Tag: Justine Greening

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, at the Education World Forum in London on 18 January 2016.

Introduction

I’m delighted to be here with you this evening, to discuss education priorities for the next generation. It is fantastic to see so many countries represented here at this conference.

When I was attending my local comprehensive school in Rotherham, I never thought I would one day find myself talking to the Education World Forum as the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development.

I know that I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my school – and particularly those amazing teachers who supported me to learn and then inspired me to achieve my dreams.

I still remember, in particular, my French teacher and what was great about him as a teacher, was that he would make learning fun but you would always come away with clear points learnt. 10 years later I still remembered a lot of what he taught me – and one of the real tests of education is not just what you remember at the end of the year, but what is still with you a decade later. Teachers also give the opportunity for us to learn important values and provide us with the space to develop our own style and be creative.

These teachers transformed my life and prospects – and, I’m sure, many of you looking back on your schooldays would feel the same way. Everyone starts school a rough diamond – our teachers are like jewellers who polish us and make us the best and brightest we can be.

For me, this is why education matters, to realise your potential and ultimately be able to choose the life you want and have a chance to put dreams into action.

And that’s why this Forum matters – it’s a moment to come together and a chance for us to reflect on the progress that is being made – but also on the challenges that remain. This gives the opportunity to take stock, reflect and understand the perspective in order to develop a strategy, and also to share experience of what works and doesn’t work.

The challenge

In my role as Secretary of State at DFID, we really have seen tremendous progress. The world has made dramatic and unprecedented progress – helping more and more children go to school, since the Millennium Development Goals were agreed 15 years ago. A whole generation received an education that was denied to their parents and their grandparents. The education goals are some of the most important within the Global Goals.

The North Nigerian Chibok girls exemplify the importance of education. They had managed to complete primary and secondary school already and were denied the opportunity to progress.

So we cannot rest on our laurels.

In September, the world signed up to the new SDG Four for providing a quality education for every child by 2030 and ensuring that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development as well.

This is the right ambition at the same time – as we know – it is not going to be easy. There is a huge challenge ahead.

My teachers, and many of your teachers, were fantastic but there are still millions of children around the world without teachers, without a classroom, without so much as a textbook.

It is an issue of quantity. 124 million children and adolescents are out of school, rough diamonds. This means we may never see what they could’ve been and what they might’ve achieved.

It is also an issue of quality. And many more are in school but without basic skills. At least 250 million children of primary school-age cannot read and write – even after some of them have spent 4 years in school. The issue of quality is so important.

We know girls around the world are still less likely to attend school than their brothers. There is an unseen army of girls.

Some of these girls come under pressure to take on the burden of domestic work in their homes. Some of them are taken out of the classroom to undergo FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) or child marriage and never return… Still more out of school because of their country being in conflict situations.

Either way, all of these girls are losing out on an education and losing out on the life and future they might have chosen for themselves. This is why it has been a focus for DFID for a number of years and also why the UK has a vital role around the world.

Some children are being denied an education because of where they are – such as the 37 million children out of school in crisis-affected countries. I have just returned from Lebanon and Jordan where I met Syrian refugee children who are in school.

In my recent visit it showed that by working together with the Jordan Minister we can achieve great things. I also had an excellent meeting with the Lebanese Minister. We are hugely supportive of their aim to get every Syrian child into education.

DFID’s work

All of this is why, for my Department, education is an absolutely core part of what we do.

The UK has helped 11 million children get a decent education in the last five years, training 190,000 teachers, building classrooms and ensuring the poorest girls and boys have school bursaries and textbooks. And we’re going to keep on doing all of that work – we’ve committed to help 11 million girls and boys gain a decent education by 2020.

It is important that we focus on those that are most likely not to be in school. The hardest to reach children – particularly girls and children in crisis affected countries – are, and will continue to be, a huge focus of our work. We are working in Democratic Republic of Congo to try and encourage this.

Educating children in emergencies is, of course, an urgent, global challenge.

And the UK has allocated £115 million to provide protection, psychosocial support and education for children affected by the crisis in Syria and the region.

And this year there will be two key moments for the world to rise to this challenge.

One is, at the London conference on the Syria crisis next month, where we are proposing that the Conference agrees the ambitious goal that all refugee children from Syria and host country children are in education by the end of the 2016/2017 academic year. I hope the whole international community can get behind this vital commitment. There will be no future for Syria if we do not invest in its young generation now.

We all have choices about how we want to educate our children and want them to grow up with a chance to fulfil their potential. We must look to focus on those out-of-school and about ensuring they are able to go back and rebuild. You have to realise they feel cheated out of education.

And secondly, beyond Syria, the World Humanitarian Summit in May is another crucial moment for us all to commit to a better international model for schooling the millions of children affected by conflict and disaster.

Through education, we can also help protect children and young people from the dangers of extremism by teaching tolerance, freedom of religion or belief, and global citizenship.

Conclusion

Investing in education is to invest in a country’s potential and future. This is important because a country’s best asset is its people.

Ultimately, if we get this right, we are building better, safer futures for all children around the world

You all have amazing jobs – roles that will shape children’s’ futures. I believe a countries biggest asset is its people.

For me education is about about freedom, it’s the way you become yourself, the best version you can be and it’s about choice – being able to choose the future you want and there is nothing more important.

Thank you – and enjoy your evening.

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the then Secretary of State for Transport, at the Transport Times Conference on 26 January 2012.

Opening remarks

Thank you for that kind introduction David… it’s a pleasure to be here today.

And many thanks to you… and to everybody at Transport Times and the Railway Industry Association… for organising this event.

I can’t think of too many people or organisations that could have got a conference like this up and running… or brought together an audience as expert and distinguished as this… at such a short notice.

My congratulations for delivering it on time, presumably on budget.

Consultation

The announcement I made a fortnight ago was the culmination of a vast programme of work over the past year.

The HS2 consultation was one of the largest in the Department for Transport’s history.

We had five months of intensive engagement. 41 days of roadshow attended by almost 33,000 people. And almost 55,000 consultation responses.

And systematically going through the evidence and the alternatives, it was clear to me that the argument in favour of HS2 was compelling.

A modern,fast reliable, railway that will:

– transform connections between our cities, regions and the Continent

– truly rebalance our economic geography, with a legacy of jobs, growth and opportunity for generations to come

– and change the way we travel, just as the first railway did in the 19th century

But behind the headline statistics, HS2 is also about believing in better.

Do we believe in just making do. Is that all we have to offer our future generations?

This government passionately believes they deserve so much more. In the same way that we are not prepared to leave them with a fiscal deficit, neither should we leave them with an infrastructure deficit.

And the children and students I meet at my local primary and secondary school – what kind of a Britain do we want to create for them? And, how can we make sure our country will be able to match their ambition?

For too long in this country, we have failed to grasp the nettle on the decisions that will help us achieve our long term aspirations.

We can’t simply hope for a better, more prosperous future – we will have to build it. We won’t suddenly wake up to a successful Britain, we have to create it.

If we want to live in a country that can compete and thrive in the global economy, and where our children can realise their full potential, then we have to tackle the problems that are holding us back.

And that’s what HS2 is all about…

It’s about understanding that we have a responsibility to make choices today that will improve our economy and people’s quality of life, not just in the next four or five years, but in the next four or five decades.

Restating the case

Now there are some people who question the size of our ambitions. Who say that Britain cannot support such a scheme in such austere times.

Well today I’d like to reassure them that this is the right scheme at the right time.

But to do that, I think I need to clear up some of the claims about HS2 that I’ve read in recent weeks.

Some commentators have said we are spending £32 billion building a new line between London and Birmingham.

Well I have good news for them. £32 billion will buy us a national high speed network, linking London and Birmingham with Leeds, Manchester, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands – and forming the base of what we hope is an even bigger network extending to Scotland in the future.

Some people have focused purely on HS2’s time savings – claiming the investment is poor value just to shave a few minutes off today’s journeys.

Well HS2 will certainly reduce journey times. In fact it will slash the trip from Birmingham to Leeds in half, and cut the Manchester to London time from 2hrs 8mins today to just 1hr 8mins.

These are dramatic time savings that will offer a step change in services.

Valuable as faster journeys are – and passengers tell us that the time factor is very important to them – more crucial is the substantial capacity boost that HS2 will deliver, reducing the increasingly overwhelming pressure on existing road and rail networks…

A rail network that will simply end up full in many places. If we don’t take action, people say put more trains on the track, have more carriages on the trains on the track, well that’s what we’ve been doing! There’s no other way we would have lasted on a Victorian railway network otherwise. But common sense tells you that can’t go on forever. And after 110 years we’ve nearly got to the end of forever. On some of our tracks there is simply isn’t going to be any more space.

… so we need MORE track.

But high speed rail will provide up to 18 high speed trains per hour, each with up to 1000 seats… more room on the current railway as well… greater reliability; better performance; and more comfortable long distance travel.

Without investment in new capacity, our main rail arteries will grind to a halt during the 2020s, with disruption, overcrowding, and damage to our economy.

With demand for long-distance rail doubling over the past 15 years, inter-city trains are already becoming overcrowded, and commuters who may have no practical alternative to train travel are forced to stand on long journeys.

Unreliable, congested, transport would send out a message to investors that Britain doesn’t really care about its infrastructure… or that we are incapable of delivering major projects.

For a modern, developed economy, that’s not good enough.

And to continue to ignore the problem is no more an option that pretending our A-road system would have managed without the motorways.

Of course, we are doing what we can to modernise our current railway with £18 billion of investment committed in the Spending Review, and pressing ahead with our plans to max out the capacity on the current track.

But even with that investment, the scope for squeezing out ever-more out of our ageing rail infrastructure is diminishing.

So it is simply not good enough to criticise schemes like HS2 unless there is a practical alternative.

And those alternatives that have been proposed have fallen short.

Upgrading existing major north-south lines would only provide a short term fix, and would consign passengers to years of disruption, delays and misery.

And high speed offers much better value than a new conventional north-south rail line – delivering £6.2 billion more in benefits for an extra investment of just £1.4 billion.

So high speed will give an additional return on the investment of more than four to one.

All the evidence has been considered. And we are clear that the only long term solution to the capacity crunch we face on our railways is high speed rail.

Some people think the capacity crunch will somehow naturally melt away.

One commentator claimed that high speed rail would soon be obsolete, because the advance in computers will mean that more people work from home. And rather than speed up, he actually suggested we ought to find ways to slow down.

Well I don’t share his analysis.

We’ve seen mobile and Internet connectivity through technology transform in the past 15 years – and people have never travelled by train more.

And we will not get people back to work and secure economic recovery by putting a brake on progress, and telling passengers they have got to put up with slower journeys.

We all know that the world is moving ever faster. Technology is always developing. And we have to prepare for a faster future if we want Britain to prosper.

Who wants slower broadband? Who would choose to have a slow train journey rather than a fast one? And how can businesses hope to compete if they cannot transport goods around the country quickly and efficiently?

