A U.S. report has put the Netherlands at the top of a list of countries that devote the greatest effort in development cooperation, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported Tuesday.
The list was compiled by U.S. thinktank, the Center for Global Development, and will be presented in Washington Wednesday, said the paper.
The Netherlands is closely followed by Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The United States itself scores a moderate average and Japan is well down the prestigious ranking list, it said.
According to the jury, the Netherlands has earned its top position not only with the relatively large amount of money it devotes to development cooperation, but also with the excellent quality of its development aid.
Although Denmark actually earmarks more money, the Netherlands has ousted it from first place due to Denmark's high levies on imports of agricultural products from developing countries and the high subsidies for fisheries in that country.
The list, known as the Commitment to Development Index, was first compiled in 2003 and examines the widest possible range of countries' development aid activities. It not only considers the amount of money spent on development aid but also national policy on trade, security and climate change.
Canada, for instance, which spends a great deal of money on development aid, only occupies the fifth place on the list due to its gigantic greenhouse gas emissions and large-scale supply of arms to non-democratic countries, according to the paper.
Germany occupies the 12th place due to its modest involvement in international peacekeeping missions. The United States' low score is mainly due to its refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
Source: Xinhua
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