Secretary General of UN urges international community to support the LDCs

UsaNewsOnline.Com, New York, 25 January : United Nations will continue to support the LDCs, especially in building their capacity and resilience, says the new Secretary General of the UN Mr. Antonio Guterres. He also urged the development partners to meet the agreed commitment to allocate at least 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of their GNI for ODA while addressing the 48-member group of least developed countries today at the UN Headquarters. This was the first meeting of the Secretary General with the LDC Group after his assumption to this high office. The Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Bangladesh to the UN, Mr. Masud Bin Momen conducted the meeting as the current Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of LDCs. The Permanent Representative of Bangladesh urged the Secretary General to take effective steps to support the least developed countries in their development efforts. Mentioning that graduation of an LDC bears the hallmark of the success of the UN, the Ambassador stressed on time-bound and country-specific support to the graduating as well as graduated countries so that they do not slide back to the LDC category. He also said that graduation of LDCs is imperative for the realization of the 2030 Agenda as well as for long lasting peace and prosperity. The Permanent Representatives of other Least Developed Countries also mentioned the multifaceted challenges their countries are facing. They strongly demanded tangible progress in fulfilment of commitments by the developed countries. The least developed countries sought the support of the new Secretary General in mobilizing resources for the newly constituted Technology Bank. The SG expressed his satisfaction at the growing number of LDCs reaching the criteria for graduation from the LDC category and also that many LDCs have expressed their desire to graduate as soon as possible. He reassured the LDCs of the support of the UN system in their graduation and underlined their need of support in the post-graduation period. The SG also emphasized on the LDCs’ duty free, quota-free access to market. He highlighted the importance of technology to combat poverty and climate change impacts and affirmed his commitment to take lead in mobilizing resources for the Technology Bank for the LDCs.