On behalf of LDC group, Malawi leader thanks Qatar's support of $60mn

Malawi President Dr Lazarus Chakwera, who is the chairman of the Group of Least Developed Countries, has praised Qatar's contribution of a total of $60mn to support the implementation of the activities of the Doha Programme of Action for the least developed countries, and to support the expected results of the programme and build resilience capacities in those countries.In his speech before the opening session of the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), on behalf of the group, Dr Chakwera called on international partners to follow Qatar’s example."I am confident that our development partners will respond with the required technical and financial support in the same way that Qatar did,” he said.The Malawi leader added that "we must acknowledge that what we are doing here in Doha makes this conference a pivotal point in our contemporary history, a new contemporary stage has arrived in which we find that multilateral international co-operation and co-operation between countries that help each other on an equal footing is the circumstance of today”.He called for the participation of the least developed countries in moving forward on this path, the path of strengthening this momentum, referring to the lessons learned from the implementation of the previous Doha programme, which constituted a pillar within the efforts of the international community to develop the group of least developed countries and lift them out of poverty and qualify them for strong integration in the international economy."We should not focus on what other nations have that we do not have ... the real progress is owned by those who focus on what they own and how to use what they have in order to build their future in a better way,” Dr Chakwera said. "In our case (the least developed countries), we have the UN's Sustainable Development Goals that reminds us of the bright days that await us, so let's not lose hope, let's move forward until we finish what we started."His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani announced, during the opening of the LDC5, a financial contribution of $60mn, of which $10mn is allocated to support the implementation of the activities of the Doha Programme for the benefit of the least developed countries, and $50mn is allocated to support the expected results of the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA) and building capacities for resilience in the least developed countries.His Highness the Amir also called on development partners to follow the example of Qatar and take the initiative to support the implementation of the Doha Programme as part of the humanitarian and development duty towards the people of the least developed countries.The DPoA identifies five key deliverables that will assist LDCs in removing a number of structural impediments to inclusive growth and sustainable development.These achievements aim to bridge pervasive gaps in education, food security, and investment for sustainable development and resilience to climate change.It also aims to support least developed countries to exit this category in order to fully integrate into the global economy.