Ambassador Pertti Majanen - In a mutually interdependent world giving is receiving

Ambassador Pertti Majanen has a broad view on all development issues based on over 30 years of experience.  Ambassador Majanen has worked as a co-chair in the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a mutually interdependent world giving is receiving

In autumn 2009 I attended an event in Dublin where the OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria advised the Irish decision-makers about the vast budget cuts ahead. His forceful core message was: You may cut anything, but do not touch education, innovation and development cooperation. That is the very branch you are sitting on. Don’t cut your future.

The background and causes for the crisis in Ireland and Finland are very different, but the same advice is most relevant for Finland as well:

• education is not “just” the source of expertise and capability the future of Finland depends on, but the cornerstone of our whole egalitarian social system
• positive trends over the past decades have stemmed from our excellent and creative technology innovation, which the state has also wisely supported. The capability, will and expertise are still these – now public support is needed more than ever.
• in terms of development cooperation it is so sad that even the huge numbers of refugees flowing to Europe do not open our eyes to see the importance of long-term development cooperation efforts to prevent wars, crises and uncontrollable migratory movements in advance. While bearing our responsible for the people coming to our doorstep, we must be capable of looking at things in a long-term perspective. In a mutually interdependent world giving turns into receiving. It is good to see how help from our skilled NGOs is being accepted to deal with the refugee situation, but the same should be allowed to continue in development cooperation as well.

Our perspective is too short. This not the time to make selfish decisions with regard to the present Government term only, but for the benefit of future generations and sustainable development, which also challenges us with a new global visions and commitment until 2030. This has been forgotten as we have focused on our own selfish interests.

New sustainable development agenda is universal and calls for action in Finland as well

Over the past three years the international community has under the auspices of the UN prepared the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to be adopted at the summit to be held in New York on 25–27 September in connection with the 70th UN General Assembly. The process is based of the common values and responsibility of the UN Millennium Declaration, sustainable development principles adopted at the Rio +20 Summit, and the mostly positive experiences from the Millennium Development Goals. The new sustainable development goals differ from the MDGs in that the former are universally applicable to all countries, taking account of their diverging starting points and also including the Rio principles concerning economically, socially and ecologically sustainable development. The financial aspects comprise all public and private, national and international money flows, their characteristics and impacts. The focus is on the countries’ own responsibility and finding ways to mobilise domestic funding. The private sector needs to be incorporated in this better than before.

In my view the focus of international and national efforts should without any delay shift to the implementation of the agenda to be adopted. In the end, the implementation process is the only true indicator for assessing the standard and success of the work at hand.  Political will and efficient implementation is needed in all countries.

Most of the implementation of the agenda will take place nationally, founded on implementing the universal goals in national operating environments and in national ownership. Implementation in international contexts must support the national work, with the focus on the facilitating impact of the international operating environment, where the core issues are peace, security, human rights and equality, stable and predictable economic and financial systems, functioning trade and investment regimes, and efficient, well-coordinated international organisations. The system is proclaimed as ”global partnership”, which in my view cannot be the same diverse and loose ”virtual partnership” as before, meaning different things for different parties, but a real and concrete home base for the support, follow-up and allocation of responsibilities for the national implementation. Unfortunately we are still somewhat at loss with this , and we are expecting a report from the UN Secretary-General to clarify the questions relating to the implementation and the distribution of labour.

The implementation of the agenda calls for measures in Finland and by the Finns as well. It obligates the private citizens, companies and the public sector alike. The core issue is sustainable consumption and production, which means that radical changes in our habits, lifestyles and production cultures are needed.

Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development, which every actor – individual, society, school, association, municipality, company or ministry – may join, is a good start and offers an excellent foundation for the change. This is a model well worth presenting outside Finland, even if national model are usually not directly applicable in another country.

Green economy, green trade, and green export and investments offer the Finnish companies unprecedented opportunities, which they should grasp without delay. At the same time, via the new agenda, we are getting closer to a reality where all economic activity is expected to yield positive impacts with regard to the national economy, environment, social welfare and good governance. We cannot leave the private sector to deal with this alone, but completely new kinds of public-private partnerships and support and guidance from the public sector are needed. In Finland we have had a good start on this with an exercise on dialogue on these issues in spring 2014 at an international seminar organized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Aalto University. We must not stop here, but the dialogue needs to be continued and further reinforced.

The new agenda challenges the Finnish state government as well. Sustainable development issues are cross-sectoral and require action in all administrative branches. Cooperation and coordination between ministries is needed for consistent ad performance-oriented action. The model of horizontal programmes created during the 1st Government of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen is an excellent tool for this, as well as a good export item. We also need a national implementation plan for the sustainable development agenda.

The Ministry of Finance has a greater role than others in the financial arrangements relating to sustainable development, especially with regard to what we might call the ”budget power”, i.e. if the financing of sustainable development and its principles do not find their way to the Budget of Finland, the issues does not really exist. The Ministry has already shown excellent activity in questions such as international tax evasion, tax havens and illegal transfer of funds and acts in international contexts with the aim to create a reliable global economic and financial environment. It should have a central role when, hopefully, the dialogue on the types and impacts of money flows will soon continue.

The new agenda should be welcomed as an opportunity rather than seen as a challenge. Responsibility for a better Finland as part of a better world crosses the boundaries between generations and nations. Our visions, strategies and practical actions must be in line with this.