Modern manufacturers and retailers rely on just-in-time distribution to maintain profitability. Slowing down transport would merely act as a further barrier to investment, and as a drain on growth.

HS2 is about the nuts and bolts of Britain, and making our infrastructure work for us.

In country after country around the world, high speed rail has proved to be hugely popular with a wide market. Countries that have it invariably build more.

Today, high speed rail is a success around the world because it has a mass market.

HS2 will benefit every type of traveller – not just on the new network, but on existing lines too. More space and capacity freed up will help drive competition on the railway, changing the way rail travel is marketed and sold.

I do though, of course, accept that there is no easy way to build a train line through our country.

I understand and respect the concerns of people living or working near the line and we have gone to very great lengths to mitigate its impact – including a package of extra alterations announced on January 10th.

Of the 13 miles through the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, less than 2 miles will be at or above the surface… the rest will be in deep cutting or tunnel.

These changes will bring significant benefits to communities and the environment; and, in fact, compared to the consultation route there will be a more than 50 per cent increase in tunnel or green tunnel.

And I welcome the comments of Shaun Spiers, Chief Executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, who said the government had been sensitive to the impact that HS2 would have on communities and the countryside; and that their legitimate concerns about the effects of high speed on the landscape had been heard.

I will do my level best to work closely with communities as the High Speed project progresses.

Industry opportunities

But of course there is another very key benefit of high speed that has not been reflected in much of the coverage over the past two weeks: the opportunities and jobs it will it provide for the rail industry in Britain; the jobs it will create for your companies and organisations.

For engineering and technology companies; rail operators; suppliers and component manufacturers; for infrastructure specialists; and many, many others.

All stand to gain as we write a new chapter in the story of rail innovation in Britain.

It will present this industry with a massive challenge.

Delivering a major national programme on time and on budget.

I believe we can meet that challenge and I believe we can develop expertise so British companies can compete successfully for key contracts.

The government’s National Infrastructure Plan sets out the importance of a predictable and transparent long-term pipeline of infrastructure projects that will help the private sector plan ahead and invest in technology and skills.

HS2 will form a key element of that long-term pipeline, providing certainty about future contracting opportunities following the completion of Crossrail in 2017.

To ensure that the UK-based supply chain is in a position to benefit as far as possible from this project, this government will open a dialogue with potential UK-based suppliers to ensure they are well-placed to bid competitively.

You are already helping us deliver Crossrail, Thameslink, upgrades to major rail hubs like Reading and Birmingham New Street, and a major programme of electrification.

But I also want to put our best minds to work on high speed rail. To find uniquely British solutions to the challenges we face.

I want Britain to become a centre of excellence for high speed rail technologies and services, with a world-class R&D capability.

Sometimes we may collaborate with companies from other countries.

But from the very start our priority must be to develop the home-grown skills and capabilities that will not only help deliver HS2 – but that can then be used in other markets as high speed rail is increasingly adopted by countries around the world.

Looking ahead

Now is the time to reject the short termism of the past, and get our long term future back on track.

The evidence from around the world is clear: as a fast, sustainable and viable way of long-distance, mass transport, high speed rail has no modern equal.

It’s the right transport programme for passengers; for freight; and for rebalancing our economy.

I’ve seen the incredible enthusiasm for HS2 across our great cities. Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, these cities know the transformational value high speed rail will have.

They rightly believe that the future success of their regions and their communities depends on schemes like this – which will create opportunities on their doorstep. I will work hand-in-hand with them to make sure the jobs and the growth that we all hope for, actually happen.

I know most of us here today are convinced of the case for high speed.

But there are many who perfectly understandably will want to continue the debate. I welcome the opportunity to set out our case. Because it is strong and compelling.

But it is also important those who understand the benefits of HS2 continue to make their voices heard, and continue to highlight the transformational impact it will have on our railway and on our economy. Now more than ever our case needs to be made positively, clearly and fully informed by the facts.

We will prepare for a hybrid bill by the end of 2013, including a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment to provide the necessary powers to construct and operate the line from London to Birmingham.

This spring we will consult on the draft directions for safeguarding the proposed route from London to the West Midlands, as well as separately consulting on detailed compensation proposals.

In March HS2 Ltd will advise me on route and station options to Manchester, Leeds and Heathrow, and later in 2012 we will start informal consultation on a preferred route.

Conclusion

To conclude, these plans will set in motion the most important transport project in this country since the coming of the motorways.

I warmly welcome the political consensus on HS2, on the basis that it will help ensure that the planning and construction of this transformational scheme is carried through to completion.

This is an incredibly exciting time for everyone who cares about Britain’s railway and preserving its critical role supporting our economy.

But the benefits of HS2 will be felt well beyond the network and the passengers who use it.

This is a national scheme in the national interest.

It’s about raising our sights. Future-proofing Britain’s railway so we don’t wake up in 20 years’ time with a gridlocked railway regretting that we hadn’t been bolder today.

And remembering that Britain can no more turn its back on the positive potential of high-speed rail than it could have opted out of the steam age.

We will build high speed two. We will make sure our country and our cities are connected for success.

And we will have in place the railway capacity that our future generations need for their success.

They need our plans put into action more than any of us here today and this government will not let them down.

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, on 3 December 2015.

It’s an absolute pleasure to be able to be part of this event today. It is a big celebration and this room I think is a real fitting place to hold this event.

As Lord Low has just said DFID has been on a journey. And I think the development community has been on a journey, over the last couple of years in particular, as we talked about what we wanted the successors to the Millennium Development Goals to be.

There were lots of things missing from those original goals. They were an incredible step forward but there were things missing. And one of those was the lack of really any recognition of how development fitted with disability. And that was something that we were very keen to fix. The select committee was quite right in flagging up this also as an issue.

And I wanted to start by paying tribute to Lynne Featherstone, who this time last year was the Parliamentary under-Secretary of State. Lynne did a fantastic job of really taking that starting point and starting to get us on the track where we ended up on another step today. So a big thank you to Lynne.

I would like to pay tribute also to the work of Baroness Verma and all of the work our DFID staff have done to shape what I think is this really big step forward for us in the department.

The concept of ‘Leaving no on behind’ underpins, I think, what the Sustainable Development Goals are really all about. And disability is a massive part of that. I wanted to recognise today the huge efforts of the International Disability Alliance and indeed the disability community as a whole… and not only the for the advocacy that you have done…you have done more than that – you’ve actually changed things on the ground to help get us to where we are.

But in the end this work is just starting. We’re really at the beginning of the journey. We’ve taken a decision that we need to start that journey but we’re at the beginning of it and I think we should acknowledge that.

I know for many people in this audience you are the ones that understand, perhaps more than anyone else in the development community, why this issue matters and why it is something that we should be putting at centre stage of our development work.

And we know how many people it affects, something like 80% of people with disabilities live in developing countries. And the barriers that people face aren’t just physical ones, although we know that there are many and that they are immense. But they end up being cultural ones and social barriers too.

So this is a complex set of challenges that we have to address and the consequences of not doing it means that we will have this status quo, that we have currently got, where we know that people with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed, they are less likely to get to school, in some cases they literally won’t be able to participate in life. So it is vital that we make more progress on this.

So what have we been doing? I’ll spend a little bit of time talking about what we have done over the last year. So this time last year we published this Disability Framework which set out the architecture of how we were going to look at disability and how we were going to start thinking about it within our own policy work. One year on I think we have seen some real progress and we have already started making changes. Some of them are not big changes, but they make a huge difference.

Not a particularly big change for us was to say that if we are involved in building schools then they should be able to be accessible for everyone. When you look at how much that might put up the cost it’s literally half of one percent. But it makes a transformational difference. We’re already making those changes.

In fact we’ve been working with Leonard Cheshire Disability that does fantastic work both here in the UK…and I am privileged to have some of that happen in the London Borough that I represent a part of…but also in places like Kenya and Zimbabwe where they have worked on the education agenda.

In Ghana, DFID are now working on putting in extra physicians who are particularly able to provide support to people with mental health and psychosocial impairments.

Through UK Aid Match we have been working with Sightsavers which is enabling us to do very simple operations but ones that make a transformational difference in people lives, and their broader community.

So I think we have come a long way but there is a much, much longer way to go.

So the key for us has been around not just to have disability being part of what we do – but fundamentally mainstreaming it through all of our work. So whatever project we are looking at we look at it through the lens of how can we make progress on development and disability through this particular programme. So that means coming back to looking at some of the physical, practical barriers. It also means looking at some of those broad social barriers.

We need a research agenda on this – which we are now putting in place. We need to properly understand the evidence around how we can make sure that when we’re investing we get the biggest bang for the buck and the most change. Investing in research with people like Leonard Cheshire Disability and University College London. Making sure that on a really simple basis that we are disaggregating data, not just in terms of gender, but also in terms of disability. Then we will understand how our work affects people with disabilities and how broader development work affects people with disabilities.

So we are going to be continuing to challenging ourselves to do more on this. There is a very long way to go I think. Today we are launching our new updated Disability Framework. It sets out that we will drive progress in three core areas:

One is economic empowerment. We have made big progress in DFID on jobs and livelihoods – but we really want to make sure that that has this leave no one behind element of it, and particularly in relation to people with disabilities.

On mental health, which I think just generally is something that the UK itself has been trying to get our own house in order on.

But also critically on this issue of stigma and discrimination. It is such an important area to focus on but it is complex, it’s difficult. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t challenge ourselves to try and tackle some of the underlying reasons why, in spite of all the work that we might do on physical things and practical things that can help, in the end there’s a society piece of this too. So more work there – that’s the third challenge we have really set ourselves.

I want to finish by saying again thank you for contribution to the work that’s being done in the department. So many people here have contributed to where we have got to today.

But really to give you our clear assurance from a DFID perspective that we see this as a fundamental part of how we need to be looking at our development work. It is not a bolt on. It is something that we are mainstreaming throughout everything that we do. We are learning as we do that we need your help to help us go further faster over the coming years. But we’ve made a good start and I hope that is something that we can build on in the future. Thank you very much for inviting me here today.

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, in New York, United States on 17 November 2015.

Let me thank Stephen O’Brien, Zeinab Bangura and Leila Zerrougui for their sobering briefings. And indeed the UK expresses its condolences in relation to the terrorist attacks over recent days in Paris, Beirut and elsewhere. They are a vivid reminder of the horrific human toll of the Syria and regional crisis.

Like others here today, I’ve met Syrian refugees who have fled the bloodshed and violence consuming their country for over 4 years now. And their tales are of experiences that no one should have to go through.

But, we must accept that these people have been let down. The generosity of countries bearing the brunt of the refugees like Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey has not been matched by a similar generosity from the whole international community. UN appeals are 45% funded. Overwhelming suffering and loss has been matched by political deadlock and an inadequate financial response.

My message to the Council today is that for Syria, for its people, for us all – time is now running out.

Time is running out for us to meet the most basic needs of the Syrian people – whether they are inside Syria or have fled the country.

