    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [September 29, 1999]
    [Pages 1630-1632]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1630]]

    Remarks at a Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World
    Bank
    September 29, 1999

        Thank you very much, Secretary Summers, President Wolfensohn,
    Chairman Acharya, Director
    Camdessus, Vice President Fall, Secretary Anjaria.
        Let me begin by saying how very grateful I am to be here with all of
    you. I appreciate the generous introduction. Some of you may have heard
    me say this before, but the introduction that Secretary Summers just gave me is an illustration of one of my
    unbending laws of political life: Whenever possible, be introduced by
    someone you have appointed to high office. [Laughter] It is much easier
    because he's done such a superb job, and I thank him.
        Let me say, all of you know that a year ago we were here in a time
    of crisis, perhaps the most severe financial crisis in the global
    economy since the end of the Second World War, a grave challenge to the
    IMF and the World Bank. Thanks to the hard work that you and your
    countries have done, economies that were sliding down are rising again.
        We have also worked hard, as Secretary Summers said, in the wake of
    these crises to prevent future ones, to respond more quickly and
    effectively, to lessen the toll they take on ordinary citizens. We have
    intensified our efforts to construct a global financial architecture
    that is stable and strong in the new conditions of the new economy.
        Still, those who were hit by this crisis were hit very hard, and
    many are still reeling. People lost jobs and businesses and dreams. So
    this can only be considered a continuing challenge for us, certainly not
    a time for complacency. We have more to do to restore people's faith in
    the future and to restore their faith, frankly, in the global economy
    and in global markets. Therefore, we have more to do to reform the
    global financial foundation upon which the future will be built.
        As we approach the 21st century, we must also ask ourselves,
    however, is it enough just to fix the market that is? Should we accept
    the fact that, at a time when the people in the United States are
    enjoying perhaps the strongest economy in their history, 1.3 billion of
    our fellow human beings survive on less than a dollar a day? Should we
    accept the fact that nearly 40 million people--after the green
    revolution, when most of us discuss agriculture and food as a cause for
    international trade conflicts because we want to fight over who sells
    the most food, since there are so many places that can produce more than
    their own people need, are we supposed to accept the fact that nearly 40
    million people a year die of hunger? That's nearly equal to the number
    of all the people killed in World War II.
        Are we supposed to accept the fact that even though technology has
    changed the equation of the role of energy in the production of wealth,
    even though technology has changed the distances in time and space
    necessary for learning and for business as well as educational
    interchanges, are we supposed to face the fact that some people and
    nations are doomed to be left behind forever?
        I hope we will not accept that. I hope we will start the new
    millennium with a new resolve: to give every person in the world,
    through trade and technology, through investments in education and
    health care, the chance to be part of a widely shared prosperity, in
    which all the peoples' potential can be developed more fully. This is
    the challenge of the second half-century of the life of the IMF and the
    World Bank. And for me, it is a personal priority of the highest order.
        Open trade already has improved the prospects of hundreds of
    millions by marketing the fruits of their labors and creativity beyond
    their borders. In this way, both the IMF and the World Bank have played
    a vital role in helping more nations to thrive. We need you to work with
    the WTO to build a rules-based framework for global trade. We need you
    to help developing countries provide education and training to lift
    wages and to establish social safety nets for tough transitions.
        I applaud the strong commitment you've made at these meetings for
    concrete manifestations of support. We all must work to keep the
    economies we have influence over open and trade growing for developing
    and industrial powers alike.

    [[Page 1631]]

