Khater co-chairs 5th UN session on LDCs

Tribune News Network Doha Ministry of Commerce and Industry Undersecretary Sultan bin Rashid Al Khater and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Abul K...

Tribune News NetworkDohaMinistry of Commerce and Industry Undersecretary Sultan bin Rashid Al Khater and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Abul Kalam Abdul Momen chaired the proceedings of the fifth session of high-level meeting on Asia-Pacific Regional Review on Implementation of Istanbul Program of Action in Preparation for Fifth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries.Entitled ‘Structural transformation and resilient infrastructure for sustained economic growth, poverty alleviation, and decent work for all’, the fifth session’s proceedings were co-chaired in person by the minister of foreign affairs of Bangladesh from the headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva. Khater co-chaired the session virtually via video conferencing.The fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries for 2011-2020 is being held from August 30 to September 2, 2021.During his intervention at the beginning of the session, Khater stressed the importance of focusing on sustainable structural transformation to support the growth of the green economy, especially given the increasing repercussions of climate change in various parts of the world, and its impact on the least developed countries (LDCs). Khater called for a discussion on the various prospects for enhancing sustainable development and structural transformation in LDCs, in light of technological development and green growth initiatives aimed at rebuilding better post-COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, Khater stressed the need to ensure that strategies aimed at increasing trade exchange and developing productive capacities were oriented towards addressing the context-specific realities of LDCs.For his part, the Bangladeshi minister called on the session’s speakers to highlight the issue of structural transformation as a key priority in the zero draft outcome document that is currently under negotiation, and entails a range of important sub-topics, such as production capacities, private sector development, maintenance and development of infrastructure, and integration into global and regional value chains.The session featured a number of interventions and presentations by Minister for Economic Affairs of Bhutan Lyonpo Loknath Sharma, UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabelle Durant, Jamie Leather, chief of transport sector group, sustainable development and climate change department at Asian Development Bank; Microsoft Asia Pacific President Andrea Della Mattea and Dominique Burgeon, director of FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in Geneva.The interventions in the discussion session touched on three themes, including mechanisms to enable LDCs in the Asia Pacific region to fully capitalise on technological progress and regulatory best practices for improving infrastructure (physical transport and broadband) to meet the development challenges facing these countries.Under the second theme, the role of Microsoft as a private company was highlighted in terms of promoting entrepreneurship, innovation, value addition, and bridging the digital divide in LDCs in the Asia-Pacific. The third theme addressed the national and international policies that should be adopted by LDCs to develop the agricultural sector, and to ensure that the said sector was a driver of growth and structural economic transformation.It is worth noting that the Asia-Pacific Regional Review Meeting on the Implementation of the Istanbul Program in LDCs comes in preparation for the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which will be hosted by Qatar in January 2022. This meeting aims to make a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the Istanbul Program in the Asia-Pacific LDCs, as well as to share best practices and lessons learned. This meeting also seeks to identify effective international and local policies in light of the outcome of the appraisal, in addition to discussing new and emerging challenges and opportunities and the means to address them.