Asians’ Needs Stressed

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31658, 19 April 1968, Page 13

Asians’ Needs Stressed

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) CANBERRA, April 18. Lack of assistance from the advanced nations of the world could be fatal for all the developing countries of the SouthEast Asian region, the Indonesian Foreign Minister (Mr Adam Malik) said in Canberra today. “Unless the advanced countries are willing to help them

with their economic development, and do so soon, I am afraid they will remain stuck in the mud of poverty,” Mr Malik told the twenty-fourth conference of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East. The present unsettled conditions and the widening gap between the “have” and “have-not” countries presented a constant potential danger to the stability of the region, Mr Malik told the 400 delegates present. He was critical of the results of the recently-con-cluded U.N.C.T.A.D. conference in New Delhi, saying

that they fell far below expectations. Little, if any, progress had been achieved in the main matters before the conference—commodity problems, the reduction of tariff barriers for developing countries, and the capital flow to developing countries. “Many essential things remain to be done by the international community about the economic development of the developing countries,” said Mr Malik. “The continuing machinery of U.N.C.T.A.D. should be strengthened by all countries and by existing international bodies to solve still outstanding problems.” The advanced countries should increase their capital flow to developing countries to at least 1 per cent of their gross national product, said Mr Malik. Losses In foreign exchange caused by price falls, coupled with accumulating debt repayment problems, would soon render the present aid meaningless. NEW ZEALAND VIEW New Zealand’s Minister for Overseas Trade (Mr Marshall) told the conference he was “concerned and disturbed” at the limited rate of growth of agricultural production in many Asian nations. Unless positive steps were taken to boost food production and make it more efficient, the serious gap between production and population would grow worse, he said. The long-term objective was to find a trading solution to commodity problems. “Aid Should be designed to bridge a gap, to create a climate where reciprocal trade can flourish,” Mr Marshall suggested. “But it must be accepted that food aid is only part of the solution to the food shortage faced by an extending world population. “It may provide a shortterm answer, but in the long term it is essential that intensive efforts be made to improve agricultural production, especially in Asia.”