This approach requires investment in human capital and infrastructure, as well as the right economic policies and institutions. It requires, especially, an economic climate that encourages private sector investment. And this can also provide important mechanisms for resolving regional disputes and sharing the cost of large infrastructure investments. I see the crucial test for the credibility of international support for poverty reduction in the issue of opening markets for the exports of poor countries, and in the delivery of the promise of higher levels of official development assistance. Increased access to markets is still the best way for poor countries to share in world prosperity.
Trade restrictions are a direct blow to their efforts to help themselves.
And to give special assistance to those with the greatest need, rich countries should give the world's poorest countries free access to their markets. To be meaningful, free access should cover the products that matter most to poor countries, especially agricultural exports. And free access must also provide better opportunities for exports of manufactured goods, as poor countries begin to diversify and develop their economies. Only Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden have met the target and, for most countries, bilateral aid flows have been declining over the past decade. But it should be only a start.