2007 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank

Mr Chairman,
Mr President,
Fellow governors,
Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to congratulate China for the excellent idea of bringing Africa to Asia – for the second time within a short period. China’s achievements in terms of economic development are impressive, as is clearly illustrated here in the vibrant and magnificent city of Shanghai.

China is also dynamic when it comes to trading and investing in Africa, and is challenging some of the commonly held misconceptions about profitability on that continent. We welcome China’s increased cooperation with Africa through trade, investments and development assistance.

With the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative and the HIPC Initiative, the international community has managed to reduce the debt burden of poor countries substantially. Now we must avoid a new debt crisis, and a common understanding of what constitutes sustainable debt must be reached, and respected. Through the International Financial Institutions, we have agreed on a Debt Sustainability Framework that encourages responsible new lending. The framework should be used by as many lenders as possible. This implies that certain aspects of governance need to be factored in when making new loans.

Meanwhile, many African countries are in need of more funding on concessional terms. In addition to lenders taking  a prudent, transparent and well coordinated approach, it is also important to achieve a sizeable replenishment of the African Development Fund.

Mr Chairman,
Unfortunately, it seems that the donor community is not really delivering in terms of increased ODA. Development assistance last year was down 5% from 2005.  And the funding that does arrive is unpredictable, with only 65% on schedule.

Despite the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, there is still a considerable lack of alignment and harmonisation. This is illustrated by the story of the girl from Aceh in Indonesia who became ill after getting three identical vaccinations from different aid agencies. Other examples could be cited, and there are more than 10 000 donor missions to African countries each year – some of them disregarding national “quiet periods”. 

This is all about respecting African priorities and management and about using multilateral channels for our financial support.

President Kaberuka,
The African Development Bank (ADB) has an important role to play both in providing finance and assistance to African countries, and in making sure that transaction costs are as small as possible. The internal reforms you have initiated have our support, and we are convinced that the Bank’s growing presence in African countries, coupled with the delegation of authority, is beneficial to the Bank’s mission. But there is still a long way to go. I believe the Bank needs the support of all its members if it is to become an efficient, result-oriented, relevant institution – one that can provide the “African” perspective to economic development that is frequently referred to.

We have listened to the High Level Panel and their views on the future of the Bank. Norway agrees with much of what they have said, and we look forward to discussing these issues in more detail.

The ADB has to be relevant in all its regional member countries. It needs to have a grasp on most sectors and the totality, but it cannot be involved in everything. Selectivity is key. There is always a danger of mission creep, but while in-house capacity is being built up you need to stay focussed. The report from the High Level Panel will be helpful in this task.

Mr President,
Gender is one of the issues you cannot choose to disregard. An enormous economic potential can be released by improving women’s rights, participation and influence. Norway will give priority to multilateral organisations that develop and implement substantial goals and tools for the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality. It is encouraging to see that the Bank has taken major steps in the right direction in recent years. Gender budgeting is on its way, and there are now more women in high positions in the Bank than ever, also compared with several other multilateral organisations.

I am pleased to add that Norway is considering strengthening its support to the Bank in this area, and in particular your work with women entrepreneurs in Africa.

Another crosscutting issue is governance. Anti-corruption is already high on the agenda, and again there are huge benefits to be gained through effective action. The Bank must do its part by putting its policies and guidelines into practice. Close cooperation with the other multilateral development banks is key. But the rest of us can also play an important role – the responsibility of the briber is often ignored, and most of Africa’s stolen wealth is stored in Western Banks. Global, collective action is needed more than ever.

Before I end, let me once again congratulate China and Shanghai for the organisation of these Annual Meetings and reiterate our strong support for Africa and the African Development Bank.

Thank you.