Development

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the opening of the African Dialogue Series, today:

Digital connectivity and access to modern technologies are essential for least developed countries to reap the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution and build resilient economies after the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, speakers and panellists told the Preparatory Committee for the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries today.

Access to finance and technology and building resilience against climate change, natural disasters and other shocks are among the key drivers of sustainable development for the world’s poorest countries, speakers said today as the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries got under way.

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a stress test for the repositioned United Nations development system, which rose to the challenge and has made the most of the Organization’s assets to help countries worldwide emerge stronger from the crisis, senior officials of the Economic and Social Council said today, as it concluded a three-day annual segment on operational activities for development.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Economic and Social Council operational activities segment for Session 8:  “Unleashing the United Nations development system’s regional assets:  The path forward”, today:

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Economic and Social Council Operational Activities segment, today:

Five years after the 2017 influx into Bangladesh of Rohingya refugees, food security in Cox’s Bazar remains a top priority, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports.  A joint response plan calls for $943 million to help the refugees and their host communities; 25 per cent of the funds will go to fight hunger and malnutrition.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the World Tourism Organization Sustainable Development Goals Global Startup Competition, in Madrid today:

The United Nations development system is better positioned thanks to recent reforms but more can and must be done to improve its effectiveness at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out a decade of achievements in some countries, delegates told the Economic and Social Council today at the opening of its three-day segment on operational activities for development.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Economic and Social Council segment on Operational Activities for Development:  presentation of report and vision for the continuation of United Nations reform and the implementation of the 2020 Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review in times of crisis, held today: