Senior Liberal Democrat MP Sir Menzies Campbell today took the chair at the launch of the “Trade Out of Poverty†(TOP) campaign in Westminster. The campaign, led by five senior parliamentarians from across the political spectrum including Sir Menzies, John Battle MP, Lord Hastings, Peter Lilley MP and Clare Short MP, aims to let the poorest countries prosper through trade.
TOP is a an independent, all-party movement dedicated to tackling poverty by helping the world poorest countries trade their way to a better life for their people. The campaign aims to mobilise support for helping poor countries to Trade Out of Poverty in same way that previous campaigns have forced governments to commit to boosting Aid and Dropping Debt.
Commenting after the launch Sir Menzies said:
“We live in a globalised world and we must acknowledge that poor and rich countries alike are interlocked. We must realise that trade is the key to alleviating poverty in the world.
“But international trade of the kind that is required is set to decline sharply and it will hit the poorest hardest unless we act now to open up new opportunities. We can and must take the moral and political leadâ€.
He continued:
“The current global economic crisis makes this initiative even more urgent. The worldwide recession is already generating protectionist sentiments in America and indeed Europe. The Trade Out of Poverty campaign is vitally important at this time to remind rich countries that the natural temptation to turn in on ourselves is a profound mistake which is not only damaging to ourselves but also to those whose plight is even more graveâ€.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is among TOP’s high profile supporters, endorsed the campaign and said:
“There can be no meaningful attempt to tackle poverty until the world’s poorest countries are able to trade their way to a better life for their people. I welcome the Trade Out of Poverty campaign, and support its aims to highlight the iniquities of the status quo and campaign for trade justiceâ€.