Time is running out for Syria’s children. A whole generation who are being robbed of a childhood, an education and a future.

And time is running out for the international community, as we try to cope with the overwhelming numbers of refugees who have themselves run out of hope and are now looking elsewhere to build a new life for themselves and their families.

Since day one, Britain has worked hard to help people on the ground and been at the forefront of the humanitarian response to this crisis – pledging $1.7 billion to date.

But the need is immense and growing. Greater efforts are needed, not only to meet people’s basic needs – but to provide jobs and an education for Syria’s children.

That’s why our Prime Minister has just announced that the UK will co-host a global conference on the Syria crisis in February next year. This conference must be a turning point. It must raise the resources and deliver the policy changes that are needed.

Let’s not forget, our response to this crisis, the actions we take – or don’t take – on Syria – will define how we respond to other protracted emergencies. The challenge of educating whole generations of children at risk of being lost to conflict. And, with forced displacement likely to remain a major feature of the global landscape, the challenge of supporting refugees and the countries that host them.

But we recognise that humanitarian action alone is not sufficient. Syria isn’t a natural disaster, it’s a man-made one.

We all know what’s causing the deaths and suffering. The Assad regime bears the primary responsibility. It’s Assad’s barrel bombs… it’s ISIL’s brutality too. It’s the targeting and the killing of aid workers. It’s the deliberate disregard for international humanitarian law, too often dressed up in a false, perverse argument of sovereignty.

A negotiated political transition is the sole way to end the conflict in Syria and is key to alleviating the humanitarian crisis. I am encouraged by the constructive discussions in Vienna and the new momentum behind the process working towards peace for the people of Syria.

But until that political settlement is reached we must recommit to:

• ending targeted and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, particularly aerial attacks and shelling;
• to the protection of health facilities, schools and essential infrastructure;
• ensuring unimpeded access for humanitarian organisations;
• and an end to the use of siege tactics;
• and preventing and responding to gender-based violence. As is the case in all conflicts, girls and women have been left the most vulnerable to violence, abuse and exploitation.

As we meet today, there are a long list of things that we will fail to agree on in relation to the Syria crisis. But help for those caught up in this crisis, humanitarian aid being able to reach those in need, these things shouldn’t be on that list. These are things that we should be able to agree to.

There can be no excuse for flouting humanitarian law. There can be no excuse for preventing humanitarian agencies from reaching those in need. The Council must make that clear.

We agreed Resolution 2191 on allowing the UN to use cross-border routes. This resolution has been critical for helping us get aid to people who would otherwise have had none. It is essential that we renew that resolution.

Syria is perhaps the defining conflict of our age, not just for those in the region, but for all of us. It has shown all too clearly where there are failures in our humanitarian and political responses.

And the World Humanitarian Summit next year will be a vital moment for us to commit to a new 21st century response to a protracted crisis – that brings together our development, humanitarian work and human rights. And, in this age of crisis, this summit is a vital moment to recommit to our humanitarian values and law.

As the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the International Committee of the Red Cross President Peter Maurer have said, now is the moment to rally for humanity.

We must respond to that call for the sake of Syria, and for the wider world, and for future generations. This is our shared responsibility and challenge – we must meet it. Thank you.

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development in New York on 17 November 2015.

Thank you Secretary General, Wided Bouchamoui and Ambassador Skoog for introducing this session. I’m very pleased to chair the UN Security Council again today, the first Development Minister to be doing so. That’s because development and security are intrinsically linked.

The United Kingdom extends its heartfelt condolences to those tragically caught up in terrorism. From Paris to Syria; from South Sudan to Yemen; from Beirut to Sharm el-Sheikh – we see more clearly than ever the pain, suffering and cost of conflict. The human cost. The Council heard yesterday about the bloodshed in Syria that has shattered so many lives.

But also the social and economic cost to the whole country – and to future generations. It is estimated that the Syrian conflict has turned the clock back on that country’s development by 30 years.

And it is conflict affected states that are the most off-track for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The reality is – if we’re to achieve the new Global Goals for ending poverty, and live up to our promise to leave no one behind, then preventing conflict and building peaceful societies is absolutely vital.

These past 15 years have shown us that trying to build development in any country without a solid foundation of peace and stability is like trying to build a house on the sand: it will simply be washed away when crisis hits.

So how can we make sure that solid foundation is in place? Stability is not only about addressing war and conflict – it’s about countries having strong economies, healthy and educated populations and, critically, it’s about the strength of their institutions. Our Prime Minister has called it a Golden Thread of development.

Stability means the rule of law and property rights, an independent judiciary. Because the poorest people on the world aren’t just going hungry – they lack justice, they want jobs, they want the right to own their own land and build their own businesses.

And if individuals don’t have a voice in society it doesn’t mean their grievances aren’t there, only that there is no fair forum for them to be heard and so grievances fester and build.

Stability means rights for girls and women. We know girls and women are those most vulnerable when crisis hits. And they must be an integral part of any peacebuilding and conflict solution. The ongoing high level review of Women, Peace and Security will be critical to this.

And women’s economic empowerment is essential to sustainable development. Recent research estimates that if women in every country had the chance to play the same role in economic markets to men, as much as twenty eight trillion dollars would be added to the global economy by 2025.

Stability means a society and institutions free of corruption. Corruption is bad for development, it’s bad for the poorest, and it’s bad for business. It corrodes the fabric of society and public institutions, acting as a perverse welfare system that transfers resources from the poor to the rich.

So it’s addressing these things that can build the backbone of a stable state, without them individuals can’t fulfil their potential, communities cannot thrive, businesses won’t invest – the whole country stagnates.

It’s not only national institutions that matter. The strength of international institutions is critical as well.

We know the UN Security Council has a vital role in peacekeeping decisions and swift humanitarian actions. A vital role in ensuring that International Humanitarian Law is adhered to when conflict erupts – and in helping to find political solutions.

But – as the Security General’s report on the United Nations and Conflict Prevention, and the UN peace operations and peacebuilding reviews set out – increasingly our international institutions need to take on a greater role in addressing the underlying causes of fragility and conflict.

This means prioritising conflict prevention as much as its resolution – by taking early action when faced with the signs of deteriorating situation.

It means moving from peacekeeping to peacebuilding.

By investing in basic services in fragile and conflict-affected states, by helping to build a stronger economy and jobs, by supporting strong and accountable institutions: the rule of law, respect for human rights, free and fair access to markets and the rights of girls and women, and tackling corruption. And achieving that progress through the UN, and the World Bank and IMF as well.

The UK believes that doing this is strongly in our national interests, in all countries’ national interests.

Investment in prosperity and stability overseas is critical if we don’t want global problems to end up on our own doorsteps. Lack of development and exclusion provides fertile ground for extremism, for terrorism, organised crime and conflict to thrive. It drives migration.

The UK has made a historic commitment to spending 0.7% of our national income on Development, with much of that spend already in fragile states and conflict-ridden countries. We’re supporting development and peacebuilding through the UN, and we are committing UK troops to UN operations in Somalia and South Sudan.

We believe this investment is the right thing to do – and right for our national interests too.

It’s about saving the next generation from the scourge of war, it’s about allowing every individual an opportunity to live the life they want, to build the future they want, free from violence and the threat of violence. And it’s about global prosperity and global peace and security, because conflict is costly in every sense.

If we act now and together – then we can build a better, more prosperous, more secure planet for us all.

Thank you.

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, at Chatham House in London on 15 October 2015.

Introduction: A changing world

It’s great to be here at such a crucial time.

The UK’s international development policy is not only the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do for Britain’s national interest.

And I know some Secretaries of State for International Development would stand here and give you a speech on the importance of international development, predicated on why eradicating grinding poverty is the right thing to do.

Some Secretaries of State for International Development would stand here and argue why the very same international development is the smart thing to do, and in Britain’s national interest – as if it were a totally different approach.

I want to argue today that our approach can be – and is – both right and smart at the same time.

I believe it’s a false choice to say we should either do the right thing OR the smart thing – because a strong, sensible international development approach will achieve both. That in responding to the needs of the poorest, we address our own too. That what benefits them, also benefits us.

Which is why 3 years ago I began a fundamental shift in our approach to aid – a change which is proving its worth right now.

As we approached the end of the Millennium Development Goals, it was clear we needed a changed approach.

We faced a growing youth population, countries in conflict who weren’t delivering on any of the goals on health and education, and an increasing number of humanitarian crises. It was clear there were huge emerging challenges that DFID needed to up its game on.

So when I made one of my very first speeches as International Development Secretary back in early 2013 I set out some key priorities. They were:

• responding to crises and building resilience to disasters, while strengthening governance, peace and security – based on the knowledge that instability ends up on our own doorsteps, as the current refugee and migration crisis shows us only too vividly
• boosting our work on economic development, because it is jobs and growth that enable countries to lift themselves out of poverty and aid dependency, while at the same time growing the markets and trading partners for Britain of the future
• putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do, because no country can successfully develop if half its population is left behind and
• a laser-like focus on better results and achieving much greater value for taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

Running through all of these was an understanding that if we were to deal with the challenges we faced, we needed to deal with their root causes, and not just their symptoms.

Then, as now, we faced a complex and dangerous world.

In a changing world, we changed.

Today, we are seeing how our investment in international development is playing a major role in the UK’s ability to respond to the issues of the moment – whether they are the migration and refugee crisis or the rise of extremist terrorism.

I am going to talk to you about how this fundamental shift has not only benefitted the poorest and most in need across the world, but has benefitted Britain too.

Building stability

Tackling poverty and instability overseas means tackling the root causes of global problems that affect us here such as disease, migration, terrorism and climate change.

Whether we like it or not, if we don’t help sort out other countries’ problems today they become our problem too – threatening our national security. That’s why when it comes to the Syria crisis – now 4 years old – we took the decision to be there from day one.

So far we have given more than £1.1 billion, making us the largest single country donor to date, bar the US. This has paid for the basics: food, water, shelter, medical supplies.

But I have also set up the No Lost Generation initiative to ensure Syrian children continued to get an education. And DFID is pioneering brand new ways to promote livelihoods in the Syria region with the World Bank. All things that have enabled the vast majority of displaced Syrians to stay in the region.

To date, only around 4% of the total 12 million Syrians who have been displaced have sought asylum here in Europe. If that support wasn’t there many more would be attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean and turning up on our doorsteps.

We were ahead of the curve in seeing the ramifications of not supporting those impacted by the conflict – and now we are staying the course, supporting those caught up in this crisis and the countries that are providing sanctuary to them.

It’s the right thing to do for Syrians caught up in a senseless, brutal war. But let’s not beat around the bush – it’s also the smart thing to do for British people.

Although at the beginning of the last Parliament we committed to invest 30% of our total spend in fragile states and conflict countries, we’ve gone beyond that and currently invest around 40%.

And of course the reality is that percentage needs to continue growing to reflect the challenges we face.

