Paris on December 17 also urged Israel to ease limits on Palestinian movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, following up on a warning from the World Bank that without an easing of the sweeping physical and administrative restrictions donors may be wasting their money. According to Xinhua (Chinese news service) "...UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the Paris conference is an opportunity for the international community to reaffirm their commitment towards the process and to ensure that the commitment translates into a new and better reality on the ground. ..." [Xinhua/Factiva] The Financial Times (FT) wrote that "...Saudi Arabia promised $750 million over three years, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates $300 million each and the US $550 million. The UK pledged $500 million. The EU remains the single biggest donor, with $640m for 2008 alone. ...”]
The Paris conference marked a crucial element of an invigorated international drive to revive the peace process. Improving the lives of Palestinians and encouraging them to build an effective security structure is seen by the west as an essential step that should reassure Israel and facilitate political negotiations. ..." [FT (UK)] The total for 2008 alone, according to the conference's final declaration, was $3.4 billion. It was the largest Palestinian donor meeting since 1996, and the latest in a string of aid-raising events for the Palestinians over the years. The Palestinians are one of the highest aid-dependent populations in the world; government salaries account for 27 percent of the Palestinian Authority's gross domestic product, according to a new World Bank report. Editor’s Note: This article is based on a news report from the World Bank earlier this month. As the International donor meetings wrapped up in Paris, the story was covered widely in the international media. However, it was not discussed so much in the project management community. We don’t know if international development projects or project financing can lead directly to peace, but believe that project startups and announcements can have a very positive influence on many stakeholders. We therefore hope that the news about investments in Palestine lead to peaceful cooperation in that part of the world. May projects and project management become means for both peace and prosperity around the world!
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