This morning, USGLC’s own Mark Green teamed up with former OPIC CEO Rob Mosbacher to set the scene for the Busan forum in the Washington Times. They write “it is fitting that Korea plays host to this conference, as this country more than any other demonstrates how strategic aid investments can produce remarkable returns.”   Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a keynote address at the forum which focused on transparency and results.  And USGLC Board Member Carolyn Miles of Save the Children wrote in the Huffington Post “now is not the time for the U.S. Congress to disproportionately cut development assistance. So much progress has been made-2.5 million girls are in school and 3,000 midwives have been trained in high conflict countries like Afghanistan, for example-that a cut in aid would roll back 10 years of progress.”

Must Reads

USGLC in the News

Repeating Korean miracle through private enterprise (Mark Green, Rob Mosbacher, Washington Times)

The “Korean Miracle” was not an accident. The Korean government complemented U.S. assistance with a commitment to democratic governance, open markets and rule of law, creating an enabling environment for foreign direct investment and economic growth. Korea’s example should guide delegates at Busan to look beyond one-way aid flows. The lesson from Korea’s economic growth is to focus greater attention on how to better mobilize private capital to serve the needs of developing economies.

More Global Engagement, Not Less (John K. Glenn, Jonathan Tepperman, Huffington Post)

Despite their worries, publics everywhere world reject isolationism in the strongest of terms. When asked whether their country should play an international role, overwhelming majorities of those surveyed (82%) said their countries should help others suffering from natural disasters or famines, support economic sanctions against states that abuse their citizens (79%), help promote democracy abroad (76%), and assist countries with less developed economies (63%). The message is clear: voters want more, not less, global engagement. They understand that in today’s interconnected world it is not an option to wait until the economy recovers before facing global challenges.

U.S. Assistance Makes a World of Difference for Children (Carolyn S. Miles, Huffington Post)

In almost all of the 23 emergencies Save the Children has responded to so far this year, the U.S. government has played a pivotal role in lending humanitarian assistance. The U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, for instance, helped doctors care for malnourished refugees in Ivory Coast. They enabled humanitarian groups to treat sick children in Yemen. And they helped Save the Children purchase food to distribute to families in Kenya’s refugee camps. For years, for both large crises and basic development, the U.S. government has helped millions of people. This doesn’t often make the headlines, but it has had a profound impact on America’s global reputation as a humanitarian country and one invested in making a better world. As several of my international colleagues from the Save the Children organization joined me in Washington last week to talk about how we can expand our work for children, the worldwide influence of the U.S. was clear: when America takes the lead on global development and children’s rights, its actions ripple favorably across the globe.

Smart Power

More Than Good Intentions: Making Development Assistance Work (Stephen P. Groff, Huffington Post)

Having leapfrogged from “third world” status to a developed country within the course of a single generation, Korea provides a shining example of a country that made development assistance work. Its per capita GDP has grown astonishingly from $255 in 1970 to more than $20,750 by 2010, and today Korea is helping neighboring countries in developing Asia help themselves through both financial and technical assistance.  Underpinning Korea’s success were effective institutions that used external resources to support the country’s own development strategies. This “country ownership” is the first principle of the Paris Declaration – a global compact signed at the First High Level Forum in 2005 to improve the effectiveness of foreign aid. In essence, the principle of ownership recognizes that donors can best contribute to development by supporting countries’ own efforts to build more effective governments and institutions. At the same time, the compact calls for a greater focus on producing and measuring development results, with greater accountability for both donors and developing countries.

Politics/Foreign Policy

China pulls out of aid partnership (Mark Tran, The Guardian)

China has snubbed rich countries in their attempts to establish a worldwide partnership on aid effectiveness, saying it is not ready to endorse a partnership for global development. The move put a dampener on an aid summit starting on Tuesday in South Korea to be attended by 2,500 delegates, including Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, and Andrew Mitchell, the international development secretary. There is speculation that recent changes in personnel in China have left a policy vacuum on Chinese aid and development policy. Other aid experts said China is wary of coming on board a global partnership when it is not sure of what it is signing up to.

Clinton Arrives in Myanmar to Assess Reforms (Steve Lee Myers, New York Times)

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived here on Wednesday to measure the depth of the political and economic opening the country’s new government has unexpectedly begun. “We expect this to be a very thorough review of not only the steps that they have taken and what we expect to see in the future, but the things that the United States is prepared to do in response not only to these preliminary steps, but what might be possible if the process of reform and openness continues,” a senior administration official said.