Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) participated in the closed official session of High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which was held through virtual communication technology, under the title “Mobilising international solidarity, accelerating action and embarking on new pathways to realise the 2030 agenda and responding to Covid-19 in African countries, least developed countries and landlocked countries.” QFFD was represented by its Director General Khalifa bin Jassim al-Kuwari.
The virtual meeting addressed the need to enhance the capacity of least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and African countries to withstand economic shocks, in addition to addressing the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on the poor, including women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees and informal sector workers.
“Convinced that every country has relevant experiences to share, and every country has new things to learn when tackling own development challenges, we aim to capture and nurture local solutions that enhance resilience and stimulate structural transformation,” al-Kuwari said during the meeting.
He pointed out that many of the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and African countries have been severely impacted by the pandemic, due to fragility of health systems, limited coverage of social protection systems and limited financial and other resources.
He added that the exposure of these countries to external shocks and significant dependence on international trade and financing exacerbated the effects of the pandemic in many of them, in addition to the ongoing conflicts, instability and the climate crisis.
He said that challenges remain not to exacerbate the current situation due to the fragility of the economic system of these countries, along with several other reasons.
The meeting comes ahead of the fifth UN Conference on LDCs scheduled to be hosted by Qatar in March 2021.
The conference will provide an opportunity to share a new action plan for LDCs to build back as better, smarter and resilient in the next decade.
QFFD, in co-operation with international and Qatari-based strategic partners, played a major role in accelerating progress towards the achievement of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
These efforts are guided by the vision of ensuring inclusive and sustainable development for the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in societies and countries.
QFFD was represented by its Director General Khalifa bin Jassim al-Kuwari.
