    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 14, 2002]
    [Pages 408-412]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Inter-American Development Bank
    March 14, 2002

        Thank you all. Sientese. Gracias, Enrique. It's about time you invited a President here. [Laughter]
    It's about time one accepted.
        Thank you for the energy and leadership you bring to the challenge
    of global development. I'm honored to be at the Inter-American
    Development Bank, which has done a lot of good in our hemisphere over
    the last 40 years. I appreciate your work, and I'm proud of your
    accomplishments.
        Along with many of you, I'll be in Monterrey, Mexico, next week as
    leaders from around the world focus on the important work of reducing
    global poverty.
        I'm here today to announce a major new commitment by the United
    States to bring hope and opportunity to the world's poorest people.
    Along with significant new resources to fight world poverty, we will
    insist on the reforms necessary to make this a fight we can win.
        As you can see, I'm traveling in some pretty good company today:
    Bono. [Laughter] We just had a great visit in the Oval
    Office. Here's what I know about him: First, he's a good musician;
    secondly, he is willing to use his position in a responsible way. He is
    willing to lead, to achieve what his heart tells him, and that is
    nobody--nobody--should be living in poverty and hopelessness in the
    world. Bono, I appreciate your heart. And to tell you what an influence
    you've had, Dick Cheney walked in the Oval
    Office; he said, ``Jesse Helms wants us to
    listen to Bono's ideas.'' [Laughter]
        I appreciate Paul O'Neill, Secretary of
    Treasury. I appreciate his work; I appreciate his advice. He's a fine
    member of my Cabinet. Cardinal McCarrick, thank you for coming, sir; I'm honored to have you
    here. Jim Wolfensohn, thank you for your
    leadership of the World Bank. I appreciate Jose Fourquet. Thank you, Jose, for taking on the responsibility you've
    done. It's good to see Andrew Natsios here
    of AID. Thank you, Andrew, for coming. You've done a fine job, by the
    way, in helping prevent starvation in Afghanistan. I appreciate your

    [[Page 409]]

    work, and I appreciate your focus. I want to thank John
    Negroponte, Embajador de la United
    Nations. I want to thank all the other Ambassadors who are here. I look
    around, I can see many familiar faces. Thank you all for coming today.
        I appreciate the Members of the United States Congress who are here.
    I see Frist and DeWine
    from the United States Senate. I appreciate both Senators for coming. I
    appreciate the Congressman from Puerto Rico; thank you for coming, senor. I see the Congress
    lady from Miami, Florida. I see Spencer
    Bachus from Alabama. I think that's it; I
    better--well, anyway, if anybody else is here--[laughter]--Chris
    Cannon, I think, from Utah is here. Hey, Chris,
    thank you for coming, and thank you all for taking an interest in this
    subject. It's an important subject.
        As you all know and we all know, America is engaged in a global
    struggle, a mighty struggle against the forces of terror. Yet, even as
    we fight to defeat terror, we must also fight for the values that make
    life worth living, for education and health and economic opportunity.
    This is both the history of our country, and it is the calling of our
    times.
        In World War II, we fought to make the world safer, then worked to
    rebuild it. As we wage war today to keep the world safe from terror, we
    must also work to make the world a better place for all its citizens.
        The advances of free markets and trade and democracy and rule of law
    have brought prosperity to an ever-widening circle of people in this
    world. During our lifetime, per capita income in the poorest countries
    has nearly doubled. Illiteracy has been cut by one-third, giving more
    children a chance to learn. Infant mortality has been almost halved,
    giving more children a chance to live. Nations from India to Chile have
    changed old ways and, therefore, found new wealth. Nations from Turkey
    to Mali have combined Islam with progress.
        Yet in many nations, in many regions, poverty is broad and seemingly
    inescapable, leaving a dark shadow--a dark shadow--across a world that
    is increasingly illuminated by opportunity. Half the world's people
    still live on less than $2 a day. For billions, especially in Africa and
    the Islamic world, poverty is spreading and per capita income is
    falling. In Malawi, thousands of teachers die each year from AIDS, and
    life expectancy has fallen to only 38 years. In Sierra Leone, nearly
    one-third of all babies born today will not reach the age of 5, and in
    Sudan, only half the children attend school.
        This growing divide between wealth and poverty, between opportunity
    and misery, is both a challenge to our compassion and a source of
    instability. We must confront it. We must include every African, every
    Asian, every Latin American, every Muslim, in an expanding circle of
    development.
        The advance of development is a central commitment of American
    foreign policy. As a nation founded on the dignity and value of every
    life, America's heart breaks because of the suffering and senseless
    death we see in our world. We work for prosperity and opportunity
    because they're right. It's the right thing to do. We also work for
    prosperity and opportunity because they help defeat terror.
        Poverty doesn't cause terrorism. Being poor doesn't make you a
    murderer. Most of the plotters of September the 11th were raised in
    comfort. Yet persistent poverty and oppression can lead to hopelessness
    and despair. And when governments fail to meet the most basic needs of
    their people, these failed states can become havens for terror.
        In Afghanistan, persistent poverty and war and chaos created
    conditions that allowed a terrorist regime to seize power. And in many
    other states around the world, poverty prevents governments from
    controlling their borders, policing their territory, and enforcing their
    laws.

