The second session of the intergovernmental Preparatory Committee for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries opened at Headquarters today with delegates — mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 on the world’s poorest nations as they struggle to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals — aiming to finalize a draft programme of action for when the Conference takes place in Doha, Qatar, on 23 to 27 January 2022.

Reducing the cost of remittances is key to helping the world’s poorest countries marshal the resources needed to graduate from their low-income status and reliably finance sustainable development, experts said today as the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries concluded.

The world’s poorest nations need international support to build their digital infrastructure and reskill their workforce so that they can better integrate into the sprawling global value chain, speakers told the Preparatory Committee for the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries 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.