Mr President,
Distinguished Governors and Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have come to the end of the Twenty-Fifth Session of the Governing Council, a milestone session that will be remembered as a turning point in the Governing Council's history. For the first time, the Governors of the Fund met to deliberate and exchange views on an overall theme; that of "Financing Development - The Rural Dimension" - a welcomed initiative that was reflected in the statements and speeches given by Governors and guests alike. The theme was the basis for discussion by Governors in an interactive dialogue. This was complemented by roundtable discussions on the Fund's regional strategies. Both events generated strong positive reactions, creating a path, I am certain, to more meaningful and interesting Council sessions.

We were greatly honoured by the address of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo, for whom the Governing Council's theme had a special appeal, as it touched directly on one of the major focuses of Nigeria's current development strategy. On a global basis, the President's concern centred on the apparent lack of unanimity of will to confront the problems of rural development and rural poverty reduction, and he asked the international community to address the issue squarely.

The Council welcomed the message of the President of the Italian Republic, His Excellency Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, delivered on his behalf by His Excellency Mario Baccini, Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. President Ciampi expressed his satisfaction at the ever-increasing collaboration between IFAD and its host country in their common struggle against one of the top international priorities of our times - that of hunger and poverty. As a sign of its conviction of the fundamental relevance of the Fund's work, last year Italy tripled its supplementary contributions to IFAD and is currently studying the possibility of further supporting the specific goals our institution is setting itself in the light of the Millennium Development Goals.

The message of Mr Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, commending IFAD for sharing its knowledge of the priorities, capacities and needs of the rural poor, was delivered by Mrs Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP). Mrs Bertini also presented the Council with her personal statement, for the last time as the head of WFP. Over the past ten years the Governing Council has benefitted, on almost every occasion, from Mrs Bertini's dedicated and compassionate statements. In her final statement, she left us with a plea - that of feeding and, more importantly, educating the women and girls who constitute seven out of ten victims of hunger.

Mr David Harcharik, Deputy Director-General, brought us the message of Mr Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The message was one of a shared commitment among the three Rome-based United Nations organizations - the latest manifestation of which is the joint preparatory work for the panel meeting being held in conjunction with the Conference on Financing for Development.

Distinguished Governors,

At our last session the Fund was able to announce the completion of the Fifth Replenishment of IFAD's Resources. At this session we were pleased to note that the receipt of instruments of contribution and payments against pledges not supported by an instrument of contribution has now reached 64.7% of the total pledges made. Payments for an equivalent percentage of total complementary pledges have also been received. While we are well on our way, our call goes out to our fellow Member States who have yet to deposit their instruments of contribution or who are overdue with payments to please take action. Our total and collective commitment is required.

The Governing Council approved the administrative budget of IFAD for 2002 at a level of USD 41.72 million, including a contingency of USD 165 000, which represents zero real growth over that of 2001. Our compliments go to the President and his staff for the wise efforts being made in keeping the Fund's administrative budget prudent.

We have once again entrusted part of our membership with the very important task of reviewing the adequacy of the resources available to IFAD. With the establishment of the Consultation on the Sixth Replenishment of IFAD's Resources we will be taking a closer look at financing development - that of IFAD's immediate operations - for when we next meet, we will have already entered the last year of the Fifth Replenishment period.

The Consultation that negotiated the Fifth Replenishment supplied us with a Plan of Action, from 2000 to 2002, setting out recommendations to be incorporated in IFAD's policy framework and management tools. At this session we were pleased to receive the second annual report of the progress being made in its implementation. Another progress report was given - that of the Process Re-Engineering Programme - which has taken a new and stronger direction.

We have also heard two encouraging progress reports external to the Fund's core operations. The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty and the Global Mechanism of the Convention to Combat Desertification are major global partnerships that have found not only a home in IFAD but a responsive and collaborative partner willing to share its knowledge and to learn.

Sharing knowledge, learning from our contemporaries, exchanging ideas, thinking situations out together: these were the interactions the Governors so welcomed in the six roundtable discussions on the Fund's regional strategies. A Fund whose membership works together at all levels is a Fund that has success assured.

Fellow Governors,

Thank you for the collaboration you have afforded me. You have made the honour of presiding over this session also a pleasure. My special thanks go as well to the vice-chairmen of the Council, who have so graciously assisted me. Moreover, our appreciation should go to the staff of IFAD, who have all worked so diligently in organizing this conference in its usual impeccable manner and, of course, to the interpreters, technical staff, print shop and messengers without whom this conference would not have been possible.

Finally, I would like to voice the Council's particular appreciation to Mr John Westley, who has participated in this, his final session, as Vice-President of the Fund. Many of us - some more closely than others - have worked with Mr Westley. And to them it was evident that his wisdom, experience and managerial skills have been a strong contribution to the Fund's management. Mr Westley, please accept this Council's best wishes to you for every personal and professional success and, once again, our thanks for the hard work and dedication you have afforded our Fund.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I believe a wise quote should be disseminated as widely as possible. I therefore permit myself to repeat Mr Bill Clinton's comment as quoted yesterday by our eminent guest, President Obasanjo, "If the wealthiest countries ended their agricultural subsidies, leveling the playing field for the world's farmers, that alone could increase the income of developing countries by USD 20 billion a year". We know the sensitivity of the issue. If developing countries are requested to reduce subsidies in their economies, the richer countries need to do so also. We realize this will not be a quick process, but a start should be made.

With this thought, I hereby close the Twenty-Fifth Session of the Governing Council.

Thank you.