Fınance Mınıster calls for greater ınternatıonal cooperation for stable oıl and food prıces for LDCs

Istanbul, 10 May : Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith called upon the international community to strengthen measures for stabilizing oil and food prices for the least developed countries. He was speaking at the high-level special event on “Macroeconomic Policies for LDCs: From Economic Recovery to Sustainable Development”, organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs on the sidelines of the UN-LDC IV Conference here in Istanbul. Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Kemal Dervis, the former Finance Minister of Turkey and the former head of UNDP and Min Zhu, the Deputy Managing Director of IMF also spoke at the session as panelists. Muhith underscored the role for an “international public sector” in coordination of international macroeconomic policies, in protecting LDCs against external economic shocks.  The Finance Minister also highlighted the creative measures that the current government undertook to minimize the impacts  of the current economic downturn, including food security measures, strengthening social safety nets and fiscal stimulus programs.  He pointed out that like other LDCs, Bangladesh faced the constraints of limited export growth due to the current global economic slow-down and the rising food prices in the international market posed threats to Bangladesh’s food security. Press Release.