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4
Welcoming a Future of Sustainable Development
Preface
2014 could be said to have been an important
turning point in international cooperation and
development. Thanks to the tireless efforts of
all stakeholders, the United Nations Millennium
Declaration of 2000, coming to an end in 2015, has
already seen great results in its eight major goals.
According to the UN’s Millennium Development
Goals Report, the proportion of the world’s population
living on less than US$1.25 a day fell from 47 percent
in 1990 to 22 percent in 2010, such that the goal of
reducing extreme poverty by half was achieved five
years ahead of schedule. Global death rates due
to malaria fell by more than 25 percent between
2000 and 2010, and by 2012 annual mortality due
to malaria had dropped by around 3.3 million. The
proportion of the global population suffering from
malnutrition also fell from 23.2 percent in 1992 to 14.9
percent in 2012. These unprecedented results are an
inspiration to all workers in the field and also highlight
the efficacy of aid work.
From the MDGs toward Sustainable
Development
Based on the achievements and orientation of
prior stages, we now cast our eyes toward the next
15 years; how to reach even more ambitious goals
has become a common core task for the whole
international community.
In 2012, the UN’s High-level Panel on Global
Sustainability announced a set of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) as a follow up to the
development agenda of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). In December 2014, UN Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon’s synthesis report, The Road
to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming
All Lives and Protecting the Planet, outlined three
key areas in the advancement and respect of
universal human rights – to end poverty and fight
inequalities, to ensure shared prosperity (women,
youth and minorities), and to protect the natural
environment – stressing 17 SDGs and 169 targets
as the latest directions for global development
strategies and action. The report also set the stage
for the International Conference on Financing for
Development, to be held in Ethiopia in July 2015,
which will aim to establish a financing framework
for the post-2015 development agenda. At the
UN General Assembly to be held in New York in
September, each member state will have to set goals
for sustainable development, while new agreements
on global environmental protection are also expected
at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) in Paris in December.
Although the Republic of China (Taiwan) is not
a member of the United Nations, our country has
actively participated in international cooperation
and development for the past 50 years. Taiwan’s
proud economic achievement, known as the “Taiwan
miracle,” was the successful result of various forms of
international cooperation together with the common
efforts of Taiwan’s government and people. Therefore,
Taiwan fully realizes that all countries, rich and poor,
share a common destiny. At this critical juncture for
the UN’s development agenda, Taiwan, as a member
of the global village, will abide by the consensus
on international cooperation and development, and
continue to pursue partnerships for progress and
sustainable development as it strives to share its
experience of success with developing countries.
Pursuing Efficiency and Effectiveness in
Line with International Trends of Change
International cooperation projects have long been
an extremely important facet of Taiwan’s diplomatic
work. As Taiwan’s specialist development assistance
organization, the International Cooperation and