Activities of Secretary-General in Qatar, 3-5 March
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Doha, Qatar from Iraq after midnight on Thursday, 3 March.
Later that day, he met with Achim Steiner, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. That afternoon, he also held an internal meeting with his delegation which included Rabab Fatima, the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, who briefed him on the latest development of the fifth Conference on the Least Developed States.
He then visited the Al Jazeera Headquarters, where he had a brief conversation with the editorial team and then an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic.
Following this, he met with Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The next day, he took part in the family photo of all Heads of Delegation of the Least Developed Countries before delivering his remarks at the Summit of the LDC Group, chaired by the President of the Republic of Malawi and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force, Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General said that countries with the least need support the most. He added that least developed countries are trapped in vicious cycles that make development difficult, and stressed that the United Nations is determined to change the inequities created by an unfair global economic and financial system. (See Press Release SG/SM/21706.)
The Secretary-General then held bilateral meetings for most of the day. He started with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar.
He then met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and Law and Parliamentary Affairs of Lesotho, Nthomeng Majara. This was followed by a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan, Dr. Lotay Tshering, MBBS, MD and then with the President of the Republic of Malawi and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force, Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera. He also met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal, Narayan Kaji Shrestha Prakash.
Early on Friday afternoon, he met with Principals of the United Nations System, with whom he discussed ways in which the Organization is supporting least developed countries.
That evening, he met, amongst others, with the President of the Republic of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema and then with the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina.
He also met with the President of the Republic of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
He then attended the inauguration of the new UN House in Lusail City. In his remarks to attendees at the inauguration, the Secretary-General said that the UN House will unite our work in the country, bringing together development, humanitarian & diplomatic collaboration under one roof. He also thanked the Government and people of Qatar for their commitment and wished for many years of productive partnership. (See Press Release SG/SM/21707.)
The Secretary-General then returned to his hotel, where he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
On Saturday, the Secretary-General took part in the family photo with all Heads of Delegation taking part in the LDC5 Conference.
He then spoke at the opening plenary of the Conference in which he told delegates there that there is perhaps no more important issue around which we can and must unite than in transforming the words of the Doha Programme of Action into results. “We don’t have a moment to lose,” he said. He added that least developed countries are being stranded amidst a rising tide of crisis, uncertainty, climate chaos and deep global injustice, adding that a deeply dysfunctional and unfair global financial system is handing them the rawest of deals, with the countries facing interest rates that are up to eight times higher than developed countries. (See Press Release SG/SM/21709.)
The plenary was followed by a further series of bilateral meetings. The first one was with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar. He then met with Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, Education Above All Foundation and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocate. This was followed by a meeting with the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, and then with the Minister of State of the United Kingdom, the Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell MP.
At noon, he attended the LDC Business Luncheon on Investment and Partnerships, hosted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. He then returned to his office where he met with the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Vershinin.
In the mid-afternoon, the Secretary-General departed for New York.