But stability is not only about war and conflict – it’s about working ‘upstream’ on a country’s underlying resilience too. It’s about the strength of their institutions – whether that’s the justice system or broader.

It’s about driving out corruption.

Corruption is bad for development, bad for the poorest, and bad for business. It corrodes the fabric of society and public institutions.

So we have significantly stepped up our work to reduce the impact of corruption.

We’re supporting justice systems, strengthening police forces.

Investing in resilience

Stability is also about ensuring countries are resilient when disaster strikes.

So we are investing significantly to improve the quality and speed of humanitarian responses in countries that we know are most at risk – and crucially ensuring they are better prepared.

For every £1 spent on disaster preparedness we save up to £7 on disaster clear-up. That’s why in Nepal we are ensuring schools are built to withstand earthquakes. In Africa we have helped countries pool together to get insurance against the impact of extreme weather.

In West Africa we have tackled the Ebola epidemic. When a deadly epidemic threatened an entire continent, we sent brave British men and women from the military, our NHS and my own DFID staff to the frontline to fight the disease at source.

In doing so we saved countless lives in Africa – and kept ourselves safe here too.

And last month the Prime Minster announced a 50% increase in our global climate finance commitments, helping poor countries both mitigate climate change and adapt to it.

We are able to do this because we’ve prioritised leading in emergencies, which has seen us create world-leading systems and expertise that are swift and flexible.

Our humanitarian and resilience work is built on a proud British tradition of helping people in the world in their hour of need. But it is also firmly in Britain’s interest.

Improving education and health

And of course, stability is also about health and education – because healthy, educated people help build strong economies.

That’s why we championed these areas in the last Parliament. For example, on malaria, the Chancellor made a commitment to up our game – from around £200 million to £500 million per year.

And that’s why in our recent manifesto the Prime Minister committed the UK Government to:

• immunising 76 million children by 2020, saving 1.4 million lives
• helping at least 11 million children in the poorest countries gain a decent education and
• leading a global programme to accelerate the development of vaccines and drugs to eliminate the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.

It’s worth pointing out that malaria alone can consume 40% of a country’s healthcare bill. Imagine our NHS in that situation.

Helping countries develop economically

Alongside stability, what are the other challenges we needed to stay ahead of the curve on?

Back in 2012 when I set out a new economic development strategy at the London Stock Exchange no one was talking about a ‘youth bulge’. But it was clear to me that what young people growing up around the world needed was a job.

And in 2013 the World Bank predicted an extra 600 million jobs will be needed to absorb burgeoning working-age populations over the next 15 years.

Wherever you are in the world, people – especially young people – tell me they want the same thing: a job and the dignity of work.

In helping young people achieve their potential you help a country achieve its potential too. And it supports stability.

That’s why we have:

• doubled our investment in jobs and growth to £1.8 billion
• streamlined our work into one directorate in DFID and
• worked with key multilaterals like the World Bank.

But there is more to be done.

The migration and refugee crisis of the summer shows us why this is such an urgent issue – people need opportunities in their home countries.

If we do not continue to invest in jobs and growth, more and more people will be driven to migrate, seeking work elsewhere, including in Europe. Countries will not be able to lift themselves out of poverty for good and ultimately they will remain reliant on the aid that we and others give.

That’s why we will continue stepping up our game in this area and why we will continue to tie it into our work on stability.

And I have two final points on economic development:

Firstly, of course when I talk about rights for women and girls there is no doubt in my mind that it is the right thing to do.

I believe women’s rights are the greatest unmet challenge of the 21st Century.

When we hear about the number of 8-year-olds being forced into marriage, the proportion of young girls from Somalia being subjected to Female Genital Mutilation, the women being prevented from registering a business or even owning a mobile phone – no one can find those statistics acceptable.

But we should also look at the economic case.

How can a country successfully develop when half its population – its people, its most valuable asset – is excluded?

For those who think this a human rights agenda – you are right. But is also a business agenda. The business case is clear.

Investing in women and girls is one of our best buys. For example, every £1 spent on family planning can save governments up to £4 on healthcare spending, housing, water and other public services.

That is why women and girls will continue to be one of my key priorities and at the heart of everything my department does.

Secondly, there is a UK prosperity agenda here too. When we create jobs for others, in the end, that creates markets that can support UK jobs and UK exports.

Value for money

All of this means I am confident that we have been – and will continue to – spend on money on the right things. But as important is spending money in the right way.

When I arrived in DFID 3 years ago, I came armed with my accountant’s eye. Value for money is what I focused my 15-year business career on and I see no reason to change that in politics.

In those 3 years, I have created a more professional, accountable, transparent, value for money driven organisation – delivering for both the world’s poorest and the British taxpayer:

There is now one named person in charge of every programme and clear and simple rules and processes so everyone knows what they’re responsible for.

I’ve boosted the commercial capabilities of our staff – it is now mandatory for all senior civil servants to take a commercial leadership course.

I’ve strengthened our internal audit – so we’re reviewing programmes far more frequently and cutting ones that don’t deliver.

And I’ve expanded the use of by payment by results – with results-based aid now the norm for most of our contracts.

I’m proud that DFID is now being recognised for this, winning Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply awards for the last 3 years, beating public and private competition.

And we’re making savings. In total, we have made more than £400 million in savings in the last 4 years thanks to more effective procurement. That’s £400 million now being spent on improving lives and saving lives.

And we have increased scrutiny – not least from the online Development Tracker, our IDC select committee and the watchdog ICAI.

In Britain’s interest

So what does all of this mean for Britain?

I’ve always been clear that everything we do in DFID is firmly rooted in the UK’s national interest. It is something I have been focused on from the outset.

And I reject any argument that it’s somehow a choice between helping people overseas or helping people here in the UK.

As I said at the beginning, the right international development strategy will achieve both.

Our national interest has been served by having a long term economic plan – and sticking to it – because it’s enabled stronger investment, better healthcare and education, stronger institutions.

Part of that long term economic plan for Britain surely has to be a stable world and a strong global economy. When we invest in jobs and growth overseas we’re not only helping people overseas today, we are creating long term growth that is in Britain’s national interest.

When we’re supporting refugees in their home region or creating jobs, this government is tackling the root causes of migration.

When we’re fighting Ebola, the UK is stopping the spread of the disease to our shores.

When we’re fighting for women’s rights and education for girls, we are doubling the number of people who can build their own country’s future.

I’ll be frank: when I first came to DFID it felt like quite an isolated department, it was even located away from the rest of Whitehall.

Today that’s changed.

DFID operates at the heart of government – based in Whitehall – and our work has never been more clearly in the national interest.

And we’re working differently.

We have pulled in all the talents across government, not just from the Foreign Office, to help us pursue our agenda.

On any given day we’re working with:

• HMRC tax inspectors
• with the military to fight Ebola
• with HMT to reform the international tax system
• BIS on a joint trade policy
• DECC and DEFRA to tackle climate change
• The Met and City of London police to take on international corruption
• or alongside the National Crime Agency to clamp down on the people traffickers operating in the Mediterranean.

And we’re working with them all to instil DFID’s best practise on ODA reporting, value for money and accountability.

That’s our new normal and DFID is stronger for the partnerships with other departments who are working alongside us.

A less mentioned reality is that all of this work inevitably grows our influence abroad.

Maybe that’s why when you look at the Soft Power Index – which looks at every country in the world and its intrinsic ability to influence – the UK comes out on top.

Looking ahead

Where do we go next?

Well, it will be about looking ahead and staying ahead of the curve, staying ahead of the long term trends that can make or break security and prosperity.

It’s about sensibly tackling the challenges of today.

We will continue to work with flexibility and innovation and in a way that helps both the world’s poorest and most vulnerable and in doing so serves our national interest.

Whether that is addressing the challenges that directly affect the UK, such as the ongoing crisis in Syria and the drivers of migration.

Tackling instability and conflict in fragile states to prevent them becoming safe havens for terrorists.

Building build jobs, growth and prosperity.

And it makes sense for Britain to continue using its unique historical ties for the benefit of development and diplomacy.

Conclusion

Today we deliver one of the most pioneering, inventive, 21st Century approaches to development anywhere in the world.

It’s an approach that improves the lives of millions of the poorest and most vulnerable.

That makes the world a safer, healthier, more prosperous place.

That projects British values and influence overseas.

That serves the UK national interest.

When it comes to development, right now there is no country doing as much as us, as flexibly, as swiftly, as smartly.

Not just the right thing to do but also the smart thing for Britain, allowing us to stand tall in the world.

Our investment of 0.7% of our national income is 100% in our national interest.

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, in Beijing at the China International Development Research Network on 2nd April 2014.

Thank you for the introduction. I’m absolutely delighted to be hosted by CIDRN and to have the opportunity to address you today about the future of international development.

The UK and China have both been giving assistance to countries in need for more than 50 years. There are differences in our approach to development but there are also important similarities. And there is a lot we can learn from each other.

It was in this spirit that 3 years ago the UK and China established a ground-breaking partnership on international development.

Since then we have established successful collaborations in investment, peacekeeping and building resilience to disasters. Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the National Disaster Reduction Centre of China to see how China co-ordinates its response to natural disasters.

I have come to Beijing because I think that the UK and China can work together more closely on development.

And by sharing our different experiences of working in the developing world, and our different skills and expertise… collectively we can lift more people out of poverty and help more countries develop, thereby reducing their dependency on aid.

I do not need to tell this audience that the last few decades have seen the most dramatic improvements in living standards the world has ever seen, with the number of people living in absolute poverty falling by half in 20 years.

Much of this was driven by China, where over that same period 680 million people were lifted out of poverty by virtue of your economic success.

There is now a growing conviction across the international community that if we keep at it, we can end absolute poverty within one generation.

I know the UK and China both believe that this must be the simple – but powerful – aim of the next set of development goals when the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015: an end to extreme “dollar a day” poverty for the first time in history.

Yet we know that progress is not inevitable. By 2015 there will still be 900 million people living in absolute poverty and these people will be the most marginalised… the most vulnerable… the most difficult to reach.

It is going to take a global partnership, working together, rallying around a clear and inspiring set of development goals to end poverty for everyone.

And today I would like to set out what the UK sees as some of the key ingredients for a powerful post-2015 framework that leaves no one behind.

Girls and women

As you know the Millennium Development Goals for tackling poverty really served to mobilise and galvanise the international community into action these last 13 years.

And as the deadline for the MDGs approaches, we can cite many real achievements, including visible improvements in all health areas and getting more children into primary education.

We need to finish the job of the MDGs and the next set of development goals must have a clear focus on getting the basics to absolutely everyone: health, nutrition, education, water and sanitation.

And I think that is something we can all rally around and agree on.

But we also need to tackle the issues that the MDGs left out.

Like China, the UK believes that gender equality needs to be a key focus for the next set of development goals. No country can develop properly if they leave half of their population behind and excluded.

In the last few decades significant progress has been made for girls and women. More girls are now going to school, women are living longer, having fewer children and participating in the labour market more.

