Making Globalization Work for Least Developed Countries

Address by Benjamin Mkapa, the former Tanzanian president and the Chairperson of the South Centre board, to the UN Ministerial Conference, Istanbul, 9 July 2007

...In my view, the declining support from the international community provides us with the opportunity for a sober reflection on the appropriateness of our “aid dependent” development strategies. It may be time for developing countries, including LDCs to “empower” themselves through greater economic nationalism and self reliance, as we increasingly see in Asia and Latin America, in order to better manage the effects of globalization and to be a more proactive participant in that reality.

Developing and least developed countries, if they are to succeed in their war on poverty, must demand that a supportive international economic environment be built.