EXPENDITURE ON OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

EXPENDITURE ON OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

3.

Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs how much Singapore spends each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI).

Mr George Yong-Boon Yeo: In 2009, Singapore Government's total international assistance was about S$168 million. The bulk of our assistance to developing countries is through technical aid and human resource capacity building programmes. We have also provided humanitarian reliefs during disasters and major crises. In addition, Singapore makes voluntary contributions to international and regional organisations such as the United Nations and its subsidiaries, the World Bank, the Commonwealth Secretariat and ASEAN Secretariat which go towards development programmes.

Singapore does not use a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI), which is a yardstick used by the OECD countries, to decide on the quantum of our international assistance budget. As our resources are finite and the demands for international assistance are endless, we take a realistic, practical and long-term view in providing development assistance to other countries. We seek to help others where our assistance can be effective, in areas where we have acquired the knowledge and experience, and where we can make a difference. A good example of this approach is the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) managed by MFA which is an important component of our assistance to developing countries. Since its establishment in 1992, we have provided scholarships and training to over 71,000 participants from 169 developing countries spanning the Asia Pacific, Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. We provide training and share our experiences in areas such as economic and trade development, environment and urban planning, water management, public housing

Column: 2607

and transportation, port management, civil aviation, public governance, education and healthcare. Through the sharing of knowledge and experiences, developing countries could adopt or adapt some of what we have done to their own specific conditions. We give priority to the region around us, including ASEAN.

As a general principle, we prefer our development assistance to concentrate on human resource capacity building, not monetary donations.

However, when there are major disasters or dire humanitarian needs, the Singapore Government does provide quick monetary assistance to affected countries. For example, the Government contributed S$70 million in post-tsunami assistance following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and US$5 million to the Cyclone Nargis relief in Myanmar and US$200,000 to the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008. Beyond what the Singapore Government has provided, our NGOs like the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Singapore Red Cross, Mercy Relief and many Singaporeans played vital roles in helping these countries during disasters and humanitarian crises through their generous donation of time, effort and money.

Column: 2607