    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 22, 2002]
    [Pages 473-475]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the United Nations Financing for Development Conference in
    Monterrey, Mexico
    March 22, 2002

        Good morning. We meet at a moment of new hope in an age-old
    struggle, the battle against world poverty. I'm honored to be with so
    many distinguished leaders who are committed to this cause. I'm here
    today to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to bring hope and
    opportunity to the world's poorest people and to call for a new compact
    for development defined by greater accountability for rich and poor
    nations alike.
        I want to thank Vicente Fox, el Presidente
    de Mexico, and the people of Monterrey for such grand hospitality. I
    want to thank Kofi Annan for his steadfast
    leadership. And I want to thank the distinguished leaders who are here
    for your hospitality as well.
        Many here today have devoted their lives to the fight against global
    poverty, and you know the stakes. We fight against poverty because hope
    is an answer to terror. We fight against poverty because opportunity is
    a fundamental right to human dignity. We fight against poverty because
    faith requires it and conscience demands it. And we fight against
    poverty with a growing conviction that major progress is within our
    reach.
        Yet, this progress will require change. For decades, the success of
    development aid was measured only in the resources spent, not the
    results achieved. Yet, pouring money into a failed status quo does
    little to help the poor and can actually delay the progress of reform.
    We must accept a higher, more difficult, more promising call. Developed
    nations have a duty not only to share our wealth but also to encourage
    sources that produce wealth: economic freedom, political liberty, the
    rule of law, and human rights.
        The lesson of our time is clear: When nations close their markets
    and opportunity is horded by a privileged few, no amount--no amount--of
    development aid is ever enough. When nations respect their people, open
    markets, invest in better health and education, every dollar of aid,
    every dollar of trade revenue and domestic capital is used more
    effectively. We must tie greater aid to political and legal and economic
    reforms. And by insisting on reform, we do the work of compassion.
        The United States will lead by example. I have proposed a 50-percent
    increase in our core development assistance over the next 3 budget
    years. Eventually, this will mean a $5 billion annual increase over
    current levels. These new funds will go into a new Millennium Challenge
    Account, devoted to projects in nations that govern justly, invest in
    their people, and encourage economic freedom. We will promote
    development from the bottom up, helping citizens find the tools and
    training and technologies to seize the opportunities of the global
    economy.

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        I've asked Secretary of State Powell,
    Secretary of Treasury O'Neill to reach out
    to the world community to develop clear and concrete objective criterion
    for the Millennium Challenge Account. We'll apply these criterion fairly
    and rigorously.
        And to jump-start this initiative, I'll work with the United States
    Congress to make resources available over the 12 months for qualifying
    countries. Many developing nations are already working hard on the
    road--and they're on the road of reform and bringing benefits to their
    people. The new compact for development will reward these nations and
    encourage others to follow their example.
        The goal of our development aid will be for nations to grow and
    prosper beyond the need for any aid. When nations adopt reforms, each
    dollar of aid attracts $2 of private investments. When aid is linked to
    good policy, 4 times as many people are lifted out of poverty compared
    to old aid practices.
        All of us here must focus on real benefits to the poor, instead of
    debating arbitrary levels of inputs from the rich. We should invest in
    better health and build on our efforts to fight AIDS, which threatens to
    undermine whole societies. We should give more of our aid in the form of
    grants, rather than loans that can never be repaid.
        The work of development is much broader than development aid. The
    vast majority of financing for development comes not from aid but from
    trade and domestic capital and foreign investment. Developing countries
    receive approximately $50 billion every year in aid. That is compared to
    foreign investment of almost $200 billion and annual earnings from
    exports of $2.4 trillion. So to be serious about fighting poverty, we
    must be serious about expanding trade.
        Trade helped nations as diverse as South Korea and Chile and China
    to replace despair with opportunity for millions of their citizens.
    Trade brings new technology, new ideas, and new habits, and trade brings
    expectations of freedom. And greater access to the markets of wealthy
    countries has a direct and immediate impact on the economies of
    developing nations. As one example, in a single year the African Growth
    and Opportunity Act has increased African exports to the United States
    by more than 1,000 percent, generated nearly $1 billion in investment,
    and created thousands of jobs.
        Yet, we have much more to do. Developing nations need greater access
    to markets of wealthy nations, and we must bring down the high trade
    barriers between developing nations themselves. The global trade
    negotiations launched in Doha confront these challenges. The success of
    these negotiations will bring greater prosperity to rich and middle-
    income and poor nations alike. By one estimate, a new global trade pact
    could lift 300 million lives out of poverty. When trade advances,
    there's no question but the fact that poverty retreats.
        The task of development is urgent and difficult. Yet, the way is
    clear. As we plan and act, we must remember the true source of economic
    progress is the creativity of human beings. Nations' most vital natural
    resources are found in the minds and skills and enterprise of their
    citizens. The greatness of a society is achieved by unleashing the
    greatness of its people.
        The poor of the world need resources to meet their needs, and like
    all people, they deserve institutions that encourage their dreams. All
    people deserve governments instituted by their own consent; legal
    systems that spread opportunity, instead of protecting the narrow
    interests of a few; and the economic systems that respect their ambition
    and reward efforts of the people. Liberty and law and opportunity are
    the conditions for development, and they are the common hopes of
    mankind.
        The spirit of enterprise is not limited by geography or religion or
    history. Men and women were made for freedom, and prosperity comes as
    freedom triumphs. And that is why the United States of America

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    is leading the fight for freedom from terror. We thank our friends and
    neighbors throughout the world for helping in this great cause. History
    has called us to a titanic struggle whose stakes could not be higher,
    because we're fighting for freedom itself. We're pursuing great and
    worthy goals to make the world safer and, as we do, to make it better.
    We will challenge the poverty and hopelessness and lack of education and
    failed governments that too often allow conditions that terrorists can
    seize and try to turn to their advantage.
        Our new approach for development places responsibility on developing
    nations and on all nations. We must build the institutions of freedom,
    not subsidize the failures of the past. We must do more than just feel
    good about what we are doing; we must do good. By taking the side of
    liberty and good government, we will liberate millions from poverty's
    prison. We'll help defeat despair and resentment. We'll draw whole
    nations into an expanding circle of opportunity and enterprise. We'll
    gain true partners in development and add a hopeful new chapter to the
    history of our times.
        May God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:35 a.m. at the Cintermex Convention
    Center. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary-General Kofi Annan of
    the United Nations.