Democratic government is delivering for people in many countries, declared Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the United Nations. “And I think we have a huge opportunity now to support these efforts.”
Governments have a key role to play in doing that, said Secretary Blinken:
“At last December’s Summit for Democracy, President Biden announced the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal. We’ve committed about $425 million to follow through on the commitments that were made. About $55 million of that funding in the first year is going to USAID’s Partnerships for Democratic Development.”
But government is not sufficient, noted Secretary Blinken:
“We need others to step up with us, including the private sector, which has an abiding stake in fostering stronger democracies. Transparency, anticorruption, rule of law, all of these. . .create a more level playing field for businesses to compete. And countries that respect human rights and labor rights tend to be more stable and more reliable partners.”
The private sector also has a role to play through public-private partnerships. “One way that we’re able to do that in the government is through the Development Finance Corporation,” explained Secretary Blinken, “which partners with the private sector to lower the risk of investment in developing countries,”
Corruption remains a challenge that most democracies must work on overcoming, said Secretary Blinken:
“Corruption - that is estimated now to cost up to 5 percent of global GDP. And we all know this, but corruption discourages investment. It stifles competition, it deepens inequities, and maybe most damaging for democracies, it erodes public trust in government, in institutions. And that, that is the most corrosive thing of all. It also greases the wheels of foreign interference, disinformation, transnational repression, and other actions authoritarian governments take to try to weaken democracy.”
“The bottom line is this,” said Secretary Blinken, “I think, more than ever before, the fate of our democracies are intertwined. The more vibrant, resilient democracies that we can foster. . .the more we will be able. . .to deliver for our people.”