But there is so much unfinished business. Globally, women do 66% of the world’s work; but women only earn 10% of the world’s income.

And in Africa, whilst 71% of girls attend primary school, only 32% go into secondary education.

One in nine girls in the developing world is forced into marriage before they reach their fifteenth birthday.

Since becoming International Development Secretary I have put girls and women firmly at the heart everything my department does. We are helping women around the world get access to education, financial services and contraception. We are improving women’s land rights and helping them access security and justice.

This July we will host an international summit with our Prime Minister David Cameron to bring together global efforts to help eliminate early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation. Two really but important, neglected issues.

This agenda needs global action if we are really going to deliver irreversible gains for girls and women. And alongside China we are supporting a dedicated standalone gender goal in the next set of development goals. I hope this can tackle critical issues at the root of gender inequality, such as ending child marriage and securing equal rights for girls and women to open bank accounts and own property.

This will help us go beyond easy wins and really start to overcome the social, cultural and legal barriers that hold girls and women back from playing their full roles in their countries.

Economic Development

I know that the UK and China also agree that a focus on promoting private sector growth and jobs is fundamental to the next set of development goals.

If you ask people in developing countries what they want – and it doesn’t matter at all whether you ask a man or a woman – they’ll often say getting a job and earning an income.

People – no matter where they are – want the opportunity to be financially independent and to have the dignity of being able to provide for themselves and their family.

Since becoming the UK’s International Development Secretary I have ramped up the focus on economic development.

Across the world, we are helping to dismantle barriers to trade, boost investment and improve the business climate.

British development money is modernising ports in Kenya and Uganda, upgrading roads from Uganda to Rwanda and cutting start-up costs for businesses in Nigeria.

And this morning I was pleased to launch a new UK-China partnership with the Ministry of Commerce, focused on strengthening Africa’s trade performance.

Over the next few months we will carry out joint research to assess how trade, investment and aid-for-trade from China and the UK can most effectively support growth and poverty reduction in Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya.

This partnership has the potential to lead to multiple wins, for the African nations themselves as we build up the evidence base on their specific needs and priorities in those countries, and for the UK and China as well. I look forward to seeing the results and to collaborating more on this in the future.

Stability and security

Gender and economic development are both key ingredients for post-2015 and I know that there is broad consensus on this.

The UK, together with many other countries, also believes that peace and stability for all nations is an intrinsic part of the fight against poverty.

When we come to agreeing the post-2015 framework, we must recognise that strong, effective, accountable institutions are intrinsically valuable outcomes in themselves – in addition to being essential for managing the risks of conflict and providing a stable environment for business.

I think the UK and China can find common ground here as well, and China is already making significant contributions to African countries in this way through its support to peacekeeping missions and efforts at mediation.

This is a really important agenda. We know that conflict-affected states have fared much worse in achieving MDGs and by 2025 around 80% of the world’s extreme poor are expected to live in these same countries.

And just as conflict destroys infrastructure, enterprise, schools, the very things a country needs if it is going to break out of poverty, I believe development can contribute to peace by addressing the root causes of conflict.

This is important to all of us. We all want our own personal security to be respected. And security and stability are vital for girls and women above all.

One in three of all women will be beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime; over half a million die a violent death every single year.

My department – the Department for International Development, or DFID – has a growing portfolio of programmes focusing on these issues.

Britain is assisting Paralegal Committees to help more than 1,200 villages and communities in Nepal to prevent and respond to violence against women and children. This programme has been so successful that the Government of Nepal has asked if it can be integrated into their own Women’s Development Programme.

When we come to agreeing the post-2015 framework, we must recognise that strong, effective, accountable institutions are intrinsically valuable outcomes in themselves…in addition to being essential for managing the risks of conflict and providing a stable environment for all.

We also know that integral to economic growth and development are the institutions and governance that support it. It means a pro-business environment, governments that bear down on corruption, and the rule of law so that contracts can be enforced and so that property rights allow people to invest in their property and keep the hard-earned gains.

On property rights for example, 90% of Africa’s land is estimated to have insecure tenure or contested land rights and this puts a major constraint on growth. The G8 land partnerships, launched during the UK presidency of the G8 last year, are helping to attract responsible investment through better assessment of the land related risks and how to mitigate them.

The Golden Thread, as Prime Minister David Cameron calls it, is not a Western agenda. We recognise the need for countries to craft their own policies and strategies to deliver governance and peace. It is about countries having effective organisations; about governments and judiciaries themselves following rules and inspiring confidence and stability.

But it isn’t only the UK that wants to see these issues included in the post-2015 framework: the Common African Position, adopted recently by African states, includes pillars on peace and security, and economic growth, as well.

This is a powerful message from Africa to the rest of the world and I hope China will join us in listening and partnering with Africa on the post-2015 agenda.

Conclusion: Why development?

When I make the case for international development in the UK I say: it is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.

The right thing to do because we are giving people, wherever they are in the world, the chance to stand on their own feet, to be healthy, and to be able to pursue their lives in their own way, to make the most of their talents.

The UK public consistently shows immense generosity when it comes to helping those in need. And the UK government reflects that with our development work, particularly when it comes to giving life-saving humanitarian assistance.

And development is the smart thing to do as well, because by driving growth and reducing the risks of investment in the world’s emerging and frontier markets, we have an opportunity to do even more business with them.

The UK has been one of the many beneficiaries of China’s own development. Back in 1992, the value of UK exports was just £600 million. In 2011, our two-way trade was £13.7 billion and growing.

International development means international trade and international trade means jobs and prosperity both overseas and at home. So working together is in all our interests.

Today the world is at a crossroad for deciding the future of international development. We have a historic opportunity to agree a compelling set of post-2015 development goals.

During my visit here this week I have been very pleased to discover how much common ground there exists between our two countries on the post-2015 agenda.

And I truly believe that if we hold the course and work together to address the issues I have outlined today, we can ensure ours is the generation that eradicates extreme poverty once and for all.

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, in Scotland on 3rd April 2014.

It’s a great pleasure to be here with you today.

As all of you know we are at a key moment for shaping the future of international development.

The Millennium Development Goals have inspired a generation. These unprecedented set of developing world promises have given all of us a clear direction, a path we can all follow.

It is a path we have followed. Over the past fourteen years we have witnessed the largest reduction in poverty in history. The number of people dying from malaria and HIV has plummeted. Polio is on the brink of eradication. Millions more children are in school, paving the way for more gains in the coming years.

I’ve just this morning returned from China, where much of the progress towards the MDGs has been made. There I met people in their 50s and 60s who have witnessed the most extraordinary changes during their adult lives. They’ve watched China go from a country in 1985 where 75% of people lived in poverty to one where that percentage had dropped to 13% by 2010.

They talked from the heart about how development had brought routine access to health, education and transport, transforming the lives of many ordinary Chinese people in just one generation. And I see no reason why we can’t help other parts of the world to achieve similar transformation in just one generation.

So we face a crossroads. The 2015 deadline is fast approaching and we have a genuinely historic opportunity to agree an even more ambitious set of goals and to finish the job the MDGs started.

The United Kingdom has an absolutely central role to play in this.

As confirmed yesterday by the Office for National Statistics, the UK is the first country in the G8 to invest 0.7% of national income on international development. It prompted a BBC Newsnight reporter last night to christen the United Kingdom an “aid superpower”, which probably isn’t far wide of the mark when you think about it.

But what matters is that meeting this long-standing UN target of 0.7 shows that we are fully committed to creating a more stable and prosperous world. It shows that while development is happening constantly, we – the United Kingdom – will not stand aside as millions of people across the world still suffer from the worst symptoms of extreme poverty.

And there’s no doubt to me that it is in our country’s DNA to get out into the world and make an impact. We take global priorities and make them our own as any responsible country should.

The UK Department for International Development is ranked consistently among the most effective and most transparent aid donors in the world. It’s something that I’m very proud of and I hope that you are too. The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee Peer Review – which as you know is the most rigorous international benchmark – has called DFID a model of good practice.

And the results speak for themselves.

Over the past three years, thanks to the work of the United Kingdom, six million children across the developing world have received a primary school education. 20 million people have access to clean water. 22 million children have been immunised against killer diseases.

But our support for the developing world goes much further than that. NIDOS, for one, has been doing incredibly important work on policy coherence, demonstrating that UK support for the world’s poorest people doesn’t begin and end with DFID.

By working with the Department for Business we have a major say in Britain’s trade policy, aligning international trade with what works for Britain and the developing world. Our work with the Department for Energy and Climate Change is helping to protect the world’s poor from the worst impacts that climate change can bring.

Scotland’s role

And the truth is that these achievements belong to all of us. Scottish civil society, and Scotland as a whole, can be proud of the immense contribution made with, and through, DFID.

It was just 50 miles up the road from here, at the G8 Gleneagles Summit in 2005, where G8 members in the EU committed to reach the 0.7% target.

This would not have happened without the voice of civil society – your voice – ringing in those leaders’ ears. And you have played a uniquely important role in helping us stick to this promise.

Scottish civil society plays a very significant role in the fight against poverty and DFID is proud to support the work of several NIDOS member organisations represented here today.

Working with Edinburgh’s Mercy Corps we are delivering clean water and sanitation to one-and-a-half million people in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the most deprived places on earth.

Alongside the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund we are helping to improve the lives of 6,500 disabled people in South Sudan.

With the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines we have helped to make rinderpest only the second disease in history – after smallpox – to be eliminated by mankind. And if you’re not up to speed with rinderpest, it was a cattle disease that for thousands of years caused famine, ruined livelihoods and brought untold suffering. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this achievement.

But that’s not all that Scotland with DFID is achieving.

Across Scotland, DFID, through our Connecting Classrooms and Global Learning programmes, is helping to ensure schoolchildren can learn about life in some of the world’s poorest countries. Our children are Skype-ing and talking with their peers in totally different parts of the world, learning through understanding.

Through the Health Partnerships Scheme DFID is working closely with the University of Edinburgh to improve palliative care in countries across Africa.

And I am delighted to announce today that we will be providing another £10 million to the Health Partnerships Scheme. This will enable health institutions across the UK to join the fight against poverty in the developing world.

And then there’s the UK International Citizen Service, providing young people in Scotland and the rest of the union the chance to volunteer for development projects in Asia and Africa, allowing them to make a direct contribution to the fight against global poverty.

So with all that brilliant work taking place, I want to recognise the commitment of the 600 DFID staff at my department’s joint-headquarters in East Kilbride.

At Abercrombie House, just a few miles from here, we have teams leading DFID activities worldwide, from supporting the UK’s overseas territories to improving governance and tackling corruption.

DFID teams in East Kilbride also led the work on last year’s major Nutrition for Growth summit, which was part of our country’s G8 Presidency. Through this one event Britain secured 4 billion dollars in commitments from donor governments and businesses worldwide, helping 500 million undernourished women and children.

And when disasters hit, like it did in the Philippines last year, staff from Abercrombie House play a role in our country’s response.

