Opening remark Alessandra Tisot,
Senior Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP, China Regional Macroeconomic Workshop, Beijing 24 October 2005

Mr. Wang Guoliang, Deputy Director General
Mr. Zhang Lei, Director of International Poverty Reduction Centre
Mr. Manoj Basnyat, Deputy Regional Manager of UNDP Regional Center in Colombo Colleagues and friends,
　　It is my great pleasure to join in this important regional workshop. On behalf of the United Nations Development Programme, I would like to extend our warm welcome to all of you. This workshop represents an important opportunity to deepen our ongoing regional-level exchange of knowledge, experiences and lessons in poverty reduction and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
　　In the Asia and Pacific region, about 700 million of the world’s poor of 1.1 billion (i.e., those who survive on less than $1 a day) live. In other words, Asia is home to two-thirds of global poor. Because of this, making progress in this region is critical to the success of the fight against global poverty. Few would now refute the statement that, on average, growth benefits the poor and that a reduction in poverty is linked to economic growth. However, the slow pace of poverty reduction exhibited in countries enjoying high economic growth raises some doubts about the efficiency of current economic policies at creating a pattern of growth that generates optimum results for the poor. This calls for an in-depth analysis on the interactions between economic policies and poverty reduction.
　　In order to address these issues, UNDP’s regional programme on the “Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction” was developed in 2002. It has conducted policy-oriented case study research in several countries in the region to present practical policy options to foster more pro-poor growth. As an example, in 2003, a study on Macroeconomic Poverty Reduction case study in China was conducted and has activated high level policy discussions on promotion of pro-poor policies. Strengthening the national capacity to enhance pro-poor macroeconomic policy formulation is another focus of the programme. This workshop is the last one in the series of training workshops.
　　Over the past 30 years, developing countries have achieved remarkable improvements in living standards. For example, China, millions have seen their incomes rise, and China also managed to translate this growth into an impressive poverty reduction. However, sustaining that poverty reduction is turning out to be considerably harder as the remaining poor are increasingly difficult to reach. As the Gini coefficient for wealth distribution by some estimates beyond 0.4, access to public services and opportunities such as education and health, is also increasingly unequal. Meanwhile, there are signs that poverty is now on the increase, as new groups of poor emerge: labour migrants, landless rural women, laid-off state workers.
　　Therefore the issue in China, and I believe it is also relevant to other countries in the region, is how to enable the poor to take part in growth, and more importantly, how to ensure the poor and other vulnerable groups to enjoy the same benefits from economic growth. One important element to address this question is to make the macroeconomic policies such as fiscal policies more pro-poor. The MDGs, in this sense, could be used as a useful tool for both planning of the development policies, and also monitoring the effectiveness of these policies. Disaggregated data and information on gender, regions, people living in rural and urban areas, are critical to see challenges behind the average. This work should be well coordinated with the making of macro-economic policies.
　　As many of you know, the International Poverty Centre, which is one of the co-organizers of this seminar, was set up in a joint effort of UNDP and the Government of China in 2004. This is an international centre focused on consolidation and dissemination of information, provision of training for practitioners and policy makers and needs-based and policy-oriented research on poverty reduction strategies. It is still in its infant stage. We hope that the centre could grow as a hub for exchange of knowledge and practices on pro-poor development and poverty reduction in an effort to consolidate nationwide efforts and to disseminate information to both national and international development agencies. It could also facilitate deepening of south-south cooperation
　　We are honoured today by the presence of many senior government officials, distinguished academicians, colleagues from bilateral and multilateral agencies from different countries in the region. I am confident that we can gain enormously from this workshop and trust this exchange and exposure will lead to fruitful learning on all sides. In closing, let me express my great appreciation to the UNDP regional Centre Colombo and the International Poverty Centre in China for your efforts in organizing this regional workshop.
　　I hope you enjoy the discussions. Thank you.