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UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 (APP):Pakistan has voiced concern over the non-fulfilment of a long-standing UN target that developed countries devote 0.7% of their Gross National Income to Official Development Assistance (ODA) aimed at promoting the economic development of developing countries.
“ODA targets have not been met consistently since their inception,” Muhammad Shaharyar Khan Mahar, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly, told the Annual Parliamentary Hearing, a joint initiative between the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
In fact, the Pakistani delegate of the developing countries was facing the spectre of further cuts in existing ODA commitments.
“There is double counting of humanitarian aid development spending at climate finance,” he said, adding grants are being replaced with loans, exacerbating debt burdens, with the actual development impact of aid remaining small.
At the national level, he said, aid flows needed to be aligned with national development plans, strengthening of institutions to promote transparency in managing and monitoring aid, and development frameworks to prevent the diversion of aid funds.
“Parliaments can play a key role in this regard through legislation and oversight,” Mahar said.
The Pakistani delegate stressed that global partnerships were more crucial than ever before to promote international development cooperation, multilateral development bank lending and south-south cooperation, and termed these partnerships as pivotal to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this regard, he spoke of the persistent challenges in harnessing this form of international cooperation.
At the same time, Mahar said that the upcoming fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD) provides a great opportunity to improve the international development architecture, including by initiating a multilateral process to identify parameters, objectives and the impact of aid.