This is the kind of positive work that Scotland and Scots are doing through their DFID – through our DFID. Real impact across the globe every day, helping millions of people each year.

Now it’s true that the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund is supporting important work in Asia and Africa, building on Scotland’s great historic links with Malawi, and I pay tribute to that.

But what is undeniable to me – looking at all of the UK’s great work – is that we have a far bigger impact on the lives of the world’s neediest people precisely because we have been united in this work.

As the world’s second biggest aid donor the UK can make truly transformative interventions, as economies of scale enable us to squeeze the maximum value for money out of every penny we spend.

As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and with our own place on the board of the World Bank, the UK can ensure core values shared right across the whole of the UK are reflected at the top of these vital global institutions.

As a United Kingdom, we shape rather than follow the global development agenda.

Post-2015

And there is no better proof of this than our work shaping the post-2015 landscape.

The UN Secretary General recognised the UK’s standing as a world leader in international development when he asked our Prime Minister to co-chair his High Level Panel on the post-2015 development goals last year.

The resulting report said – rightly – that the progress made since the year 2000 means we now have an unprecedented opportunity to end extreme poverty within our lifetimes.

But this is in no sense inevitable. There will still be 900 million people living in extreme poverty in 2015… and these people will be the hardest to reach.

We face an enormous challenge. To meet it, we need a new set of clear, inspiring, ambitious goals that will build on the MDGs and address the issues they left out.

The High Level Panel agreed that in creating this new set of goals we should leave no one behind. I am also personally committed to ensuring we not only have a standalone goal addressing gender equality… but that the empowerment of women is reflected in each and every goal agreed.

The panel also agreed that 2015 represents an unprecedented opportunity to put development on a more sustainable footing. We need to manage the very worst risks of climate change while ensuring a more sustainable use of food, water and energy.

But critically we need goals that tackle the causes as well as the symptoms of poverty.

This means helping to create the conditions economies and societies need to thrive.

Peace, the rule of law, an absence of corruption, the recognition of property rights and institutions that serve all the people, not just a select few.

This is what economists – from Jim Robinson and Daron Acemoglu to Amartya Sen – want.

Most importantly, this is what people across the developing world want and need. They want to be able to register land in their own name so they can have the confidence to invest in it. They want a police force that is impartial and can be relied on to protect their families and property. They want to establish businesses to create the jobs that provide the dignity of work and the financial independence to be able to take their own decisions in their lives and plan for the future.

The UN has now asked over a million people what they want to see in the next set of development goals. Just below education, healthcare and job comes honest and responsive government, and protection against crime and violence.

Golden Thread

At the heart of all this is what the Prime Minister calls the Golden Thread of development. This is a thread that weaves together the values and conditions that lead to more stable, prosperous and ultimately successful societies.

The first strand of this thread is peace and security.

Stability is the foundation for development in all countries. A major lesson learned from the MDGs is that development simply isn’t possible without addressing the causes of conflict and fragility.

Time and again we find that conflict and violence correlate directly with the most extreme and intractable poverty.

Creating peaceful and stable states, from South Sudan to Syria, must be a priority for the international community. The violent conflict in these two countries has caused terrible suffering and displacement, setting back development by decades. It is estimated that the Syrian conflict has put back that country’s development by 30 years.

We, for one, have been doing our part, achieving tangible results on the ground. In Nigeria, our Justice for All programme is improving personal security and access to justice, focusing on a more accountable police force.

In just one year the percentage of the public reporting satisfaction with the police response in one Lagos suburb rose from 47% to 63%.

We are also helping to ensure getting justice is not the sole preserve of men. In Malawi, where links with Scotland go back over 150 years, DFID is helping women living in rural areas to gain access to justice, working with traditional community tribunals.

Before this programme began, only a third of tribunals included a female judge. Today virtually every tribunal assisted by DFID has elected women assessors.

DFID remains committed to supporting the people of Malawi, which is why earlier this week we announced funding for the delivery of essential drugs and medicines to 660 health clinics across the country.

The second strand of the Golden Thread is an open economy.

Last year, Afrobarometer published the results of a poll of more than 30,000 people across Africa. They asked one simple question: what is the most important problem that your government should focus on?

And there was one runaway winner: unemployment.

Men and women around the world want the dignity to earn an income, to be independent and to look after themselves and their families. That’s why, in my time at DFID, I have ramped up the focus on economic development.

The UK is helping to dismantle barriers to trade, boost investment and improve the business climate in the world’s poorest countries. UK aid is modernising ports in Kenya and Uganda, upgrading roads from Uganda to Rwanda and reducing start-up costs for businesses in Nigeria.

This work – which we are doing hand in hand with business and governments – will install the fundamental building blocks of sustained and inclusive economic growth.

We know that growth leads to jobs. But countries which are growing can also take responsibility for their own development, ultimately freeing themselves from a reliance on aid. This requires a tax regime, an effective revenue authority, and strong, corruption-free institutions that can invest these revenues in the vital public services that people need, like health and education.

For instance, DFID is now working alongside HM Revenue and Customs to help countries like Somalia introduce financial budgeting systems for the very first time.

The third strand is an open government and an open society.

While many countries are making rapid progress towards the MDGs, some are still lagging behind when it comes to giving people a say, through free and fair elections, government transparency or freedom of expression.

I don’t believe these are optional extras that can be permanently set aside by countries. We’ve seen time and time again that open societies and open economies deliver better outcomes for everyone – especially the poor. Sustainable prosperity spreads where people’s rights and freedoms – the right to vote, to trade, to start a business – are respected and enshrined.

The Challenge ahead

Peace and security… open economies and open societies: they are not only the building blocks of development, they are valuable outcomes in themselves.

Which is why we’ll be pushing for these Golden Thread issues to be included in the post-2015 framework.

I should say that it will not be easy. There are many voices out there who oppose standalone goals on governance and security.

But this is precisely the kind of debate – a debate about the evolving nature of development – that we all need to engage in.

And this also goes for the post-2015 framework as a whole.

To make the new set of goals ambitious and workable, we need everyone – governments, NGOs, businesses and academics – to get out there, make their case, and get people excited about what these targets could deliver for the world and its neediest people.

I believe that it’s a challenge all of us will grip because we know what’s at stake.

The progress of the last 15 years has shown us what can be achieved – and has given us sight and hope of what could be 15 years from now: the ending of extreme poverty by 2030.

United, I know we can do it.

Thank you.

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, on 4th March 2014.

Introduction

Thank you for that introduction, and I want to thank our hosts PLAN, Girls Not Brides and the UK Gender and Development Network for organising this event.

I also want to thank all of my officials in DFID who work on this day in and day out, for all of their efforts.

And I know there are charities, campaigners and activists here today who are at the forefront of helping to make the world a better place for girls and women.

I don’t think I need to tell everyone here how important the girls and women agenda is to me personally, and to my Department. Our Prime Minister talks about the Golden Thread of Development, building the kind of open economies and societies where everyone has a chance to contribute. Women and girls are an integral part of that challenge.

Many of you were present a year ago when I set out that the Department for International Development would be taking its work on girls and women to the next level.

In many areas, that meant getting to the root cause of the problem, which is about tackling the discriminatory social norms that keep too many girls and women poor and marginalised.

Tackling the deep-rooted prejudices and attitudes that mean simply being born a girl in some communities and countries, defines and limits what you can achieve for your whole life.

And in the last year I really do feel like we’ve made real progress on our strategy to help give girls and women a voice, choice and control over their lives.

We’ve helped more women access modern, safe family planning methods. We’ve helped promote girls and women as leaders in politics, peace processes and public life. And we are removing the barriers that so often prevent girls and women from contributing to and benefitting from economic development.

I am personally championing a new initiative to leverage greater international investment from a wide range of partners, including the private sector, to support countries that are integrating work on improving girls and women’s prospects into national economic development plans, starting with Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

And we are also scaling up our work on tackling violence against girls and women. And I’m particularly proud of the ambitious, world leading work DFID is doing to end Female Genital Mutilation in a generation, work that has been brilliantly led by DFID’s Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Lynne Featherstone.

I should also praise William Hague, the Foreign Secretary’s on-going commitment to addressing sexual violence in conflict through the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative and the UNGA Declaration of Commitments to End Sexual Violence, which have now been endorsed by 140 countries.

The gap on Early and Forced Marriage

So it has been a year of progress, and I’m really grateful to all of the campaigners, all the organisations here today who have worked with us. Together, I really do believe that we have pushed gender equality up the global agenda.

But I’ve felt that there was an area that we didn’t talk about enough, an area that has too often gone unacknowledged and untackled and that is Early and Forced Marriage.

In the past many of us have found talking about Early and Forced Marriage very uncomfortable. It’s generally been considered too difficult, too taboo, maybe too entrenched to focus on too much.

As I’ll outline today, I believe this has simply got to change.

All over the world millions of girls are being forced into marriage, many while they are still children, where they will come under immediate pressure to have children themselves.

And for many of us, as we grow up we realise there’s a whole world of opportunity out there – but for these girls, whatever may be the case for their brothers – when they reach adolescence their world shrinks. And hope gives way to a restricted, limited reality.

And this isn’t good enough. Nearly 20 years ago at a historic women’s conference in Beijing, the international community agreed with America’s then First Lady Hilary Clinton when she said: “that human rights are women’s rights…. and women’s rights are human rights.”

Since then the world has made great progress on gender equality…but as long as Early and Forced Marriage exists we have not fulfilled our promise to girls and women. Early and Forced Marriage remains one of the critical symptoms of the low status of girls and women in many societies, and of the day to day neglect of their rights.

It’s time for us to break the silence and take action.

A Human Rights Issue

DFID is already doing this in our campaign to help end Female Genital Mutilation.

FGM is something we have historically backed away from in many respects. Yet there are 125million girls and women across the world who have had their genitalia partially or totally removed – leading to a lifetime of psychological scars and serious health problems.

In many places FGM is carried out because it is believed to be in the girl’s best interests. Traditionally uncut girls cannot marry and are seemingly condemned to a life of stigma and discrimination.

Slowly but surely things are changing for the better. Women and girls, – and many men and boys, – leaders and communities are speaking out against a harmful and violent practice that holds girls, women and countries back. And we are seeing thousands of communities in West Africa deciding to abandon the practice of FGM.

Our job is to support them and to accelerate the pace of change.

And the UK is already leading the way as the world’s biggest supporter of activity to end FGM, something I think we can be incredibly proud of. Last year DFID launched a £35 million programme that will work in 17 countries to support the Africa-led movement to end FGM.

And I want to replicate the success that DFID and others are having on FGM with Early and Forced Marriage.

It’s another huge issue…Early and Forced Marriage happens all over the world…it happens here in the UK.

In total Early and Forced Marriage affects about 14 million girls every year. 1 in 3 girls in the developing world are married by age 18, and one in nine are married by age 15. Some are as young as 8 years old.