    [[Page 410]]

        Development provides the resources to build hope and prosperity and
    security. Development is not always easy, but the conditions required
    for sound development are clear. The foundation of development is
    security, because there can be no development in an atmosphere of chaos
    and violence. Today, the United States is leading a broad and vast
    coalition defending global security by defeating global terror. Meeting
    this commitment is expensive, but securing peace and freedom is never
    too expensive.
        Development also depends upon financing. Contrary to the popular
    belief, most funds for development do not come from international aid;
    they come from domestic capital, from foreign investment, and especially
    from trade. America buys and imports over 500--$450 billion in products
    from the developing world every year--$450 billion of purchases every
    single year. That is more than 8 times the amount developing countries
    receive in aid from all sources. Trade is the engine of development, and
    by promoting it, we will help meet the needs of the world's poor.
        Successful development also requires citizens who are literate, who
    are healthy and prepared and able to work. Development assistance can
    help poor nations meet these education and health care needs. That's why
    the United States provides more than $10 billion a year for development
    assistance for food and for humanitarian aid. That is also why my
    administration has committed $500 million to the global fund to fight
    AIDS and other infectious diseases.
        And we will work with Congress to increase this commitment, to show
    our love and compassion by increasing our commitment as the fund gets
    organized, develops a strategy, and shows success. We're spending
    billions more on AIDS research and other programs to fight the disease
    around the world.
        Yet many of the old models of economic development assistance are
    outdated. Money that is not accompanied by legal and economic reform are
    oftentimes wasted. In many poor nations, corruption runs deep; private
    property is unprotected; markets are closed; monetary and fiscal
    policies are unsustainable; private contracts are unenforceable.
        When nations refuse to enact sound policies, progress against
    poverty is nearly impossible. In these situations, more aid money can
    actually be counterproductive because it subsidizes bad policies, delays
    reform, and crowds out private investment.
        The needs of the developing world demand a new approach. In
    Monterrey, we have a tremendous opportunity to begin acting on a new
    vision of development. This new vision unleashes the potential of those
    who are poor, instead of locking them into a cycle of dependence. This
    new vision looks beyond arbitrary inputs from the rich and demands
    tangible outcomes for the poor.
        America supports the international development goals in the U.N.
    Millennium Declaration and believes that these goals are a shared
    responsibility of developed and developing countries. To make progress,
    we must encourage nations and leaders to walk the hard road of
    political, legal, and economic reform so all their people can benefit.
        Today I call for a new compact for global development, defined by
    new accountability for both rich and poor nations alike. Greater
    contributions from developed nations must be linked to greater
    responsibility from developing nations. The United States will lead by
    example. We will increase our development assistance by $5 billion over
    the three--over the next three budget cycles. This new money, above and
    beyond existing aid requests--is above and beyond existing aid requests
    in the current budget I submitted to the Congress.
        These funds will go into a new Millennium Challenge Account. Under
    this account, among other efforts, we will expand our fight against
    AIDS. We will bring computer instruction to young professionals in
    developing nations. We will assist African

