July 14, 2015 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Check Against Delivery
Mr. President, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, excellencies, ministers, fellow delegates, Canada welcomes this opportunity to address the Third International Conference on Financing for Development.
This conference and the discussions we have had on the road to Addis are a crucial part of our collective rethinking of what kind of world we want to leave to our children and our grandchildren. We need to decide how to structure and finance the next generation of development efforts. We need to prioritize: we need to decide where we are going to focus our initial efforts.
With only months remaining in the era of the Millennium Development Goals, the stakes at this conference are high.
The text that is before us, while not perfect, contains both the essential ingredients of a good outcome and many delicate compromises. Canada is gravely concerned that if we reopen the document at this stage, the fragile balance it represents will begin to unravel and the success of this conference will be in jeopardy. I therefore urge delegations to focus not on minor divisions but on making Addis the success our citizens deserve and, in that spirit, to adopt the document as it stands.
We, the community of nations, must now show by our collective actions and contributions that we are ready to take another ambitious step in wiping out global poverty and pursuing a just and equitable world for all.
To accomplish this, we will need to rethink the role of ODA.
Official development assistance was a central piece of the world’s strategy to meet the Millennium Development Goals. However, it is abundantly clear that ODA alone cannot finance the post-2015 development agenda. According to the World Bank, the estimated annual cost to achieve our new goals will be in the trillions of dollars—far beyond the $135 billion that currently comprises ODA.
In this context, ODA should be focused on those who need it the most—the poorest and most vulnerable, wherever they are living. ODA should be used in conjunction with private sources of financing to maximize our impact.
Clearly, the international community must also seek out additional sources of development financing and find new ways of making these various sources work together for maximum impact.
Critically, this means blending financing from donors, foundations and the private sector to maximize development investments needed to build an inclusive and sustainable world.
Using ODA to mobilize private financial resources for investments that deliver development results is, of course, easier said than done. This is why Canada has been working with the World Economic Forum, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and other partners on the Redesigning Development Finance Initiative [RDFI].
As Chair of the RDFI steering group, I have worked alongside members to create innovative solutions to financing the world’s development needs. For example, Canada supported the creation of a new initiative called “Convergence” with the help of its partners: the World Economic Forum, Dalberg and the Global Development Incubator.
This initiative will accelerate the scaling up of blended finance. Convergence will provide a platform for sharing knowledge, matchmaking and forging blended-finance partnerships.
Canada has also recently announced its intention to establish a development finance initiative, which we call DFI. Canada’s DFI will provide financing to organizations operating in low- and middle-income countries, whose activities complement Canada’s international assistance priorities.
Initiatives can also be designed to pursue specific social objectives such as improving maternal, newborn and child health [MNCH]. For example, last year, Canada, the United States, Norway and the World Bank Group announced their intention to contribute to the Global Financing Facility [GFF] in support of Every Woman Every Child. This new facility is helping to finance innovative initiatives with the private sector in maternal, newborn and child health.
MNCH is not just Canada’s top development priority and one to which our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has made a significant personal commitment, it is a vital piece of unfinished business from the Millennium Development Goals.
The GFF will then play a critical role in mobilizing resources to ensure that no mother or child is left behind.
The additional investment generated through the GFF, Convergence and other innovative financing mechanisms will set the course for moving from the current billions of dollars in development finance to the trillions required in the post-2015 agenda.
We must also seek to maximize other private flows. As a large source of remittances to developing countries, Canada is working on new initiatives to make it safer and more efficient to send remittances at an affordable price.
While not development financing in the traditional sense, these private flows represent a major source of income for millions of families in developing countries and exceed ODA by more than a three to one ratio.
This is why Canada endorses the G-20’s plan to reduce the cost and improve the availability of remittances.
Finally, we need to support developing countries in their efforts to promote their own sustainable economic growth and to mobilize domestic resources. A 1-percent increase in the ratio of government revenues to GDP in developing countries would be equal to almost twice the global ODA. That is why here, in Addis Ababa, Canada has joined with some of its closest partners in making a commitment. Collectively, we have agreed we will increase the assistance we provide to developing countries to strengthen their capacity to mobilize domestic resources.
Canada believes in a holistic approach to development financing.
By harnessing all sources of financing, private and public, domestic and international, we can finance the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. More importantly, we can achieve the SDGs. And we can build a better tomorrow.
We look forward to working with all of you in accomplishing that lofty goal.
Thank you.
