Bangladesh Prime Minister’s LDC SUMMIT SPEECH

 Prime Minister  Sheikh Hasina delivered at the LDC IV conference in Istanbul on 8th March

Prime Minister’s LDC SUMMIT SPEECH :

Bismillah-er-Rahmanur Rahim

Mr. Chairman,

Distinguished Heads of State and Government,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalamu Aliakum and Good Afternoon to you all.

I am pleased to be with you here this afternoon today. The holding of this meeting is most appropriate for us to strengthen the LDCs’ position on its needs to achieve our goals. I take this opportunity to express my profound thanks to the government of Turkey for the warm hospitality and commendable arrangements for a successful conference.

Mr. Chairman,

The LDC’s meet today in the fourth conference, still insecure in their fragile and vulnerable economies with structural weaknesses and deficit in human asset. They are marginalized in trade, wealth generation, technology, connectivity and global decision making. In addition they are exceedingly vulnerable to external shocks. Though the LDCs have made significant progress on MDGs, no comparable progress was made in enhancing productive capacities and hence making forceful strides in economic growth. Therefore, LDCs need to redouble efforts to sustain high levels of growth for long period to accelerate development. This is possible with enhanced support of our development partners.

LDCs acknowledge that development is their own responsibility. Our partners must also acknowledge that the current state of the LDCs is, to a large extent, due to unfair treatment and a non-inclusive world order. LDCs continue to suffer from global inequity, falling commodity prices, increasing price of high-end manufactures and services, unaffordable energy and technology and poor return on foreign investments. In an ever increasing globalised world, mankind’s common goal for world peace, security and progress is attainable with only global cooperation.

The development partners have a clear responsibility for LDC’s development. Much cloud have been achieved if most of them had kept their commitments made in the very first UN LDC conference in 1981 and reaffirmed in Brussels’ Programme of Action for LDCs. It is unfortunate that they are even now not forthcoming when LDCs seek to engage them on a renewed and enhanced partnership. They continue with protectionism and point out their difficulty for additional aid commitments due to the recent global financial meltdown. This meltdown has also affected LDCs efforts to reduce poverty, enhance economic growth and attain the MDGs.

Moreover, global warming and climate change whose origin is in the developed world have adversely affected the LDCs the most. They have suffered in every respect because of slow-down in trade, export earnings, remittances, tourist flow and investment, and additionally spiraling energy and food prices. Food security is central to the needs of the LDCs. Food productivity, affordability, accessibility are of great concern calling for greater investment in agriculture and facilitation of technology transfer from developed countries to the LDCs. Moreover, the adverse effects of climate change are experienced worldwide and no where more severely than in the LDCs.

For Bangladesh, climate change is expected to affect the livelihood of one-fourth of our population, displace over 20 million people, and destroy existing bio-diversity and ecology. Most of the LDCs face similar situation and therefore, must be compensated for this adversity thrust upon them. LDCs must get support for adaptation and mitigation of climate change in their countries. As for the climate migrants, a new legal regime under UNFCC Protocol ensuring their social, cultural and economic rehabilitation, needs to be in place.

LDCs did quite well with domestic resource mobilization, institutional improvements and  development planning in the last decade but neither sufficient productive capacity has been added nor the expected human resource development has taken place. And that is largely because of shortfall in the commitments of the development partners.  The target for resource transfer was fixed in 1981 at 0.15 to 0.20 percent of GNI of development partners but it is only 0.09 percent as of 1991 and there is no progress since then. This must be raised to 0.25 percent now and for that necessary aid allocation criteria must be changed forthwith.

I would in addition like to just flag some of the issues that should find place in the Istanbul Outcome Documents:

• Trade with enhanced and meaningful access to markets of developed countries for LDC products.
• Developed partners must honor their commitments made in Brussels and enhance their commitments in Istanbul in the face of new realities such as climate change.
• Debt relief must continue under bilateral and multilateral frameworks for the highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) and other LDCs may be compensated for prudent management of their debt situation.
• Energy, including new and renewable energy, availability to the LDCs must be stable, cost effective, diverse, clean and affordable.
• There should be an undertaking on some way for transfer of appropriate technology at affordable cost to the LDCs.
• Commitment on removal of present impediments to free movement of labor to the extent possible should be made by all countries.
• Periodic monitoring of performance on the part of LDCs as well as their development partners on realization of commitments made under Istanbul Programme of Action.  A simple review conference as was done the last few years will not do some better arrangements must be crafted and followed.

Mr. Chairman,

LDCs need to graduate from their present status. Therefore, the Istanbul Programme of Action must create the conditions for LDCs to get out of poverty and underdevelopment. Our development partners must offer us space to develop necessary human, social and financial capital. Therefore, we would call upon them to renew, enhance and fulfill their commitments for support. We would at the same time like to call upon the emerging developing countries for all their cooperation and support so that LDCs can graduate into middle income countries within the coming decade.

LDCs by such graduation would have greater capacity to economically interact, thereby, providing added impetus to the developed world in making further progress in their developments and living standards. I believe that the Istanbul Summit could create the conditions for transforming the one-sixth of humanity that LDCs comprise into productive assets and attain dignified lives. Let us all, therefore, take an oath for a strong partnership in promoting human dignity, ensuring efficient development administration and providing good governance. Our real dream and hope is a common vision of a world with equal opportunities for all children.

I thank you.

Khoda Hafez!

Joi Bangla!

Joi Bangabandhu!

Long live Bangladesh!