The Fifth Anniversary Celebrations of the Founding of IPRCC
Speech by Renata Lok-Dessallien UN Resident Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative
Beijing, China
16 December 2010
Your Excellency Minister Fan Xiaojian, Minister of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, Your Excellency Ambassador Diare Mamady, Ambassador of the Republic of Guinea to China, Mr. Liu Jian, Chairperson of IPRCC Board of Trustees, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
What a pleasure it is to be celebrating today the fifth anniversary of the International Poverty Reduction Center in China. UNDP is so pleased to see our joint endeavor with the Government of China resulting in the IPRCC steadily emerging as a global knowledge hub for reducing poverty.
On this special day, I would like to first share with you a message from the UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.
“I send my greetings to all gathered to celebrate this fifth anniversary of the establishment of the International Poverty Reduction Centre in China. UNDP is proud to have played a role in establishing the IPRCC here in Beijing.
Over the past five years, the Centre has contributed to global understanding of poverty reduction, and it has facilitated knowledge-sharing, exchanges, and collaboration between developing countries. It has already held training for hundreds of officials from developing countries around the world, and hosted a number of valuable South-South exchanges.
The scale of China’s success in reducing poverty over the past three decades is great - between 1981 and 2005, China lifted more than 550 million people out of poverty. This has contributed hugely to the prospects of achieving the Millennium Development Goal target of halving extreme poverty by 2015.
But many people around the world continue to live in poverty. As well, gains made to date come under threat from circumstances beyond their control, not least the global recession and high food prices of recent years.
I am very pleased that UNDP and the IPRCC are continuing to work together to help realize the potential of South-South co-operation for reducing poverty. The agreement UNDP and China signed in September this year will further strengthen our collaboration.
The China-Africa Poverty Reduction and Development Conference held last month in Ethiopia was an early outcome of our new partnership. I was pleased to be able in take part in the Conference, co-hosted by the IPRCC, UNDP, and the Government of Ethiopia. There was good exchange between the representatives from China and from many African Countries on poverty reduction, rural development, and food security. UNDP very much looks forward to taking forward the agreement signed in Ethiopia for an expanded UNDP and IPRCC China-Africa programme.
In closing, I wish the IPRCC great success in the future in carrying out its important mandate. I look forward to an ever deeper and stronger partnership between UNDP and IPRCC to advance sustainable human development worldwide.”
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen:
Although five years is a short time in the life of an institution, IPRCC has grown up fast and garnered a wealth of experiences in poverty reduction exchanges. In addition to those areas mentioned by the UNDP Administrator, I’d like to also flag the annual high level International Poverty Reduction and Development Forums co-hosted by UNDP. This event has grown into a key policy platform with senior level participation of the Chinese Government, other developing nations, and the head of a UN Agency. It has intensified dialogue and knowledge sharing on policy formulation between China and the rest of the world, a vital topic of concern to us all.
Under the new China-UNDP strategic partnership to strengthen South-South Cooperation, IPRCC will be a key player. The first China-Africa Poverty Reduction and Development Conference in Ethiopia last month is a case in point. We are pleased to note that this conference has been proposed for inclusion in the China-Africa Cooperation Forum. We will actively work with IPRCC and LGOP to implement work under the new IPRCC China-Africa Window, agreed to in Addis Ababa. In conclusion, UNDP, as Vice-Chair of the IPRCC Board of Trustees, is fully committed to strengthening IPRCC in general and in its South-South Cooperation work. In particular, I would like to take this occasion to warmly thank all other national and international partners for their generous support to the development of the IPRCC.
Last but certainly not the least, I heartily congratulate the management and staff of the IPRCC for their good work and wish you all success in the future.
Thank you.
