US embassy cable - 05DOHA1131

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 001131 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI THORNE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, PREL, ETRD, KDEM, XA, XB, XC, XD, XE, XK, XL, XM, XO, QA, UN 
SUBJECT: G77 SUMMIT: NEW DEVELOPMENT FUND PROPOSED AT CLOSING 
 
 
1. Summary. The G77 South Summit ended June 16 with a proposal 
for a new development fund to which Qatar would contribute $20 
million. Leaders called on developed nations to meet the target 
of 0.7% of GDP toward overseas assistance. In addition to 
improved access to markets in developed economies, leaders 
exhorted states of the "south" to strengthen their own regional 
trade ties. The Qatari Amir called for establishment of free 
trade zones in Africa, Asia, and South America. But it will be 
hard to gain focus from the 66-point Doha Declaration from the 
Non-Aligned Movement and the 118-point Doha Plan of Action issued 
at the closing of the summit. End Summary. 
 
Development Assistance and Trade 
-------------------------------- 
 
2. At the opening the plenary session of the G77+China Summit 
June 15, the Qatari Amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, 
proposed the creation of a "South Fund for Development and Human 
Circumstances" and offered $20 million to launch it. China and 
India each pledged $2 million. The fund would address hunger, 
poverty, and "human catastrophes" in the developing world. He 
said that starting in 2006, Qatar is committed to giving the 
amount of overseas development assistance prescribed by the UN's 
Millennium Development Goals. 15% of the assistance would be 
allocated to least developed countries. However, the exact level 
of assistance was not specified by the Amir. Development 
assistance was elaborated upon in the 118-item "Doha Plan of 
Action," which includes sections on globalization, knowledge and 
technology, south-south cooperation, and north-south relations. 
 
3. Among his general remarks, the Amir called for setting up 
three free trade zones (one each in Africa, Asia, and South 
America) to stimulate south-south and north-south trade. "Trade 
among the countries of the south is not as substantial as south- 
to-north," he said, "but it complements it." 
 
Speeches on State of the Developing World 
----------------------------------------- 
 
4. There were unsurprising speeches by Prime Minister PJ Patter 
son of Jamaica, Jean Ping of Senegal (outgoing president of the 
UNGA), Jean-Louis Schiltz (Minister of Cooperation and 
Humanitarian Action of Luxembourg, representing the G-8 nations), 
Louise Frechette (Deputy Secretary General of the UN), and Carlos 
Lage (vice president of the Council of State of Cuba). President 
Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, called the developing world 
"unstable, crisis-ridden, backward... and a moral albatross to 
the developed world." Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of 
Malaysia (chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement) said, "The voices 
supporting unfettered globalization are now confined to the 
periphery. However, economic uncertainty still surrounds us. It 
would seem therefore that five years since our last meeting, 
things have not improved." The PM of Bangladesh said, "We had 
high hopes that globalization would benefit developing 
countries.... Sadly, this has not happened." 
 
The Political Declaration 
------------------------- 
 
5. The Doha Declaration was issued as a separate document from 
the Doha Plan of Action, reflecting the separate organizational 
of the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement. Like its sister 
document, the Doha Declaration called on developed countries to 
devote 0.7% of their GDP to overseas assistance. Directly naming 
the United States, he called for an end to the embargo against 
Cuba and expressed concern about the impact of the Syrian 
Accountability Act. It expressed "deep concern" regarding the 
1998 U.S. attack on the Al-Shifa facility in Khartoum, Sudan. 
 
Cuba Lashes at U.S. 
------------------- 
 
6. The Cuban delegate, Carlos Lage, was the only speaker who 
mentioned the U.S. by name, in a statement on behalf of Fidel 
Castro. It was da capo an attack on the US as an aggressive, over- 
consuming despoiler of the environment and protector of 
terrorists (Luis Posada Carriles). One example: "George W. Bush 
proclaims the right to wage preemptive war on 60 or more 
countries while he manipulates the United Nations, declares its 
charter obsolete, and destroys international law. Let us, the 
eternally excluded, join our efforts to have a sustainable world 
order." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7. A 66-point Doha Declaration and a 118-point Plan of Action 
ensures that the follow-through will be nearly impossible. 
Developing countries were able reiterate priorities such as debt 
forgiveness, increased development assistance from the 
industrialized countries, and technology transfer. Their message 
was that no great progress had been made since the Havana 
meeting. For Qatar, the summit was an opportunity to demonstrate 
that it has the capacity to host such a large event and to win 
friends among poorer nations. The "South Fund for Development" is 
a welcome product of the summit, but it will have to take 
material shape. 
 
UNTERMEYER