Gobierno de Reconciliación y Unidad Nacional
Unida Nicaragua Triunfa
INTERVENTION OF THE DELEGATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA
AT THE TECHNICAL MEETING ON COOPERATION FOR DEVELOPMENT,
ORGANIZED BY THE INTER-AMERICAN AGENCY FOR COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (IACD)
AND THE INTER-AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT (ICID)
OCTOBER 31, 2019
Thank you very much Madam President.
The Government of Nicaragua thanks the distinguished Ambassador of Mexico, Luz Elena Baños, President of the Directive Board of the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD), for presenting her Report on the Status of the Development Cooperation and programs and projects of the agency.
A panoramic view of the evolution of international cooperation, leads us to conclude that it is necessary to define a new mechanism based on structural cooperation in order to promote the sustainable development of our countries. Hence the need for cooperation not to be used as a weapon of aggression, in the form of unilateral, illegal, and arbitrary measures, in violation of the principles of International Law, the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the OAS and our peoples´ right to self-determination.
With these illegal and arbitrary measures, those who promote them, intend to curtail the Dignity and the Rights of our Peoples to Fair and Sustainable Development.
In 2007, the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity of the Republic of Nicaragua launched the National Human Development Plan, with the objective of promoting economic growth with macroeconomic stability and aimed at guiding specific employment-related objectives, reducing poverty, equality, nutrition, access to health and education, citizen security, productivity, investment promotion and trade, among others; reaffirming as a fundamental premise, the need to rebuild the capacity of the State of Nicaragua as a development actor and not merely an observer, as it had been during the 16 years of previous governments.
International cooperation, mainly from bilateral sources linked to political interests and applied discretionally, with a limited participation of the Government, was redirected and multilateral cooperation was prioritized, seeking to complement the public investment program and generating positive results toward the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs.
Nicaragua managed to reduce general poverty from 48.3% in 2006 to 24.9% in 2017, while extreme poverty fell from 17.2% to 6.9%. Nicaragua continues to be recognized as the safest country in Central America with a homicide rate of 7 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Gender equality has consistently improved since 2007, with the country currently ranked number 6 in the world by the World Economic Forum and on the path to become the first country to close the gender gap in the next 16 years. Life expectancy has increased, along with access to education and free, quality health coverage. Infant and maternal mortality has been reduced, as well as the prevalence of serious infectious diseases such as leishmaniasis, dengue, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, among others.
Regarding the economy, GDP per capita has grown from US$1,204.00 in 2006 to US$2,160.00 in 2017. Foreign Direct Investment grew from US$282.00 to US$1,466.00 million and exports from US$1,946.00 to US$5,186.00 million during the same period, while formal employment increased from 420,316 to more than 920,000.
All of the above was facilitated by an unprecedented infrastructure program for the development of transportation, telecommunications, electricity, ports and airports, housing, drinking water and sanitation, the likes of which have never been seen in Nicaragua.
In addition, a series of innovative social programs have been deployed, the main purpose of which has been and continues to be, the inclusion of all sectors of the population in development efforts, on the basis of equality, dignity and hope.
The success achieved by Nicaragua has been recognized by international organizations and was made possible through the effective alignment and harmonization of international cooperation with the development model implemented by the Government of Nicaragua, also guaranteeing a degree of compliance greater than 90% in the execution of programs and projects, transparency in the administration of resources, guarantees of legal security, protection of the environment and respect for the rights of indigenous and afro-descendants peoples.
The challenge of continuing to generate progress and wellbeing endures in Nicaragua and is the main objective of the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity. Therefore, we reject the practice of blocking the access of our countries to international cooperation resources, given it constitutes a flagrant violation of international norms and the rights of our peoples.
The Government of Nicaragua joins the countries of the region calling for greater and more effective international cooperation for the fight against climate change, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation and aiming to achieve the sustainable use of our natural resources, within a framework of shared but differentiated responsibility. Nicaragua has changed its energy matrix from 26% of renewable energy use in 2007 to 62% in 2019, we also aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million tons between 2020 and 2025.
Likewise, we believe it is urgent to prevent global temperatures from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius and industrialized countries must strengthen their cooperation commitments toward actions for adaptation, mitigation and losses and damage caused by climate change.
Madam president,
Nicaragua advocates for the democratization of international relations, which must be just, complementary and based on solidarity, allowing for the appropriation and harmonization of international cooperation to the priorities that each country establishes in the exercise of its sovereignty.
We also believe that it is important to strengthen South-South Cooperation among the countries of the region as a concrete expression of solidarity and complementarity, with the objective of exchanging experiences and good practices, improving productivity, taking advantage of opportunities and strengthening capacities between our countries.
Thank you very much Madam President