September 27, 2002	Friday	Rajab 19, 1423

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LONDON, Sept 26: Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. on Wednesday said World Bank was considering a proposal to inject more resources to help improve education in 23 countries, including Pakistan.

He was addressing a press conference with Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth. Winston Cox at Commonwealth Institute at the conclusion of 3-day meeting of 52 finance ministers of the Commonwealth countries here.

“The World Bank initiative, of course, is to help 23 countries including Pakistan with investment in this area. There is further proposal to look at this, in relation to help, as well as in relation to education, and I believe that the initiative such as this can inject more resources into education and help improvement, in many countries including Pakistan,” he told a questioner.

Queen Elizabeth addressed opening ceremony of Commonwealth Finance Ministers conference on Sept 24.

Brown who is leaving for Washington to attend IMF meeting there, said the finance ministers who met here from 24th to 26th, had detailed discussion on the education sector.

To another question on Pakistan, Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Winston Cox said: “Our assistance to Pakistan is to work with the country in restoration of democracy and to that end there is Commonwealth observers mission in Pakistan as we speak because of the imminent elections there.”

However, he said: “We have laid out generally, how we will help Commonwealth countries, not singling out any one country particularly in addressing these issues relating to the world trade and this is a matter of capacity building issue that we have to grapple with and indeed Pakistan was one the countries from which we would normally have been able” to have expertise which now was not available as Pakistan is currently suspended from Council of Commonwealth.

Pakistani expertise was helpful for the member countries to understand, interpret and adjust to the requirements of the WTO, he said.

An 18- points communique was issued following end of Commonwealth Ministers meeting on Wednesday which urged the member countries to promote faster growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. This, it said was necessary to ,” resist pressures for protectionism, to reduce trade distorting subsidies(particularly in agriculture), to make early progress in delivering the Doha Development Agenda, and to accord tariff and quota free access to all exports from least developed countries.

They called for securing sustained debt reduction for poor countries. They said debt relief was an essential step for successful growth and development.

They also agreed to promote wide endorsement of the principles and policies set out in the Commonwealth Action Plan, including the subsequent IMF/ World Bank annual meetings.

The communique welcomed the firm action being taken by the international community in countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the support being given by the Secretariat to Commonwealth countries.

It also called for securing stronger and more stable flows of private finance to develop countries. They recognized the increased urgency of the challenges confronting the small and vulnerable members of Commonwealth.

Brown said that Britain was willing to commit extra funds to the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries programme, which has already provided $62 billion of debt relief for 26 countries.

A new deal for countries was now more important as a result of the faltering world economy, he said.

Developing nations have seen capital flows go sharply into reverse and foreign direct investment slow as the global economy came to a halt.

The finance ministers of the Commonwealth, which embraces 1.8 billion people, a third of whom live on less than a dollar a day, said that advanced countries of the organisation needed to open markets and improve their overseas development aid in return for a commitment to reforms in developing countries.—Agencies