SWEDEN
Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for International Development Cooperation:
"Sweden proudly declares itself a g07 country and takes part in global leadership for development by, at a minimum, living up to the international aid commitment of 0.7 per cent GNI. This is of the utmost importance, especially in terms of achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Sweden contributes one per cent of its GNI, but we are also actively working to ensure that we use these resources to effectively deliver development results and improve aid transparency for better accountability, e.g. through www.openaid.se. In these times of economic and financial instability, I firmly encourage my fellow colleagues to make stronger joint efforts to achieve the 0.7 per cent ODA/GNI target. It is a matter of credibility and accountability."
Read more about Swedish development cooperation:
Swedish Development Cooperation
NORWAY
Heikki Holmås, Minister of International Development:
"Norway’s aim is that a greater share of global capital flows should go to development. Innovative financing and new financial sources must be in addition to our aid commitment of at least 0.7 percent of GNI. They must not be used as an excuse to give less. Smart use of aid money is a necessary trigger to mobilise larger private resources for investment in infrastructure like electricity. In many low-income countries mobilisation of national resources through tax collection is an important contribution to development. Although we have seen progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, we still have a long way to go to eradicate poverty, achieve inclusive growth and make aid redundant."
Read more about Norwegian development cooperation:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
LUXEMBOURG
Marie-Josée Jacobs, Minister of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs:
"In 1992, during the first Rio Conference, the Luxembourg government announced its ambition to dedicate, by the year 2000, 0.7% of its gross national income to ODA. I’m proud to say that we actually achieved our goal in 2000. What’s more, our ODA has steadily increased ever since in numbers, while we exceeded the 1% threshold for the first time in 2009. We are determined to stick to the commitment we made twenty years ago, and I take the opportunity to invite other countries to follow our example."
Read more about Luxembourg's development cooperation:
Luxembourg Development Cooperation
Luxembourg's ODA
DENMARK
Christian Friis Bach, Minister for Development Cooperation:
"0.7 is not just a number. It is a testament to our stake in the partnership with developing countries towards eradicating global poverty and achieving the MDGs. Danish aid reached the 0.7 target in 1978 and Denmark has been a g07 country consistently for 34 years. It is a political choice that we have made and which we stand by in spite of financial constraints. We must all deliver on our commitments to support developing countries in fighting poverty. Being strongly engaged internationally is not only an investment in combating poverty and ensuring human rights. It is also a good investment in jobs, growth and opportunities at home."
Read more about Danish development cooperation:
Danida, Denmark’s development cooperation >
Denmark’s ODA level >
UNITED KINGDOM
Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister:
"Britain is sticking to its long standing promise on aid. We urge other countries to set out how they will join us.
Spending less than one per cent of our national income on aid - an internationally agreed target - will create a safer and more prosperous world. Tackling poverty in the world's poorest places can mean tackling the root causes of global problems such as disease, drugs, migration, terrorism, and climate change.
That's why the Coalition Government has set out clear plans to spend 0.7 per cent of our national income on aid.
We know that aid works. The UK's funding alone saves three million people from poverty each year. It has helped to eradicate smallpox and reduce polio cases from 350,000 a year in 1988 to just 1,500 last year. In addition, UK aid delivered more than 12 million bed nets last year, helping to prevent 66,000 children dying from malaria.
Aid and development is never just about how much money we spend. We must work together to make aid more effective, transparent and based on clear and achievable results. For the first time, we have set out the specific results we intend to achieve on behalf of taxpayers. For example, over the lifetime of this Parliament the UK will help get 11 million children into school, save the lives of 50,000 mothers in childbirth and vaccinate a child every two seconds.
We must also ensure that this money is properly spent. Britain was the first country in the world to publish data in line with the International Aid Transparency Initiative standards and we are actively urging others to do the same. We are also publishing all spending data over £500 so that taxpayers can see exactly how and where aid money is being spent. The new independent watchdog will shine a light on our work and make recommendations on how to improve our delivery.
Other countries should follow our lead and live up to their commitments and promises."
Read more about UK development cooperation:
UK aid
DFID - Department for International Development