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

It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to address the Governing Council of IFAD on behalf of the Nordic countries, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and my own country, Finland.

We would like to join the previous speakers in paying a warm tribute to H.E. F. Al-Sultan for his strong dedication to IFAD during the last eight years. His record is impressive and we appreciate his role in developing IFAD into an institution fit for the development challenges of the 21^st century.

We welcome the new member, Iceland, a Nordic country, to join us in our work.

The Nordic countries have since IFAD’s establishment been strong supporters and major contributors to its programs and funds. We look upon IFAD as a unique organisation with its specific mandate to strongly focus on assisting the poorest of the poor in rural areas.

IFAD’s poverty orientation was highlighted in the recently presented Rural Poverty Report. The Nordic countries commend this report. Together with the World Bank’s World Development Report it provides a good basis for discussions on IFAD’s role and opportunities for the future.

The Rural Poverty Report makes many important observations and recommendations.

It points out that broad-based economic growth benefiting the rural poor is essential. At the international level market access for poor countries is needed. At a national level, governments must ensure that redistributive measures are implemented.

We support the emphasis in the report on better allocation and distribution of water to the rural poor, planning and implementation of land reforms, readdressing the disadvantages of women as well as improved market access for goods produced by the poor.

The Nordic countries welcome the conclusion of the negotiations on the fifth replenishment.

The important task is now to finalise the resolution, which will allow IFAD to commit the resources for new activities. IFAD’s financial situation has recently been anything but satisfactory. Therefore, we are pleased to note that the pledges for all lists have now passed the 80 per cent limit, and the resolution can be adopted.

Apart from the level of the replenishment the most important outcome of the negotiations was the Plan of Action. The plan will be an extremely important tool in our efforts to further strengthen IFAD’s work in the years to come.

I would like to highlight a few of the points that the Nordic countries find the most important:

Firstly, IFAD must strengthen its strategic partnerships. IFAD has a proven track record of co-operation and co-ordination with other actors, but there is still room for improvement. IFAD must participate actively in the ongoing processes within the mulitateral system, ensuring that the perspective of the rural poor is fully integrated. The Rome-based UN agencies are obvious partners in this work.

Secondly, IFAD must take the opportunity to promote good governance and policies on rural poverty alleviation through policy dialogue and field activities. IFAD must also consider the prevailing policy environment and its consequences for the impact of its activities when choosing what projects to fund.

Thirdly, IFAD must continue in all of its activities to address cross-cutting issues. The plan of action includes a long list of very relevant topics. The Nordic countries would like to highlight gender as particularly important, given the role of women in agriculture in developing countries and the fact is that the majority of rural poor are women.

The Nordic countries are pleased to note that the implementation of the Plan of Action features prominently in the Programme of Work for 2001. It is imperative that IFAD allocate the necessary time and resources to make the implementation a success.

I would like to draw attention to the fact that the FAO Conference in November this year will discuss the lack of progress in implementation of the commitments of the 1996 World Food Summit. We would like to encourage IFAD to participate actively in these discussions

One of the single most important impediments to the development progress today is the growing problem of HIV/AIDS. The pandemic is far more than a health problem. It has become a social crisis on a global scale. IFAD must take part in the broad-based multisectorial efforts of the international community using its comparative advantages.

Also, I would like to remind once again that a sustainable solution of the debt issue is quintessential in the fight against poverty. The Nordic countries welcome IFAD’s participation in the enhanced HIPC initiative. We would like to encourage IFAD and its member states to work together in order to secure the necessary financing.

Mr. Chairman

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the strong Nordic support to the important work of IFAD. We will continue to work actively with our partners in the Executive Board and the Governing Council to ensure the necessary resources and policy framework that can enable IFAD to maintain and improve its role as a champion for the rural poor.