열린장관실

'Millennium Promise 제2차 연례 파트너 회의' 기조연설
 2009.9.21(월), 뉴욕

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 Let me begin by expressing my sincere thanks to Dr. John McArthur, Mr. Jeffrey Walker and Professor Jeffrey Sachs for their kind invitation to attend this meeting.

I deeply appreciate the opportunity to play a part in realizing the vision of the Millennium Promise.

 Since world leaders adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 to eradicate poverty and promote education, gender equality and health, the international community has been tireless in its efforts to achieve these goals.

The progress we have made so far has been meaningful.

More children now receive primary education. Fewer people live on less than one dollar a day.
 However, the recent global economic downturn, coupled with the food and energy crises and climate change, continue to undermine the progress we have achieved.

Concerns are growing as more challenges to the MDGs emerge. 

Having crossed the halfway mark to 2015, there are increasing worries that many countries will be unlikely to achieve the MDGs by the target date.

 Furthermore, progress has been highly uneven across sectors and regions.

While notable progress has been made in ensuring primary education and in addressing extreme poverty, there has been only limited progress in improving child and maternal health.

While East Asia is making rapid progress, sub-Saharan Africa is lagging behind.

 In light of this, it is imperative that the international community renew its commitment to achieving the MDGs.

We must focus on under-developed regions such as sub-Saharan Africa where poverty plagues the majority of the population.

 In this regard, the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) warrants global attention.

This community-based initiative for rural development in Africa has yielded remarkable results.

A recent review of the project underlines that crop yields in Millennium Villages are increasing dramatically, while the incidence of malaria is decreasing.

This serves to well illustrate that grassroots participation is vital in achieving the MDGs.

 From my country's development experience, I have gained a strong belief in the community-based approach to development.

During the 1970s, the Saemaul Undong(새마을운동), which literally translates to the "New Community Movement," was launched across the countryside in Korea.

The aim of this initiative was to support rural villages that were pivotal for the nation's development.

 The Saemaul Undong initially sought to improve the environment of rural communities.

It later developed into a pro-participatory initiative that effectively mobilized human resources for development.

Rural villagers worked together to improve  the infrastructure and bring modernized facilities such as water systems, bridges and roads to their communities.

As people witnessed the change their own efforts brought, they were gradually able to lift themselves out of defeatism and feel empowered.

 The movement eventually spread to both rural and urban areas throughout Korea, and across multiple sectors including agriculture, education and industry.

The Saemaul Undong generated wealth in rural areas, closed the income gap between rural villages and urban centers, and contributed to poverty reduction and  national growth.

 Yet the most significant aspect of the movement was that it built confidence amongst the people.

It follows that Korea's unprecedented economic progress was made possible through its most fundamental resource for development: "empowered people."

 Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 Based on the powerful evidence that development can be achieved from a community- and people-based initiative, the Republic of Korea has been supporting several Millennium Villages in Madagascar, Tanzania, and Uganda for a five-year period. 

 In implementing development projects in these villages, Korea is keen to share the lessons drawn from Saemaul Undong with the Millennium Promise and Millennium Villages as well as with respective host governments.

It is our hope that these development lessons may serve as a useful reference for the effective implementation of the MVP.

Moreover, we hope that this will contribute further to the attainment of the MDGs in Africa.

 Much like the Saemaul Undong, the MVP is more than a development project.

Not only will it help reduce poverty and bring prosperity in the community, but it will also empower people and build confidence in them.

For Africa to succeed in ending poverty, collective efforts are needed to transmit the wide-ranging results of the MVP from the village level to the district, national and regional levels.

 I am pleased to reaffirm Korea's support for the MVP and its commitment to the global partnership for development. 

I have every confidence that today's meeting will serve as a valuable occasion for garnering greater support of the international community. 

 It is my sincere hope that we will come out of today's meeting with a stronger sense of commitment to the noble goal of ending poverty through the MVP.

 Thank you.  /End/