Raising our sights
While the much-trumpeted G7 plus Boris Yeltsin meeting was being held in Denver, an interesting counter-meeting was in progress in Istanbul, Turkey.
This was a meeting of countries called the D8 or Developing Eight, consisting of the Muslim states Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey.
Canada revels in being part of the G7, playing at the same table as the financial giants of the world. In recent years we have been backing away from the things we used to do to help less-favored countries to develop.
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Here in the west we hear table-thumpers complaining about throwing our tax dollars away on foreign aid while we have a million people unemployed. We also hear about the money we could make by exporting to the rapidly industrializing countries of the Pacific Rim. Many of these countries, not too long ago, needed and received aid.
Our tax money is not going down a bottomless aid well and disappearing. Quite often, too often, it goes to buy Canadian manufactured products (thus creating Canadian employment) that are then used to improve technology and living standards in less favored nations.
So when the D8 nations urge technology transfer they are seeking to become greater contributors to the world economy and not welfare recipients. Whether the D8 group, as such, survives remains to be seen but the point they make is heard from developing countries around the world.
Shall we tell them to buzz off; that we need that money to put a new roof on the beach cottage?