But as with FGM, we are starting to hear voices across the developing world saying enough is enough. We must support them.

Voices like Zambia’s First Lady Dr Christine Kaseba who recently launched her country’s campaign against child marriages…she highlighted the problem of Zambia having a statutory law prohibiting child marriage but customary laws allowing it.

She says: “We cannot have a situation where defilement of girls as young as 12 years is backed by the law! How then do we come up with strategies that can protect our children when laws that are supposed to protect children are so fluid and porous?” Her words.

And you only have to talk to girls themselves and hear how they feel about it to grasp how wrong this practice is.

Girls like Fatima from Egypt, who was 15 when she was forced to marry what she describes as a ‘grotesque old man with 6 children’. After being married she was immediately under pressure to have a baby, against the advice of doctors.

Girls like Lamana from Cameroon, also 15 when she was told she had to marry. When the day of the wedding was announced she recalls thinking, “how can I invite my friends to a forced marriage? I refused all of the ceremonies because I didn’t want to be a part of that.” She eventually ran away after her husband raped and beat her.

Lamana and Fatima have since received help from PLAN, one of several amazing organisations doing pioneering work to help girls rebuild their lives and speak out against their experiences.

But we know that there are many other girls who will never get to talk about their experiences.

Last year it was reported that an 8 year old Yemeni girl named Rawan died after suffering internal injuries on the night of her arranged marriage – to a man more than 5 times her age. She was just 8.

History, tradition, cultural practises…these should not and can never be used to excuse the unacceptable.

And Early and Forced Marriage is unacceptable.

The smart thing to do

It is not just about human rights. When girls cannot decide for themselves whether, when and with whom to get married and have children: it’s not just unacceptable for them, it’s a disaster for development.

Girls who marry earlier are more likely to suffer domestic violence and sexual abuse, they are more likely to contract HIV from their older husbands…

…Girls who give birth before the age of 15 are also 5 times more likely to die in childbirth than girls in their 20s…

…And the children of child brides are 60% more likely to die before their first birthday than the children of mothers who are over 19.

Early and Forced Marriage is also closely linked to low levels of economic development…Girls who marry young are more likely to be poor and stay poor.

In contrast delaying marriage and enabling girls to improve their education, health and job opportunities can not only help them to move out of poverty, it can also have a profound impact on their families and on their own children, giving them the opportunity to break the cycles of poverty that can pass from generation to generation.

And that’s why the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day ‘Equality for women is progress for all’, is so apt.

But as long as girls are being locked out of progress, valued only for their bride price…a country cannot develop properly. Transforming her future – means transforming the future of whole communities and countries.

Taking action against Early and Forced Marriage

So what can the UK do to tackle Early and Forced Marriage?

To begin with, I think we’ve got to beat the drum internationally and see the UK play a leading role in calling for greater resources, better coordination, and a stronger focus on this issue.

We need to step up as a country to join with Canada and the Netherlands, who have taken the initiative in actively supporting the Southern country leadership we’re seeing from Zambia, Ghana and others to push UN resolutions on Early and Forced Marriage.

I also want the UK to be at the forefront of galvanising not just statements of support and UN resolutions, important as they are, but shaping long-term international action.

As many of you are aware we are at a key moment for designing the next generation of international development goals, with the Millennium Development Goals for reducing poverty due to expire at the end of next year.

These goals have seen some huge successes over the past 13 years…but progress has been uneven, particularly for girls and women.

And it was fantastic that MDG3 addressed gender equality but in many respects the MDGs could have gone further in addressing discriminatory social norms, like Early and Forced Marriage. And in fact efforts to improve maternal health are among the most off track, progress on adolescent births has all but stalled.

In May last year the UN’s High Level Panel for the Post-2015 development agenda, co-chaired by our Prime Minister, alongside President Yudhoyono of Indonesia and President Sirleaf of Liberia, said we should be the generation to end extreme poverty.

The UK is hugely supportive of this and the Panel’s goal of leaving no one behind.

And the UK believes it is vital that the world agrees a powerful standalone gender goal post 2015. It was right that the Panel recommended that we have an explicit target on ending Child Marriage, alongside these other gender targets, and we will work to support this in the process ahead in the UN.

I will be raising Early and Forced Marriage when I attend the Commission on the Status of Girls and Women next week, holding a roundtable with Canada where we will champion the call for global action on this.

I also believe that in DFID we can do more to help end Early and Forced Marriage with our own development programmes and humanitarian responses.

As with FGM, we will build on what works, continuing existing pilots, scaling up where programmes are successful, and we will start new pilots to find more innovative solutions on what works.

Our FGM campaign has also shown us that to succeed there needs to be a grassroots movement, a real coalition of voices – girls and boys, parents, religious and community leaders, politicians – all speaking out against a harmful practise. This movement has really started to get momentum already. In December last year Health and Education Ministers from 21 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa set themselves a target to eliminate Early and Forced Marriage by 2020.

We must support them – DFID is working already directly with communities where Early and Forced Marriage is prevalent.

Our flagship programme in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, focuses on engaging with the whole community to change attitudes. It works directly with girls and boys through programmes in schools, including girls’ clubs, mentorships, economic incentives to encourage girls to enroll and stay in school.

It is early days for this programme but there are already parents who have changed their minds on the value of education for their daughters, and decided to keep them in school. And we know there have been over 600 marriages that have been cancelled since the start of the programme.

These sorts of programmes can show us the way forward. And DFID is currently developing more programmes like this one. We are looking to reshape our portfolio so more of our work has an explicit and direct focus on Early and Forced Marriage. You can expect to hear much more on this in the coming months.

The UK is also getting its own house in order on both FGM and Early and Forced Marriage. Legislation to criminalise forced marriage in the UK is currently going through Parliament.

Our Forced Marriage Unit provides assistance to victims, and it gave advice or support relating to a possible forced marriage in more than 1300 cases in 2013. But we know this is unlikely to reflect the true scale of the abuse. And we know that some studies have suggested that between 5000 and 8000 forced marriages take place in the UK annually.

At the beginning of the year the Prime Minister set out that in 2014 Britain will lead the charge on the empowerment of girls and women worldwide.

And just this afternoon Parliament agreed a new law, proposed by the MP Bill Cash, and I want to pay tribute to the work Bill has done on getting this Bill through every stage of Parliament.

This Bill will ensure that from now on the Department for International Development is legally obliged to consider gender equality before we fund a programme or give assistance anywhere in the world. And it sends a powerful signal about the UK’s clear intent in this area. It will be something we can take round the world and say to other countries we are doing because we believe this matters.

A Call to Action

Today I want to issue a challenge to everyone here, NGOs, charities, activists, businesses to help us bring Early and Forced Marriage up the global agenda in 2014 and then to keep on pushing.

These are complex issues and we need to work with lots of organisations and partners. And I want to hear from members of this audience on what they think their role can be.

I want to challenge businesses, our UK businesses to play their part to support girls and women in the sorts of countries DFID works in. This could mean sourcing more from women producers and business owners, tackling gender inequality in wages. It could mean offering flexible working arrangements, proper childcare facilities, parental leave and other support to all employees, men and women. Business is part of the solution too.

Finally, I want to urge girls in the UK to join us in our campaigning efforts on FGM and Early and Forced Marriage this year and to stick with us on the road ahead.

We know what a powerful force for change girls can be.

Girls like Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani school girl shot by the Taliban for going to school is now spearheading a global campaign for girls’ education, which is having a huge impact all around the world.

Girls like Fahma Mohamed who got a meeting with the Education Secretary after getting more than 250,000 signatures to her petition urging the Government to write to all schools about Female Genital Mutilation, which is exactly what we’ll be doing.

And girls like Muna Hassan, who will be speaking to us shortly about her campaign on FGM, which she started at the age of 13.

These girls took the causes they felt strongly about right to the top…and put the spotlight on governments and world leaders to demand, and get, change.

I recently visited a secondary school in Wakefield in Yorkshire, Outwood Grange Academy, and as I listened to the girls there, I was struck by how strongly the girls in this country feel about girls their own age having to go through FGM, being forced into marriage, forced into having children before they were ready. They wouldn’t accept it themselves and they don’t want other girls to have to put up with it.

Now I want to know what you think, so tell me on twitter @JustineGreening and #Transformherfuture

I’ll be listening, the Prime Minister will be listening…And we are taking your priorities and making them ours.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can’t pick and choose on human rights. You can’t decide to go for some matters and raise those, but leave others that feel too hard, too sensitive, too controversial to tackle.

Early and Forced Marriage is a human rights issue.

It’s not focused on enough because it’s complex to address. It takes time to address. Because it means a fundamental shift in attitudes, a shift in investment, in policy. None of these things are easy, but that should never give us the excuse to ignore it

And last year, I remember Tanya (the CEO of PLAN UK) asking me – what is the Government doing about Early and Forced Marriage? I gave an answer, but I knew in my heart it could have been better, and it was up to me and to Ministers to make sure we had a better answer.

I believe Early and Forced Marriage is, in effect, a litmus test for us. If we can ensure voice, choice and control, then girls will be able to decide who and when to marry. And when this happens a better future will open up for them, and for their countries, and for us.

The UK can but we also must show leadership on this, and we will. We will keep building on the growing momentum, until it becomes unstoppable.

DFID’s going to leave no stone unturned in tackling Early and Forced Marriage. We will do this alongside our campaign on FGM, alongside our work to prevent other forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence against women, and together with our work on helping women entrepreneurs get finance and land rights, on family planning, and on education.

By bringing all these things together, by keeping these issues under the spotlight, and by galvanising global action…we can give girls and women around the world the chance to write their own futures, and in doing so I passionately believe we will make all of our futures better too.

Below is the text of the speech made by Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, in Tanzania on 5th November 2013.

Introduction

I’m delighted to be here in Tanzania addressing this audience, and I would like to start by thanking Prime Minister Pinda for bringing us all together today, and the Capital Markets and Securities Authority for co-hosting this event.

This is my second visit here as the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development.

On my last visit, five months ago, I saw a country that can, and will, graduate from aid and deliver prosperity for its people.

Thanks to a stable government, growth levels of nearly 7% this last decade, exports of goods and services tripling, and the recent discoveries of off-shore gas: Tanzania is on the verge of an economic transformation.

The challenge is to keep that momentum going, to accelerate growth even faster and to ensure that everyone reaps the benefits of that growth.

The UK is determined to help Tanzania to realise its enormous potential and in doing so lift everyone out of poverty. The key to this will undoubtedly be investment, trade and jobs.

This isn’t news to anyone here. We know it’s jobs that help people lift themselves out of poverty for good. You need investment and trade for economic growth and jobs. And you need a thriving private sector, alongside a proper tax base, to support the health services, education system and infrastructure that everyone relies on.

This is really the lesson of the last 30 years – it is growth and jobs that defeat poverty, aid by itself is not enough. Which is why since becoming Secretary of State for International Development, I have ramped up my Department’s, DFID’s, focus on driving global economic development, making it a top priority to bring down the barriers that stand in the way of businesses and entrepreneurs creating wealth across the developing world. And in our country programmes, challenging ourselves to do more on the ground directly working with government and the private sector.

