PM wants global fund for business development - Proposal put to G-15 leaders in Indonesia PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson has called for the setting up of a special international fund to provide money to modernise businesses. Jamaica wants the proposal to form a major part of the discussions at a United Nations Conference on Finance for Development, to be held in Mexico next year. Mr. Patterson put forward the proposal yesterday as he addressed other leaders of the Group of Fifteen (G-15) developing countries in Jakarta, Indonesia. He said small to medium sized enterprises in poor countries are particularly in need of such resources. He added, however, that the governments of those countries also need funds to undertake critical infrastructure upgrading designed to enhance productivity in their industries. The Prime Minister suggested that the money for these initiatives could be provided by relief from debt service being applied to the current stock of multilateral and bilateral debt of developing countries. Releasing such resources for sustainable development, he noted, would represent one of the first steps towards assisting the further integration of developing countries into the global economy. Prime Minister Patterson pointed out that while it was generally accepted that the economic process of globalisation was creating, and in many instances worsening poverty, developing countries must focus on overcoming such problems. "A truly meaningful debate is not whether globalisation is an inevitable reality but more so, how we as leaders seek to shape its course and mitigate the inequalities wherever they appear," he said.
|
