Qatar urges international community to support sustainable development efforts of least developed countries

The State of Qatar called on the international community to increase the pace of work and strengthen partnerships to support the efforts of the least developed countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, by fulfilling the announced commitments regarding increasing official development assistance, activating climate finance related to the Green Climate Fund and the Loss and Damage Fund, providing a financial safety net in developing countries, alleviating the debt burden, and helping the least developed countries improve the management of their natural resources in order to increase their contribution to public revenues, and achieve structural transformation.This came in the statement of the State of Qatar delivered by Talal Abdulaziz Al Naama, the Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, before the Second Committee meeting on Item 21: Groups of countries in special situations, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.Al Naama said the Secretary-General's report on the "Follow-up to the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries" indicates that the least developed countries are still far from the right track towards achieving the goals of the Doha Program of Action and the Sustainable Development Goals, despite the significant progress made in some sectors. This requires taking urgent measures to support social protection systems in the least developed countries which face difficulties in fully recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and where 380 million people live in extreme poverty, and enrollment rates in secondary and higher education remain low.Al Naama noted the importance of investing in quality education, especially in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as a basis for achieving renaissance and achieving social and economic development, especially by investing in young men and women and providing them with skills.The least developed countries also face the repercussions of armed conflicts and the negative effects of climate change, which contribute to undermining progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, contributing to the disruption of economic activity, hindering efforts to develop infrastructure, adapting to climate and building resilience, and increasing displacement. The Secretary-Generals report indicates that more than 231 million people in the least developed countries are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, Al Naama added.He highlighted the positive role of science, technology and innovation, including artificial intelligence, and their long-term and multidimensional transformational impacts in addressing development challenges, particularly in health care, education, agriculture, governance and business; adding that the least developed countries suffer from a significant shortage in their scientific and technological infrastructure sd well as human and institutional capacities. In this regard, Al Naama noted the influential role of the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries.Al Naama said that the State of Qatar is proud for hosting the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in March 2023, which resulted in the adoption of the Doha Program of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade (2022-2031), based on its commitment to enhancing international cooperation and multilateral action, within the framework of the collective responsibility of the international community in addressing the challenges facing the least developed countries, and supporting their efforts in achieving the sustainable development goals, so that these friendly countries are not left behind.He highlighted the State of Qatar's leading role in implementing the Doha Program of Action for the Least Developed Countries by strengthening its partnerships with United Nations organizations and specialized agencies, and providing multi-year support for their basic resources, especially the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries and the United Nations Development Program, referring in this regard to HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's announcement on a financial contribution totaling $60 million to support the implementation of the activities of the Doha Program of Action, during the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.The State of Qatar, represented by the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), had agreed to finance two projects out of the five main targeted achievements of the Doha Program of Action, namely the food stockholding mechanism in the least developed countries and the mitigation and resilience-building measures. QFFD also signed a contribution agreement to enhance the capacities of the Office of the High Representative to follow up on the implementation of the Doha Program of Action, he added.The Second Secretary of Qatar's Permanent Mission to the UN, Talal Abdulaziz Al Naama, expressed the State of Qatar's aspiration for the success of the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, which will adopt a new work program for the next decade after the Vienna Program of Action. It also looks forward to the success of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, and to translate the commitments included in the final document of the UN Future Summit into tangible results. (