North-East Asian Development Cooperation Forum 2015 Held at JICA-RI

The JICA Research institute co-hosted the North-East Asian Development Cooperation Forum in Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2015. At the event, researchers and academics from throughout the region discussed development issues from the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The participants, who specialize in development cooperation in Northeast Asia, hailed from countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Russia.

JICA Research Institute Director Ichiro Tambo was one of four opening speakers. He told the audience that it is time to start thinking of the implementation for achieving the SDGs, and quality growth will be key to do it. He added that JICA-RI is undertaking a literature review to further define "quality growth" and help policy-makers, academics and practitioners better support the SDGs.

Tambo also talked about Japan's history of going from a recipient of aid from the United States and the World Bank during its period of postwar reconstruction to being recognized as one of the top donor countries by the 1980s. He noted that Korea, Russia and China may have had a similar experience.

Though the SDGs emphasize economic growth, there is a widening gap between rich and poor, including resource distribution and education, Murata noted.

"So that is where governance comes in - how we are going to redistribute that growth," he said.

In the second session, "Sustainable Development Goals - roles of development cooperation of North-East Asian countries," Tatsufumi Yamagata of the Institute of Developing Economies, part of the Japan External Trade Organization, gave a presentation entitled "Sustainable Development Goal: The Conflict Between Sustainability and Development" that was the topic of much discussion during the question and answer session at the end of the session.

He said the shift from an emphasis on developing countries in the MDGs to both developing countries and developed countries in the SDGs, a concept known as "universality," may dilute the emphasis on poverty reduction. The North-East Asia Development Cooperation Forum, he said, should watch whether donors weaken their focus on poverty reduction. He also noted that the new Japanese Development Cooperation Charter mentions the national interests of Japan for the first time.

The participants confirmed the need to advance development cooperation in Northeast Asia, despite recognizing some challenges in this endeavor.