Organization of American States Summits of the Americas
 
Follow-up and Implementation: Mandates
  

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SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH: Aid for Development
 MANDATES

  1. Develop an evidence-based Action Plan that takes into account the sociocultural, economic, and structural challenges facing the Americas region and includes, among others, identifying measures for national and international coordination and cooperation, taking into account the global commitments assumed by the states with respect to health and resilience, with a view to:

    • c. Examining financing mechanisms that guide the involvement of national and international financial institutions and the public and private sectors in strengthening health systems in the management of new financing models aimed at improving efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, sustainability, and equity in financing, increasing and improving public financing, and making progress towards eliminating out-of-pocket expenses, when applicable, as well as pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, encouraging international financial institutions to grant financing to the developing countries;

    • i. Redoubling efforts to accelerate achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including target 3.4 – to reduce by one-third premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and wellbeing by 2030 – noting with concern that the leading cause of premature mortality in the Region of the Americas is NCDs, which disproportionately affect countries in the region, including small-island and low-lying coastal developing states in the Caribbean sub-region, accounting for the highest probability of death between the ages of 30 and 70 from any of the four major NCDs; (Action Plan on Health and Resilience in the Americas, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

  1. To advance the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use, national deforestation and conservation commitments, and regional efforts to halt and reverse deforestation and conserve, sustainably manage, and use ecosystems, we commit to strengthen our efforts to:

    • h. Achieve significant increases in finance and investments from a wide variety of public and private, and international cooperation sources to enhance sustainable forest management, forest conservation and restoration, and support for Indigenous peoples and local communities. (Our Sustainable Green Future, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

  1. We recognise that there are significant differences in the levels of development and the size of our respective economies. Accordingly, we must continue to make a particular effort to promote sustainable development in small and vulnerable economies of the Hemisphere by enhancing their competitiveness, human and institutional capacity-building, financial and physical infrastructure, as well as the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the development of the business sector and other productive economic sectors, including tourism. We will also continue to support the national development efforts of middle-income countries to achieve the objectives of the Millennium Declaration, emphasising the reduction of poverty and the eradication of extreme poverty. We will work, as appropriate, in coordination with the relevant international institutions and organisations to improve the effectiveness of aid and development cooperation with middle-income countries. In this context, we also recognise the challenges faced by the land-locked countries of the Hemisphere. (Declaration of Port of Spain, 2009).

  1. We recognise that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises constitute a strategic force to generate new employment, improve the quality of life, and have a positive impact on development and economic growth while promoting equity and social inclusion. We also recognise the contribution to the economy and to the creation of decent work by productive organisations, in accordance with each nation’s characteristics, such as cooperatives and other production units. In this context, we call on international and regional financial institutions, as appropriate, to increase their efforts to promote our economies’ development and growth by increasing lending and significantly expanding access to credit by 2012. (Declaration of Port of Spain, 2009).

  1. Recognizing the existence of external factors that hamper economic growth, we reaffirm the importance of international cooperation for medium-to-low income countries, in order to supplement those countries’ efforts to implement their development programs and meet their commitments to the Millennium Development Goals. Such cooperation will contribute to employment generation and to democratic governance (Declaration of Mar del Plata, 2005).

  1. We will support the efforts that the multilateral development banks make with the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as fundamental factors of economic growth and we will welcome the increased efforts of the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and other regional development banks to create the enabling environment for strengthening such enterprises (Declaration of Mar del Plata, 2005).

  1. National efforts to generate decent jobs and good employment must be supported by international cooperation and solidarity. In this context, we will strengthen hemispheric cooperation mechanisms among our countries within the OAS framework and with other multilateral organizations and financial institutions, to ensure an effective use of instruments and resources needed to promote sustainable growth and development. In this regard, we take note with interest of the international efforts, contributions and discussions, such as the Action Against Hunger and Poverty, aimed at identifying innovative and additional sources of financing for development on a public, private, domestic or external basis, according to each country´s national development strategies, to increase and supplement traditional sources of financing in support of the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDG´s) and reflecting the global partnership of the Monterrey Consensus (Declaration of Mar del Plata, 2005).

  1. We reaffirm our commitment to the Monterrey Consensus, adopted at the International Conference on Financing for Development in 2002, that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development through sound policies, good governance, and the rule of law. Fulfillment of this responsibility enables effective use of domestic and international resources for development, economic growth, and poverty reduction. In this context, we reaffirm the imperative for the international community to support national development efforts. In accordance with the recommendations of the Monterrey Consensus, we will seek to coordinate international efforts with a view to mobilizing resources for sustainable economic development and for combating poverty and hunger in all countries of the Hemisphere. In particular, we will continue our efforts with a view to identifying secure sources of financing to meet the needs of developing countries and to opening markets for their products (Declaration of Nuevo León, 2004).

  1. In the context of the Enhanced Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, we call upon all creditors to participate in debt relief to benefit eligible countries in the Hemisphere in support of economic reforms and poverty reduction (Declaration of Nuevo León, 2004).

  1. Recognizing that economic growth is fundamental to overcoming economic disparities and strengthening democracy in the Hemisphere, and that in order to achieve sustained economic growth and political and social stability, it is necessary to face the primary challenge that confronts the Hemisphere - the eradication of poverty and inequity - that requires an integrated and focused approach, which promotes better competitiveness, equity enhancing trade and more equitable access to opportunities, taking into account the difficulties that the countries of the region face, including those under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, in obtaining financing for their development; and that it is necessary to take measures at the national and hemispheric levels in order to create a positive environment for business, maximize the benefits of orderly migration, minimize the effects of economic volatility and natural disasters and encourage social stability and mobility in order to promote a more equitable distribution of the benefits of economic growth: (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).

  1. Acknowledge the need for development financing, including aid from bilateral donors and lending from the MDBs on appropriate terms, and commit to support our Finance Ministers and the MDBs in promoting policies to develop and maintain access to international capital markets to finance our sustainable development efforts, recognizing that debt servicing constitutes a major constraint on investment for many countries in the Hemisphere; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).

  1. We will establish or strengthen our programs, policies, and institutional frameworks in support of sustainable development objectives. National efforts should be complemented by ongoing international cooperation in furtherance of the commitments made at the Rio conference related to financial resources, and the transfer of technology on fair and favorable terms, including preferential terms, as mutually agreed (Declaración de Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1996).

 

 
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