    [[Page 411]]

    businesses and their people to sell goods abroad. We will provide
    textbooks and training to students in Islamic and African countries. We
    will apply the power of science and technology to increase harvests
    where hunger is greatest.
        These are some of the examples of what we intend to do. The goal is
    to provide people in developing nations the tools they need to seize the
    opportunities of the global economy. In return for this additional
    commitment, we expect nations to adopt the reforms and policies that
    make development effective and lasting.
        The world's help must encourage developing countries to make the
    right choices for their own people, and these choices are plain. Good
    government is an essential condition of development, so the Millennium
    Challenge Account will reward nations that root out corruption, respect
    human rights, and adhere to the rule of law. Healthy and educated
    citizens are the agents of development, so we will reward nations that
    invest in better health care, better schools, and broader immunization.
    Sound economic policies unleash the enterprise and creativity necessary
    for development, so we will reward nations that have more open markets
    and sustainable budget policies, nations where people can start and
    operate a small business without running the gauntlets of bureaucracy
    and bribery.
        I've directed Secretary Powell and
    Secretary O'Neill to reach out to the world
    community, to develop a set of clear and concrete and objective criteria
    for measuring progress. And under the Millennium Challenge Account, we
    will apply these criteria rigorously and fairly.
        Countries that live by these three broad standards--ruling justly,
    investing in their people, and encouraging economic freedom--will
    receive more aid from America. And more importantly, over time, they
    will really no longer need it, because nations with sound laws and
    policies will attract more foreign investment. They will earn more trade
    revenues, and they will find that all these sources of capital will be
    invested more effectively and productively to create more jobs for their
    people.
        The evidence shows that where nations adopt sound policies, a dollar
    of foreign aid attracts $2 of private investment. And when development
    aid rewards reform and responsibility, it lifts almost 4 times as many
    people out of poverty, compared to the old approach of writing checks
    without regard to results.
        Marrying good policies to greater aid led Mozambique to a 10-percent
    growth rate in 2001. This approach help Uganda open its schools to more
    children and increase teacher pay by 2,700 percent. Bangladesh, a nation
    that was once a symbol of famine, has transformed its agricultural
    economy; rice production is almost up by 70 percent since the mid-
    seventies.
        The new compact I propose would multiply this progress. I challenge
    other nations and the development banks to adopt this approach as well.
    America's support for the World Bank will increase by almost 20 percent
    over the next 3 years. We expect the World Bank to insist on reform and
    results, measured in improvements in people's lives. All the development
    banks should adopt a growth agenda, increasing their support for private
    sector enterprises and focusing more on education, as the Inter-American
    Development Bank has done.
        And I challenge the development banks to provide up to half of the
    funds devoted to poor nations in the form of grants, rather than loans--
    grants instead of loans that may never be repaid. Many have rallied to
    the idea of dropping the debt. I say let's rally to the idea of stopping
    the debt.
        This new compact for development can produce dramatic gains against
    poverty and suffering in the world. I have an ambitious goal for the
    developed world, that we ought to double the size of the world's poorest
    economies within a decade. I know some may say that's too high a hurdle
    to cross. I don't believe so, not with the right reforms and the right
    policy. This will require

    [[Page 412]]

    tripling of current growth rates, but that's not unprecedented. After
    all, look at the dramatic growth that occurred in Asia in the 1990s.
        With the world's help and the right policies, I know--I know--that
    the developing world can reform their own countries--I know it can
    happen--and, therefore, better their own lives. They can live in a world
    where their children's dreams are ignited by liberty and learning, not
    undermined by poverty and disease. They can live under governments that
    deliver basic service and protect basic rights. The demands of human
    dignity know no borders and know no boundaries. They are universal. And
    so are the gifts of creativity and enterprise that lead to prosperity.
    When governments repress and punish those gifts, no amount--no amount--
    of aid is sufficient to lift people from poverty. When governments honor
    these gifts, every nation can know the blessings of prosperity.
        People across the world are working to relieve poverty and
    suffering, and I'm proud of their efforts. I appreciate
    Bono. I appreciate groups like the Sisters of Charity.
    Some were motivated by simple decency; some serve a God who is impatient
    with injustice; and all have made this commitment. We cannot leave
    behind half of humanity as we seek a better future for ourselves. We
    cannot accept permanent poverty in a world of progress. There are no
    second-class citizens in the human race.
        I carry this commitment in my soul, and I'll carry it with me to
    Monterrey next week. As the civilized world mobilizes against the forces
    of terror, we must also embrace the forces of good. By offering hope
    where there is none, by relieving suffering and hunger where there is
    too much, we will make the world not only safer but better.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:21 p.m. in the atrium. In his remarks, he
    referred to Enrique V. Iglesias, President, and Jose A. Fourquet, U.S.
    Executive Director, Inter-American Development Bank; Theodore Cardinal
    McCarrick, archbishop of Washington; and Resident Commissioner Anibal
    Acevedo-Vila of Puerto Rico.