MANILA, Feb. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- A special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Friday praised the Philippine government and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for coming up with an impressive Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) for 2004-2010.

    "I can say without doubt that this (MTPDP) in my view is among the best or the best around," said professor Jeffrey Sachs, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in a speech transmitted from New York during the Launch of the Millennium Project Report by thePhilippine government.

    Sachs considered the plan to be comprehensive enough to addressthe most pressing concerns of the country, in particular "the stunning antipoverty program that the NEDA and the other institutions have been pursuing."

    "I have been looking at lots of different studies and lots of different development plans and I can say that the efforts the government is putting into the national development are truly extraordinary," he said.

    He said the spirit of the report reflects the spirit of strategy of the government of the Philippines.

    "For us the process of achieving the Millennium Development Goals spelled out in the overview report and in the 13 volumes is to scale up investments. And it is notable that the core part of the strategy of the Philippine government is to raise the aggregate investment rate from something around 18 percent of the gross national product to around 28 percent," he said.

    Sachs highlighted the practical targeted large investments in three critical areas to achieve the goals (MDGs): investment in people, investment in the physical environment, and investment in infrastructure.

    "What we're recommending is very much in line with what NEDA isalready doing and what the government of the Philippines is already doing," he said.

    He also emphasized the need to prepare a financing strategy, which the government badly needs in light of the present financialdifficulties it is experiencing.

    He mentioned household expenditures, savings and increased tax revenues as important schemes to consider. International financingcan also close the gap, he said. Enditem