“The IDB has a very good structure in place and has been able to mobilize local talent and resources, rather than depending on Western experts, to boost the development process,” he said.
Khan, a British television reporter and interviewer who rose to prominence while working for the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera, is in the Kingdom to attend the annual IDB conference at Jeddah Hilton. He was the moderator for a meeting of the IDB African governors group on the Special Program for the Development of Africa (SPDA).
He commended IDB’s efforts in developing Africa. “People in the West have not much idea about what the IDB is doing. The bank should present itself in a better light so that people would appreciate its activities. When people see what the IDB has done through the SPDA for Africa, others would also support the project,” he said.
Khan said the conferees had called for greater South-South support than North-South cooperation. “The North-South aid relationship has a lot of colonial baggage. African countries are now looking for aid from other parts of the world, rather than Western countries,” he said.
He said the meeting with the IDB governors was aimed at evaluating the progress of the $12 billion SPDA project for which the IDB had contributed $4 billion. The bank wanted to get feedback from governors and other partners in order to plan for the next set of projects for the region.
He said the participants called for a more holistic approach toward development. “We cannot just focus on education and leave others. Agriculture is also important to ensure food security and provide nutrition. Maternal health, infant mortality, agriculture and education, all are interlinked,” he explained.
Khan also talked about the improving image of Africa. “(It is) the continent earlier known for three Ds: death, disaster and destruction. There was an impression it is not capable of doing anything. Africa has the potentials but lacked opportunities. It has huge natural resources. Now governments in Africa are working to improve their performance by conducting cleanup operations.”
He said the application of modern information technology would make a huge difference. Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, who attended the meeting, pointed out that there is tremendous increase in the use of modern information technology in the continent.
“Leapfrogging in technology has contributed incredibly to Africa's development,” Khan said.
