January 23, 2003—A conference on the seven poorest countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS-7) ended in Lucerne yesterday with a call to donors to find ways to increase financial assistance on grant terms to the countries of the CIS-7. "Donor assistance in the form of highly concessional finance and debt relief will only succeed if linked to effective reform," said World Bank Managing Director Shengman Zhang in his concluding statement on behalf of the four co-sponsoring organizations, the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD and the Asian Development Bank.

The CIS-7 Initiative was launched a year ago to address concerns about the severe economic difficulties, increases in poverty, and rapid build-up of debt in many of the CIS-7 countries since independence in the early 1990s. The countries covered by the Initiative are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The Lucerne conference, which brought together government and civil society representatives from the CIS-7 as well as the international donor community, broadened and deepened the debate to include a range of economic, institutional and social issues that must be tackled if the seven countries are to achieve the targets of the Millennium Development Goals.

A wide range of substantive papers were prepared for the conference and are available on the CIS-7 web site in English and Russian.

Conference participants emphasized the importance of ownership of the reform agenda by governments and citizens in ensuring the implementation of reforms that reflect clear national priorities. The Poverty Reduction Strategy process, now underway in all seven countries, is designed to reinforce this sense of ownership by putting the countries themselves in the driver’s seat of reforms.

Participants further underlined the importance of better governance and fighting corruption. "While recent evidence shows corruption is moderating and the investment climate is beginning to improve, the key remains continued economic and institutional reform and a more open and inclusive society," said Mr. Zhang.

Regional cooperation and better integration of the small and relatively isolated CIS-7 economies was a recurring theme at the two-day conference. "Recovery and future prosperity will depend crucially on successful regional integration and improved access to markets in the rest of the world," Mr. Zhang commented.

As a follow-up to the Conference, the Initiative’s co-sponsoring agencies will work with the CIS-7 governments, donors and civil society to elaborate actions on finance and debt relief, ownership and governance, capacity building, and regional integration.

Useful links: For further information on the CIS-7 Conference, please visit www.cis7.org

 

 

 

From market vendors in the Kyrgyz Republic to farmers wanting a fair price for their goods, setting pro-poor policies is important