Brussels, 10/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - EU-US dialogue on development, which was launched last year, will enter a new phase in London on Monday 13 June, when Andris Piebalgs, European Development Commissioner, will meet Ajiv Shah, Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Their bilateral talks will take place on the sidelines of the conference of the donors of GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) on the subject “Saving Children's Lives” (see previous article).
The EU and the United States, which are the world's two largest donors, are determined to step up their cooperation in areas of development aid which come under the multilateral agenda, such as world health, climate change, food security (in the sense of the provision of sufficient food to the populations of the developing countries) and the efficiency of aid - the last of these ahead of the fourth high-level Forum of the UN, to be held in Busan (South Korea) in November.
“The EU and the US represent 80% of global aid. Our cooperation in strategic areas can make a real difference” said Piebalgs on Friday, calling on the two partners to use the full potential of their bilateral dialogue. He added: “Our work on health is particularly pertinent. Maternal and infant health are still among the most off-track Millennium Development Goals” (MDG no. 5).
The EU and the United States will agree on the creation of a working group made up of healthcare experts, to look into possibilities of joint projects in the framework of EU global health policy and the American “Global Health Initiative”. (A.N./transl.fl)