Address by Mr. Herbert Jaeger, Alternate Governor for Austria

Governors, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to attend the 25th Anniversary Session of the Governing Council of IFAD.

This year we are celebrating IFAD’s Silver Jubilee, 25 years of dedicated work in the field of rural poverty reduction and increase of food production have won the Institution a distinctive place among the world's development institutions.

Austria was among the founding members of IFAD. We supported the creation of IFAD as a response to the food crises of the early 1970s that primarily affected the Sahelian countries of Africa. My country as well as other OECD and the Opec countries were convinced that special attention had to be given to rural poverty reduction as an overwhelming part of people suffering from poverty is living in rural areas. Today poverty alleviation is the overarching development goal. It is the core target of the Millennium Development Goals which aim at halving the proportion of people in extreme poverty by 2015.

IFAD is aware that it has an important role to play in this context and that it should make an appropriate contribution to the attainment of this goal. The Fund has been gathering remarkable experience in fighting poverty for the last twenty-five years. This knowledge must be put to use and shared with the co-operating institutions, with governments and civil society.
This brings me to the Sixth Replenishment of the Fund. One year ago the Governing Council gave the green light for new replenishment negotiations and today we are already in a position to approve the outcome of this endeavour. The agreed upon replenishment target of USD 560 million is well above that of the previous Replenishments and reflects the members' commitment to the Institution and its goals. The new funds will put IFAD in a position to actively continue its fight against rural poverty which, as we all know, is still a long way from being accomplished.

We fully subscribe to the three strategic objectives the Fund is pursuing namely: empowering the rural poor and their organisations, improving equitable access to productive natural resources and technology, and increasing access to financial services and markets. This has to be accompanied by an intensified Policy dialogue and advocacy with the stakeholders.

In carrying out its mission, "Enabling the rural poor to overcome their poverty", IFAD is called upon to work in close co-operation with the other players in the field of poverty alleviation in order to avoid duplications, to create synergies and achieve the maximum impact with the scarce resources. Such co-operation should lift the Fund's profile and lead to its even better perception and appreciation. An excellent repute creates attention which facilitates the dissemination of the knowledge, ideas and concepts of the Fund. Countries engaging in dialogue with IFAD can benefit from the Fund's experience when developing, formulating and implementing their nationally owned poverty reduction strategies.

I come to IFAD's intention to participate in the HIPC Debt Initiative. In principle it is commendable that the Fund is committed to contribute its calculated share to the HIPC debt initiative. Freeing very poor developing countries from the burden of unbearable debt is a prerequisite for their sustainable economic and social development. We have supported IFAD's intention to take part in the Debt Initiative on previous occasions, at the same time we have underlined that this can only be done if the Fund has sufficient resources at hand. Participation in the HIPC Debt Initiative must not happen at the expense of annual lending levels. It is the very mission of the Fund to help the poorest of the poor and this is done to a great extent at the grassroots level which directly benefits the rural poor.

Some comments on the Programme of Work for 2003. We support the maintenance of a financing level of USD 450 million. This should enable the Fund to sustain its impact on poverty alleviation by carrying out a lending programme of slightly less than 30 projects in 2003. In order to maximise the efficient use of the funds due consideration should be given to a borrower's implementation performance and to the prevailing policy environment which should reflect to the extent possible the principles of good governance. We favour the concept of better rewarding those who are making the necessary efforts to create a transparent social and political environment based on the principles of accountability, predictability and the rule of law.

Regarding the Budget for 2003 presented for adoption by the Governors we commend the Fund for once again presenting a zero real growth administrative budget which confirms Management's continuous efforts to reduce budget growth to inflation rates and to contain administrative expenses.

With regard to membership application I want to take the opportunity and welcome the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as a new member of IFAD.

In conclusion I want to thank President Bage for his excellent work at the helm of the Institution. It was to a large extent due to Mr. Bage's strong commitment that the 6th Replenishment has been accomplished swiftly.

Mr. President we wish you continued success.

My thanks go as well to the excellent staff of IFAD for their professional work done.