PRESS BRIEFING ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

PRESS BRIEFING ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

The time had come not to have more major conferences, but to “roll up our sleeves” and start implementing the commitments already undertaken, Economic and Social Council President Marjatta Rasi (Finland) told correspondents this morning at a Headquarters press briefing on the state of the world’s least developed countries (LDCs).

Joining Ms. Rasi were Rogatien Biaou, Foreign Minister of Benin and Chairman of the Group of Least Developed Countries, and Anwarul K. Chowdhury, High Representative of the Secretary-General for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and SmallIslandDevelopingStates.

The Economic and Social Council, Ms. Rasi continued, was in the process of preparing for its annual substantive session, set to begin in June.  The theme for the high-level segment, to be held from 28 to 30 June, was LDCs and the implementation of the 2001 Brussels Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries. 

The Brussels Programme of Action, a set of key commitments for implementing the Millennium Development Goals, includes seven specific commitments made by the LDCs and their development partners, including mobilization of financial resources, as well as governance, trade and sustainable development.

As part of its preparations, she added, the Council was convening a series of round tables on related issues, the first of which was held on 17 February.  The outcome of the round tables, the second set of which are currently being held at Headquarters, will serve as input for the June meetings. 

It was hoped, stated Mr. Biaou, that through the implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action it would be possible to make substantial progress towards the objective of reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger.  To do so, the LDCs, with their development partners, should meet the commitments contained in the Brussels Programme of Action.  One of the main objectives in that regard was resources mobilization, the theme of the round tables and of the high-level segment. 

The LDCs had several channels for mobilizing resources, the first being official development assistance (ODA), he said.  Bilateral partners should increase ODA, taking into account the commitments of the Brussels Programme of Action, which underlined that developed countries should reach the target of 0.15 per cent of ODA for LDCs.  While the 0.7 ODA target was for all developing countries, 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of that should be earmarked for LDCs.    

Other channels for resources mobilization, he added, included foreign direct investment; external trade, beginning with South-South cooperation; and debt alleviation, which could free up precious resources for development needs.  He also highlighted the need to make linkages with the Millennium Development Goals, the outcome of the World Summit for Sustainable Development and the poverty reduction strategy papers process.  In doing so, it would be possible to mobilize the necessary resources.

Since 1981, noted Mr. Chowdhury, the United Nations had been convening conferences, every 10 years, to address the needs of LDCs.  However, despite that effort, global attention and action for LDCs were not up to the expectations of the international community.  More needed to be done for the 50 poorest countries in the world.  This year’s ECOSOC session might well be called “the LDC session” because three of its four segments would be devoted to LDC issues.  The Millennium Goals, for the world as a whole, would not be achieved unless something extra was done for the LDCs.  The Millennium Development Goal indicators for those countries, which constituted more than 10 per cent of the world’s population, were not hopeful.

As to what could be done, he said that the ministerial declaration to be adopted at the end of the high-level segment should contain concrete, action-oriented measures highlighting opportunities for the international community.  One of the major ways to mobilize resources was to cancel the debt of the 50 LDCs.  Although not all of them were highly indebted countries, it was too much to expect the poorest countries of the world to continue to pay more for debt servicing than what they were earning from trade.  Debt cancellation was a sure and strong message from the international community that they were really concerned with the LDCs. 

In addition to ODA and foreign direct investment, he emphasized the opportunity provided through South-South cooperation.  It was estimated that more than $500 million could be generated for LDCs from technical cooperation support from fellow developing countries.  Also, foreign remittances, an area that had not been explored in greater detail, provided an opportunity not only for investment, but for poverty reduction in LDCs. 

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