Tanzania is very much one of our flagship countries when it comes to this new approach, I believe things that work here can be replicated across Africa and other developing nations.

Today, and over the course of this visit, I will be announcing new DFID economic development initiatives that will see us work collaboratively with the Tanzanian Government, and the private sector, to plot a path for accelerated growth and jobs.

Mutual prosperity

This is in Tanzania’s interests – and it’s also Britain’s best interests. We share this common ground. As Tanzania develops, our relationship will increasingly move from aid to trade.

The UK is already the leading investor in Tanzania and there are 35 FTSE companies operating here.

But I know both our countries want to strengthen those commercial links even further and I’m delighted today, to be formally launching a new economic partnership between Tanzania and the UK.

Tanzania is one of five African countries, along with Ghana, Mozambique, Cote d’Ivorie and Angola, to be forming High Level Prosperity Partnerships with the UK.

These partnerships cover sectors where UK expertise matches the partner country’s needs. In Tanzania for example we’re hoping to double the number of UK companies doing business in the renewable energy and agriculture sectors by 2015.

I know Prime Minister Pinda and the Tanzania Government are determined to make a success of this high level partnership – and so are we. Across the UK government, DFID working with our Foreign Office and UKTI, we will be focusing resources on strengthening economic cooperation between our two countries.

And DFID will be stepping up work to improve the investment and trade environment for domestic and international investors – as evidenced by my second visit here in six months.

Business Delegation

This visit is the first time DFID is leading a high-level business delegation to Africa, reflecting our new market-making approach to development.

I’m delighted to be joined here by 18 companies, large and small, from Britain and around the world and all active in sectors key to Tanzania’s development, agriculture, capital markets, transport and logistics, renewable energy and construction.

Some of these companies have already won contracts here. For example Asco, an oil and gas company based in Aberdeen, has won a major contract to provide Supply Base services to BG in Tanzania. This will be operated out of the port of Mtwara and will employ over 100 local people.

Some businesses joining me are interested in expanding their investments in Tanzania and a number who are exploring opportunities for the first time.

As a British Minister I’m pleased that so many UK companies have come with me on this trip. I want to see far more British businesses joining the development push and working collaboratively with DFID.

I should be absolutely clear that this is not about bringing back tied aid. The onus will continue to be on British companies to show Tanzania, and other developing countries, why their offer is the best one – and I believe they are well placed to do this. The UK has been amongst the international leaders in corporate governance, and I know the Dar Stock Exchange is keen to learn from other corporate governance approaches, and disseminate to companies already listed, or planning to list.

At the same time DFID is committed to working with the Tanzanian Government, and with Tanzanian, British and international businesses, to help overcome the barriers that can stop businesses from investing, growing and creating jobs: whether that’s a difficult business environment, information gaps that hold back investment decisions or financial challenges.

Co-investment models

There are a number of ways we can do this. Key areas of partnership include the G8 land and tax initiatives which will see us work hand in hand with the Government of Tanzania. The G8 land partnership will put in place a Land Tenure Unit in the Ministry of Lands which will collect and publish data relating to current and future land deals, and develop a road map for land reform by June 2014. The G8 tax partnership will lead to a more efficient, effective, and fair Tanzania tax administration, and bring experts from the UK’s HMRC to advise on customs modernisation. The Government will also see more UK support to Trade Mark East Africa, which is reducing the barriers to trade.

But often the last, most difficult barrier to overcome will be getting the lifeblood of enterprise and entrepreneurship flowing – finance.

On my last visit here I spoke to businesses, including Agrica in Kilombero and Unilever, about how DFID could help collaborate with the private sector to unlock financing projects with clear development outcomes.

The clear ask from them was for DFID to not just look at traditional grants, but to invest in commercial partnerships on sensible business ventures that would also benefit thousands of farmers, employees, and consumers.

In this way DFID would share some of the risk that would otherwise stop investment from taking place – and we would also share the reward if the venture was a success.

Today I’m announcing that DFID is going to trial this new approach of working with the private sector here in Tanzania.

We’ve selected four local projects, which, following due diligence, will likely see us co invest with commercial and not-for-profit partners using returnable loans and equity, rather than traditional aid grants.

The first of these projects will see us co invest in a tea project, through a broader partnership with Unilever, and UK based philanthropic organisations, the Wood Family Trust, and the Gatsby Foundation.

This project is part of the Tanzania Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania programme. SAGCOT, as most of you will know is an innovative public-private partnership, driven by the Government of Tanzania, that aims to catalyse $2.1billion of private investment over twenty years and triple the area’s agricultural input.

DFID is already investing £36 million in the SAGCOT initiative. We’ve now earmarked up to a further £7.5 million to support this specific project, which aims to boost the incomes of more than 3,600 potential tea farmers spread throughout 27 villages. Importantly the funding will be returnable for subsequent investments with the Wood Family Trust that will generate development outcomes.

We are also set to co invest in three further projects, through the Africa Agricultural Development Company, AgDevCo, which aims to raise rural incomes and increase food security, and also reinvests all profit generated into further agricultural development in Africa.

Through AgDevCo, DFID will co invest in Equity for Africa, a UK based organisation that provides leasing finance to SMEs in the agriculture sector. This funding will allow small businesses to scale up, initially in the Mbeya region and in due course throughout Tanzania.

We’re also looking to finance Tanzanian Tea Packers Ltd who want to develop a site as a £ 1.5MW hydro power plant to directly benefit 430 smallholder households working for the Wakulima Tea Company, and to help raise the incomes of 15,000 further smallholder farmers supplying the tea company. The new plant will end the existing reliance on very expensive diesel generators, and will provide excess power to the TANESCO grid.

Finally we’re planning to co-finance with Kilombero Plantations, East Africa’s leading rice producer, to help finance their rice husk gasification plant – a potential first for Africa. This will allow the business to increase its land under irrigation and therefore its yields. KPL already works with over 5000 smallholder outgrowers and plans to further expand this These are all important projects for supporting Tanzania’s agriculture sector and ultimately feeding millions of Tanzanians. Furthermore we estimate that over 80% of the proposed funding will be returned to AgDevCo by 2021 and used for reinvestment in further agricultural projects.

DFID will be monitoring the progress of these projects and watching their success.

If we’re sharing the risk of launching or expanding a business venture, it’s right that we should also share the rewards. And by adopting new methods of financing, we will be able to redeploy our aid money many times over, multiplying the development impact.

I hope this innovative, self-sustaining, job-creating investment, which generates a return that can itself be reinvested, can be a major part of how DFID works in the future and complement the investment that CDC already undertakes.

Capital markets

These co investment ventures could be the short-term future for helping businesses to grow and create more jobs. However the long-term future for financing business growth at scale needs the development of capital markets.

It is capital markets that mobilise long-term finance for the public and private sectors. They also drive improvement in corporate, environmental, social and governance standards. And they give people, through owning shares, a stake in economic growth.

Tanzania’s capital market is at an early stage, with seventeen companies listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, but we’re seeing rapid expansion.

And it came across clearly from my discussions with CSMA, Dar Stock Exchange and others on my previous visit, that this capital market, when properly developed has the potential to transform the Tanzanian economy.

I believe the UK, which is a global centre of financial expertise, can play a key role in working in partnership to develop Tanzania and Africa’s capital markets.

We have already established strong links with Africa. There are 103 sub-Saharan companies listed on London Stock Exchange markets with a market capitalisation of over $70 billion. Since 2007, African companies have raised over $9.9 billion on LSE markets from international investors. But true success lies in having a vibrant capital market right here in Tanzania, in Africa, to meet the rapidly growing demand for investment.

And DFID, together with other development partners, is funding financial sector development organisations in Tanzania and across the region.

But we can do more to ensure African capital markets share in UK expertise.

I am delighted to announce today that DFID will form a strategic partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to support capital market development in East Africa.

As a first step, we will look at addressing the very real skills shortages that our country partners have identified as a critical constraint on market growth. We will be providing bespoke training for financial sector professionals, regulators and government officials, in partnership with the world-class LSEG Academy. Our experience, your entrepreneurship should make for a powerful combination.

Of course we’re not only concerned with financing big business in Tanzania. It is often smaller enterprises that hold the key to creating more jobs in communities across this country and more prosperous economies. But 69% of smaller-sized Tanzanian businesses have no access to finance, and only one in six Tanzanian adults has access to formal financial services.

The Enterprise Growth Market, that Prime Minister Pinda will shortly be launching, is an incredibly exciting initiative for providing much needed finance for smaller growing companies. The UK, alongside some of Tanzania’s other development partners have supported this initiative through the Financial Sector Deepening Trust of Tanzania.

Finally, I’m also announcing today that DFID will invest £4.4million in Women’s World Banking, a global network of financial service providers dedicated to achieving women’s economic empowerment by increasing their access to financial services, assets and resources.

And this investment, in a partnership with three commercial banks in the region including NMB in Tanzania, will provide over one million women across Africa with access to financial services.

Investing in women in this way is hugely powerful – we know that when a woman generates her own income she re-invests 90% of it in her family and community. Women are an engine of growth and no country can fully develop unless women are economically empowered as well as men.

Conclusion: Improving the business environment

Today I’ve outlined a number of new projects that will see the United Kingdom government and my Department, DFID, work with government, with business to help get finance flowing in Tanzania, giving existing and emerging businesses the economic lift-off they need to grow. Of course finance is one of the ingredients for success. There are more. If there isn’t the right kind of climate for trade and investment then businesses won’t prosper.

Over the next two days I will hope to hear more from businesses on the ground about how the UK can further support the Tanzanian Government to move up the Doing Business ranking – I know there are particular concerns around the complexity of the tax regime and availability of power and electricity.

Improving the business environment will be a key part of our Prosperity Partnership, and over the course of this visit I will be announcing measures to boost infrastructure in Tanzania and speed up trade across the region.

The World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference next month will be a very important moment for Tanzania. The UK is strongly supporting an ambitious outcome including an agreement on Trade Facilitation to cut unnecessary bureaucracy at all borders, which is costing business and ultimately the public.

This will benefit all those who trade, especially SMEs and firms in developing countries who currently have the least efficient customs procedures.

If agreed, we estimate this deal would deliver $100billion each year to the global economy – with $10bn of this going to Sub-Saharan Africa. So let’s all do everything possible to shout about the benefits of this deal and make sure we get the right outcome next month. 100% of a 60% perfect deal is better than a failed outcome which gives no benefits to anyone.

The UK Government will work with Tanzania, building on our new prosperity partnership, developing our commercial links and pushing down the remaining barriers to growth.

There is no doubt in my mind that with the right support and the political will, Tanzania can complete its success story to a middle income country, a major market and economy of the future, and in doing so, improving the day to day lives and prospects of millions of Tanzanians and generations to come.