Mr. Chairman,
Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to attend the Thirty-fifth Session of IFAD’s Governing Council and discuss with you on the issues of global poverty reduction and agricultural development. Since our last meeting, the weakened recovery of the global economy and the continued volatility of commodity and food prices have posed great challenges to world poverty reduction and development. This urgently requires that the international organizations, including IFAD, take active actions to mobilize more resources, increase investment in agricultural development and food security, and meet the MDG targets as scheduled. The successful conclusion of the Ninth Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources has laid a financial foundation and provided opportunities for IFAD to play a stronger role in the coming years. In this regard, I would like to make following observations on the direction of IFAD’s future development:

First, actively implementing strategic policies to enhance support to agricultural development and rural poverty reduction. IFAD should accelerate the implementation of the policy measures set out in the Strategic Framework 2011-2015 and the Consultation Report on the Ninth Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources, consolidating and expanding its operations in a steady way, so as to help developing countries, particularly the least developed countries improve their agricultural production, strengthen rural infrastructure, increase market opportunities, and effectively promote food security and poverty alleviation by mobilizing more external resources and bring in more development inputs for the above-mentioned areas.

Second, deepening knowledge cooperation and South-South Cooperation to strengthen development experience sharing. IFAD should formulate and implement effective knowledge cooperation strategies, strengthen its efforts in drawing upon and disseminating relevant experience on agricultural development and poverty reduction, and aim at becoming a knowledge base and think-tank for smallholder agriculture development. IFAD should vigorously promote experience sharing, mutual assistance and cooperation among developing countries to build an important South-South Cooperation platform for agricultural development and rural poverty reduction.

Third, constantly promoting institutional reform to enhance IFAD’s development effectiveness and efficiency with strategic long term vision. IFAD should maintain the current reform momentum, actively fulfill its commitments and make real efforts to increase development effectiveness and institutional efficiency. At the same time, IFAD should plan for the future and actively design the direction for medium- and long-term institutional reform, in particular to adapt to the changing situation to improve the governance structure; deepen human resource reform, and improve the representation of developing countries with a merit-based approach; and strengthen the role of country offices to improve the service for the recipient countries.

Mr. Chairman, despite the recognized progress in poverty reduction and development, China is still facing tremendous challenges such as the unbalanced development and large rural poor population in the remote Western regions. At present and in the coming years, the Chinese government will continue to put agriculture, rural and farmer’s development as well as rural poverty reduction as top priorities, expedite the building of new socialist countryside and balance rural and urban development. In this process, we are willing to further strengthen our cooperation with IFAD and other international organizations and learn from advanced ideas and innovative practices to promote China’s poverty reduction.

Meanwhile, we will continue to support the reform and long-term development of IFAD through mutually beneficial cooperation such as South-South Cooperation and jointly promote the course of the global poverty reduction.

Thank you!

Rome 22 February 2012