President Clinton Concludes CGI Asia Meeting. Commitments unveiled have estimated value of US$185 million, to impact more than 10 million lives

Hong Kong
December 2 2008 former President Clinton concluded the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Asia meeting, which resulted in numerous examples of CGI members' Commitments to Action that will positively impact lives across the globe.

CGI participants focused on the three main CGI Asia topics: education, energy & climate change and public health. The program also acknowledged the current economic climate with a plenary session on coping with the financial crisis.

During the concluding day of CGI Asia there were announced several important commitments. The World Food Programme and a diverse group of commitment-makers came together to improve nutrition in Asia with a focus on feeding more people with better food, targeting vulnerable groups in emergency and post-disaster situations and long-term food security. This far-reaching ‘mega-commitment' includes 6 different CGI commitments involving 8 countries and is valued at US$20 million dollars.

Other commitments include:

• Laureate Education, Inc. commits US$10 million over 4 years to improve the quality of teaching and learning in 12 countries by providing 1,000 teachers with scholarships to obtain advanced degrees. Over the next 15 years, scholarships provided by Laureate will positively impact more than 500,000 students around the world.
• The AWECA Foundation commits US$2.8 million over five years to provide vocational training to 2,000 out-of-school and displaced youths, and to integrate a practical training component in 250 rural, public elementary schools.
• The Wu Zhi Qiao Charitable Foundation, along with its partners, is committing US$420,000 over two years to work with universities in Hong Kong and mainland China to construct six "footbridges" and "green" houses in various rural villages of the Gansu and Sichuan provinces of China; in an effort to improve the livelihoods and well-being of 5,200 poor villagers.
• The Lifeline Express Hong Kong Foundation, the Chinese Ministry of Health, and the International Council of Ophthalmology commit US$7 million over 1 year to reduce blindness in rural China by providing more than 100,000 people with free cataract surgery and training 6,000 doctors.

Among the distinguished Asian and international attendees that participated in CGI Asia are
• current and former government leaders including Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines; Lee Kuan Yew, Minister Mentor and Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore; José María Figueres Olsen, Former President of Costa Rica; Chandrika Kumaratunga, Former Executive President of Sri Lanka; Hong-Koo Lee, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea; Anand Panyarachun, Former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand; Fauzi Bowo, Governor of Jakarta; Yoriko Kawaguchi, Member of the House of Councilors Japan; Yuriko Koike, Member of the House of Representatives of Japan; Quoc Trieu Nguyen, Vietnamese Minister of Health; Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; and C.H. Tung, Former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region;
• business leaders such as Po Chung, Chairman Emeritus, DHL International Limited; Richard Elman, CEO, Noble Group Limited; Victor Fung, Chairman, Li & Fung Group; Yoshito Hori, Chairman & CEO, Globis Group; Jack Ma, Chairman and CEO, Alibaba Group; Oki Matsumoto, CEO, Monex Inc; Victor Pinchuk, Founder and Chairman, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation; Datuk Vinod Sekhar, President and Group Chief Executive, The Petra Group; Edwin Soeryadjaya, Chairman, Saratoga Capital; Tulsi Tanti, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Energy Ltd.; and Zhang Xin, CEO, SOHO China Ltd; celebrated entertainers and philanthropists such as Jet Li, Founder, One Foundation; economic and development leaders including Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General, ASEAN;
• and leading practitioners in public policy such as Manju Bharat Ram, Founder and Chairperson, the Shri Ram School and David Ho, Director and CEO, Aaron Diamond Aids Research Centre.

CITATIONS

CGI Founder, 42nd President of the USA Bill Clinton: "I am truly impressed by our Clinton Global Initiative members and the new commitments announced this week that will bring real, measurable change to millions lives in Asia and across the world," said President Clinton. "CGI Asia members have made commitments worth an estimated total value of US$185 million, to positively impact more than 10 million lives."

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd addressed the CGI Asia meeting by video.

"We need new ideas to confront and solve the myriad of challenges which lie ahead of us this century," said Prime Minister Rudd. "I look forward to working with all those gathered at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting to move our world forward towards a new chapter in human history."

EDITORS NOTE

Established in 2005 as a project of the non-partisan William J. Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. The CGI community includes: CGI University, a forum to engage college students in global citizenship; CGI Asia, the first in a series of regional CGI meetings; and, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anyone can commit to helping improve lives.

Information on the Clinton Global Initiative and all CGI member commitments can be found at www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.

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