It’s not a secret that there are skeptics about aid effectiveness or critics of the US budget for international assistance. That’s why I was pleased to learn about the recent work of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) which proves that aid can not only be effective, but can also benefit the American economy.
An MCC energy project in Tanzania. Photo credit: Morgana Wingard/ONE.
Last week, I attended a conference hosted by the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) titled, “On the Cutting Edge of Aid Effectiveness: Best Practices and Lessons Learned from the Millennium Challenge Corporation.” The panel ofspeakers included Gayle Smith, the special assistant to the president and senior director of the National Security Council (you may have seen her tweets from our recent ONE-White House Twitter event), and Sheila Herrling, vice president for policy and evaluation at the MCC. This discussion was led by Jim Kolbe, who is now the co-chair of MFAN.
Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN)’s blog has launched a new series looking at the importance of the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy & Development Review (QDDR). According to MFAN, “development experts from across the MFAN community will post blogs on the QDDR and the importance of transparency, civil society engagement, gender, ownership, and legislation to making U.S. foreign assistance more effective and accountable.”
At 3 PM EST today the public will have a chance to chat with Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes. The live video discussion is part of the “Live from the White House—What Do You Want to Know?” and will give everyone the opportunity to communicate directly with the White House about progress in foreign policy.
Below are 3 important questions worth asking during today’s video chat with Ben Rhodes. Please participate if you can here. We’ll have more on the ONE Blog should anything of interest come out of today’s discussion.
How will the Presidential Study Directive on U.S. Global Development Policy fulfill two of President Obama’s key promises from the 2008 campaign: ensuring that “development is established and endures as a key pillar of U.S. foreign policy” and working to “elevate, streamline and empower a 21st Century U.S. development agency?”
Will the White House give new USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah a seat at the National Security Council, in order to empower development with a distinct voice in foreign policy debates and fulfill President Obama’s campaign pledge to ensure that “development is established and endures as a key pillar of U.S. foreign policy?”
Will President Obama support a rewrite of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman has said he will undertake this year in order to streamline the inefficient aid bureaucracy, cut down on foreign aid earmarking, and help U.S. development professionals get better results in the field?
Ritu Sharma, President/Founder of Women Thrive Worldwide and leading voice on international women’s issues and U.S. foreign policy, opened the event. Next to speak was the Honorable Jim Kolbe, Senior Transatlantic Fellow for GMF. Kolbe has served in the United States House of Representatives and has made significant contributions to the world of international development and trade. Kolbe touched on the importance of trade in promoting development before introducing featured speaker Ambassador Demetrios Marantis. Mr. Marantis serves as Deputy USTR (United States Trade Representative) and is responsible for US trade negotiations and enforcement in Asia and Africa.
Mr. Marantis explained that many people don’t realize that trade is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to economic growth and poverty reduction. While access to new markets for poor countries is a significant part of accelerating and achieving development, trade is an essential component, too.
“We must explore ways to use trade to fuel future development,” Mr. Marantis remarked.
Similarly, Ms. Sharma said that “Foreign assistance is not enough to lift people out of poverty.” In order to achieve development goals, economic growth is needed through private sector investments, foreign direct investment, and trade.
The take-away message? The US can (and should) use trade to further the US Global Development Goals, and even reduce conflict throughout the world. We as ONE members have the power to influence the government to maximize the role the United States plays in achieving development. But in order to do this, we should recognize the significant role that trade policy plays in this process.
Learn more about the ways in which trade creates economic growth and opportunities for the world’s poor here.
In DC this Wednesday? Then RSVP for a conversation about the “Role of Trade in Promoting U.S. Global Development Goals” hosted by the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network and the German Marshall Fund.
The panel will be moderated by former Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and feature Ambassador Demetrios J. Marantis, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. It will also include introductory remarks by Ritu Sharma, Co-founder and President, Women Thrive Worldwide.
More info about the event below. You can RSVP by emailing rsvp@gloverparkgroup.com with subject line “MFAN-GMF Marantis Event RSVP”.
Trade can be a powerful engine for economic growth and poverty reduction. Access to new markets for poor country products is a crucial piece of the development puzzle. But there is a growing recognition that for many developing countries – particularly the poorest – gaining market access, even preferential market access, is only half the battle. Market access is necessary but not always sufficient. Together, trade and aid can accelerate efforts to spur economic growth, alleviate poverty and enhance security.
During his recent trip to Africa, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk affirmed that “the United States is committed to working with our African partners to ensure that trade and development work hand-in-hand” and to “supporting trade capacity building assistance, also known as ‘Aid for Trade.’” How can U.S. trade policies more effectively align with U.S. development goals? Are there opportunities for greater transatlantic and global cooperation on trade and development in light of recent commitments at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh?
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