        In 2 months, I want to launch a new type of trade round in Seattle
    at the WTO ministerial. I want this round to be about jobs and
    development. I want it to raise working conditions for all. I want it to
    advance our shared goal of sustainable development. By breaking down
    barriers to trade, leveling the playing field, we will give more workers
    and farmers in those countries that are struggling for tomorrow and in
    leading industrial nations as well more opportunities to produce for the
    global marketplace.
        In Seattle, I hope we will pledge to keep cyberspace tariff-free, to
    help developing countries make better and wider use of technology,
    whether biotechnology or the Internet. I hope we will pledge to open
    markets in agriculture and industrial products and services, creating
    new activities for growth and development.
        I hope we will also work to advance the admission of the 38
    developing countries who've applied for WTO membership. And I hope we'll
    keep working to give the least developed countries greater access to
    global markets. Here in the United States, I am working hard to persuade
    our Congress to pass my trade proposals for Africa and the Caribbean
    Basin this year.
        But the wealth of nations depends on more than trade. It also
    depends on the health of nations. Last week at the United Nations I
    committed the United States to accelerating the development and delivery
    of vaccines for AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases which
    disproportionately afflict poor citizens in the developing world.
        At the same time, we must help these nations avert the health costs
    and pollution of the industrial age, using clean technologies that not
    only improve the environment but grow the economy. Institutions like the
    World Bank play a special role here. Your energy strategy is a very good
    start, and I thank you for it. I urge the Bank to continue setting
    aggressive targets for lending that promotes clean energy. It is no
    longer necessary to have industrial-age energy use patterns to grow a
    modern, powerful economy. In fact, those economies will emerge more
    quickly with more sustainable development strategies.
        Some of you in this room, a minority still, are nodding your heads
    ``yes'' as I say this. If you believe it, we must work together to
    achieve it. These efforts must be part of a broader approach that
    ensures the integrity and openness of emerging economies. Last Saturday
    the G-7 finance ministers outlined specific safeguards for Russia and
    called for comprehensive review by the World Bank and the IMF to make
    sure that funds are used appropriately in high-risk environments. The
    United States will continue to insist on such accountability.
        For many developing countries, however, there is a greater obstacle
    in the path to progress. For many of them, excessive and completely
    unsustainable debt can halt progress, drag down growth, drain resources
    that are needed to meet the most basic human conditions like clean
    water, shelter, health care, and education. Debt and debt relief are
    normally subjects for economists, but there is nothing academic about
    them. Simply put, unsustainable debt is helping to keep too many poor
    countries and poor people in poverty. That is clearly why the Pope and
    so many other world leaders from all walks of life have asked us all to
    do more to reduce the debt of the poorest nations as a gift to the new
    millennium, not just to them but to all the rest of us, as well.
        Personally, I don't believe we can possibly agree to the idea that
    these nations that are so terribly poor should always be that way. I
    don't think we can, in good conscience, say we support the idea that
    they should choose between making interest payments on their debt and
    investing in their children's education. It is an economic and moral
    imperative that we use this moment of global consensus to do better. I
    will do everything I can to aid this trend. Any country, committed to
    reforming its economy, to vaccinating and educating its children, should
    be able to make those kinds of commitments and keep them.
        In June, at the G-7 summit in Cologne, the world's wealthiest
    nations made an historic pledge to help developing nations. The debt
    relief program we agreed upon is a big step in the right direction,
    dedicating faster and deeper debt relief to countries that dedicate
    themselves to fundamental reform. This initiative seeks to tie debt
    relief to poverty reduction and to make sure that savings are spent
    where they should be, on education, on fighting AIDS and preventing it,
    on other critical needs. It will help heavily indebted poor countries to
    help themselves and help to build a framework to support similar and
    important efforts by the IMF, the World Bank, and international
    financial institutions.

    [[Page 1632]]

        More than 430 million people could benefit from this effort. In
    Bolivia, for example, debt relief could help the Government nearly
    double the people's access to clean water by 2004. In Uganda, it could
    allow health and education spending to increase by 15 percent between
    1998 and 2001--50 percent, excuse me. Rural development expenditures
    there would more than double. That's why we all must provide our fair
    share of financing to global debt relief.
        Last week, to make good on America's commitment, I amended my budget
    request to Congress and asked for nearly $1 billion over 4 years for
    this purpose. We must keep adequate assistance flowing to the developing
    countries, especially through the International Development Association.
    I'm encouraged by the financial commitments made by some of the other
    donor countries this past week. And I call on our Congress to respond to
    the moral and economic urgency of this issue and see to it that America
    does its part. I have asked for the money and shown how it would be paid
    for, and I ask the Congress to keep our country shouldering its fair
    share of the responsibility.
        Now, let me made one final commitment. Today I am directing my
    administration to make it possible to forgive 100 percent of the debt
    these countries owe to the United States when--and this is quite
    important--when needed to help them finance basic human needs and when
    the money will be used to do so. In this context, we will work closely
    with other countries to maximize the benefits of the debt reduction
    initiative.
        We believe the agreements reached this weekend will make it possible
    for three-quarters of the highly indebted poorest countries, committed
    to implementing poverty and growth strategies, to start receiving
    benefits sometime next year, actually receiving the benefits sometime
    next year.
        If we do these things as nations, as international institutions, as
    a global community, then we can build a trading system that strengthens
    our economy and supports our values. We can build a global economy and a
    global society that leaves no one behind, that carries all countries
    into a new century that we hope will be marked by greater peace and
    greater prosperity for all people.
        We have before us perhaps as great an opportunity as the people of
    the world have ever seen. We will be judged by our children and
    grandchildren by whether we seize that opportunity. I hope and believe
    that we all will do so.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:07 p.m. in the main ballroom at the
    Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to James D.
    Wolfensohn, President, World Bank Group; Mahesh Acharya, Chairman of the
    Board of Governors, Michel Camdessus, Managing Director, Cheikh Ibrahima
    Fall, Vice President and Corporate Secretary, and Shailendra J. Anjaria,
    Secretary, International Monetary Fund; and Pope John Paul II.