PRESS CONFERENCE ON THIRD UN CONFERENCE ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Despite nearly 20 years of well-intentioned global conferences and meetings devoted to the development needs of poor countries, the poorest of the poor -– the least developed countries –- continued to be marginalized, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press conference this morning.

Anwarul Chowdhury (Bangladesh), Coordinator for the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), said that the past two United Nations conferences on those countries had been characterized by grand commitments, but had lacked any worldwide implementation.  He hoped that the upcoming Third United Nations Conference would make a difference.  That Conference, hosted by the European Union and scheduled to take place in Belgium from 14 to 20 May, would provide an opportunity to confront the economic isolation and severe poverty of the world’s 49 least developed countries.  “The expectation of LDCs is that an effective plan of action would emerge from this Conference,” Mr. Chowdhury said.  “Our hope is that our development partners have that same expectation.”

Mr. Chowdhury was joined at the briefing by Alounkeo Kittikhoun (Lao People’s Democratic Republic) and Daudi Mwakawago (United Republic of Tanzania).  Susan Markham, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly, introduced the panel and informed reporters that Khalilur Rahman, Deputy Director for the LDCs, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), was available for questions.

While recognizing that they desperately needed outside development assistance, LDCs had been actively working on their own, Mr. Chowdhury said, preparing to take advantage of the progressive, action-oriented initiatives the Conference was expected to generate.  Knowing that a successful Conference was in their best interests, LDCs had taken a cooperative, non-confrontational and proactive approach during negotiations on expected commitments.  Indeed, the proposed action plan, which included initiatives aimed at poverty eradication and economic instability, was perhaps the most comprehensive programme for any United Nations conference on LDCs and their development partners.

He said that the Conference would focus on several elements that could be considered new to the international development agenda.  Most importantly, it would emphasize partnership, particularly among the private sector and civil society organizations, along with national and intergovernmental actors.  Another new factor would be the issue of governance.  Effective governance was critical for any development initiative to flourish.  To that end, the LDCs themselves had committed to the democratic processes and rule of law necessary to ensure their governance was corruption-free and operating in line with international human rights agreements.  The Conference would also give priority consideration to initiatives and commitments that had already been undertaken.

Mr. Kittikhoun, who will serve as a Vice-Chairman on the Bureau for the upcoming Conference, agreed that LDCs were primarily responsible for their own development, but developmental partners and donors should not use that issue to place conditions on their international commitments.  Indeed, adequate international support was of the utmost importance as least developed countries attempted to strengthen their economies in an increasingly globalized environment.

He called on the international development community to focus assistance efforts by, among other things: ensuring broader, quota-free market access for LDCs; providing debt relief; and reaffirming commitments to agreed official development assistance (ODA) targets.  He was optimistic that agreement could be reached in Brussels.

Mr. Mwakawago said the media played a significant role in ensuring the success of Conference.  “When we speak of partnerships, we’re speaking to you too,” he told correspondents.  He called on the press to rally public opinion and raise awareness about the plight of 630 million people living in LDCs.  By example, he said that he had once been told by an industrialist that the only way business would invest in Africa would be if they were guaranteed political stability, trained manpower, reliable infrastructure and reliable energy.  Unfortunately, he said, the few persisting conflicts in Africa made it appear as though the entire continent was in flames.  That was not the case, but Africa paid a price for such a negative image.  The media could help present a more balanced picture of Africa and other LDCs, so that their populations would not be condemned to permanent underdevelopment.

An infusion of capital was most needed in LDCs for the development of infrastructure, he continued.  By example, he said that merely providing market access for produce was useless without the means for cultivating, storing, packaging and shipping that produce.  Ensuring adequate infrastructure was also crucial to reversing the negative impact of globalization.  How could LDCs compete in a global market that was increasingly characterized by e-commerce and new information technologies without help creating the proper infrastructures? he asked.  He added that the ODA the poorest countries so desperately needed would be directed to creating or modernizing competitive infrastructures.

Both Mr. Chowdhury and Mr. Mwakawago said it was important to emphasize that LDCs had been actively working to improve their situation.  Many had put into place macroeconomic, political and judiciary reforms.  Progress had also been made in the areas of regulatory frameworks and making bureaucracies more effective.  Poor countries had also made strides in identifying innovative development measures, particularly focused on poverty eradication and South-South cooperation.

A correspondent asked what part the Bretton Woods institutions would play in the LDC’s partnership plans.  Mr. Chowdhury said that the mantra of the past decade had been that economic growth was the most important development issue.  Now, however, international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, seemed to understand that ensuring social development and human development was also necessary.  The Bretton Woods institutions were developing policies that were more “people friendly.”   With that in mind, however, he added that it was important for all development partners to realize that a moratorium on debt payments alone would generate over $4.5 billion a year for economic development in LDCs.  

       What would the next move be for LDCs if the call for partnership and cooperation went ignored? a correspondent asked  “All we can do is wave the flag of partnership”, Mr. Chowdhury said.  “There is no other way.”  Because of their inherent weaknesses, LDCs did not have the power or resources to help solve all their problems.  The message was that, if the developed world allowed the

49 poorest countries to continue to decay, in the current globalized economy the entire world would soon suffer.

Mr. Mwakawago added that, while Africa had such subregional groups as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), those organizations were basically a “collective alliance of the weak”.  Mr. Kittikhoun reiterated his belief that international assistance was critical.  As his own country had been slow to recover from the 1997 financial crisis, which had been set off by forces beyond its control, it had become clear that there was a need to ensure the economic health of all nations.

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