Infrastructure, Growth and Poverty Reduction

The 3rd China-DAC Study Group Event was held in Beijing with the theme “Infrastructure: The Foundation for Growth and Poverty Reduction.” Head of the Secretariat for Private Sector Development in NHO Tori Tveit represents Norway in the China-DAC international study group. The study group observes China's experience in fighting poverty and is trying to ascertain if this can be transferred to African countries.

On September 19, 2010 the 3rd Event on infrastructure of the China-DAC Study Group was held by IPRCC and the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) in Beijing.

Mr. Zheng Wenkai, Deputy Director-General of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP) and Mr. Richard Carey, Co-Chairman of the China-DAC Study Group addressed the opening ceremony. Over 100 people attended the meeting, including representatives from the related commissions and ministries, experts of the research institutes concerned, as well as delegates of African countries and international organizations.

The theme of the event was “Infrastructure: The foundation for Growth and Poverty Reduction”. The delegates exchanged experiences in terms of the role of infrastructure construction in promoting economic growth and poverty reduction, and the experience of China and Africa.

To facilitate the sharing of experiences and promote learning on economic growth and poverty reduction, the China DAC Study Group was established by the International Poverty Reduction Centre in China (IPRCC) and the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) in January 2009.

The Study Group is focusing its work on two themes:

•  China’s experience of economic growth and poverty reduction, including the contribution of international assistance, and its relevance for other developing countries, particularly in Africa.
•  China’s economic co operation with Africa and the lessons that China and more established donors can share with each other to increase the collective impact of foreign aid on reducing poverty in Africa.

These themes are being addressed during a series of evidence based policy dialogue events, which enables a larger number of stakeholders to be involved in the Study Group’s activities.

Reflecting the needs in many African countries today, during 2009/10 the Study Group is considering four topics which influence both the pace of economic growth as well as the extent to which economic growth contributes to reducing poverty:

• Development partnerships.
•  Agriculture, food security and rural development.
•  Infrastructure.
• The enabling environment for enterprise development.

The Study Group’s first event on “Development Partnerships for Growth and Poverty Reduction” took place in Beijing, China in October 2009. The second event on "Agriculture, Food Security and Rural Development for Growth and Poverty Reduction" took place in Bamako, Mali in April 2010.

This third event focused on the role of infrastructure in promoting economic growth and reducing poverty by addressing three key dimensions of infrastructure development:

i) ensuring sustainability – including financing, maintenance and environmental impact,

ii) achieving efficiency – including planning, resource allocation and public private partnerships, and

iii) increasing impact on economic growth and poverty reduction – including procurement approaches, linkages into the local economy and involving poor people in decision-making processes.

More specifically, the event on Infrastructure aimed to:

•  Review the development path, strategies, achievements and challenges of China and African countries in the three dimensions of infrastructure – ensuring sustainability, achieving efficiency and increasing impact.
• Analyse the means through which investments in infrastructure have brought about economic growth and poverty reduction in China, and consider the relevance of this experience for countries in Africa.
• Examine the increasing role of China’s engagement in Africa’s infrastructure and its potential impact and compare this with the lessons learnt by international donors.
•  Explore the opportunities, means and benefits from better co operation on support to infrastructure between China, DAC donors and African countries.