THIRD UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

(BRUSSELS, 14-20 MAY 2001)

STATEMENT BY H.E. Mr. IOANNIS KASOULIDES, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

OF THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS, HEAD OF DELEGATION (16 May 2001)

(check against delivery)

Mr. President,

Three decades of efforts in favour of the Least Developed Countries have not changed the overall picture of increasing poverty and marginalisation of the Least Developed Countries. The constraints of development have shown the great challenge facing the LDCs and the international community in its duty to improve their dire situation. The unfortunate reality is that more than one-fourth of the member-states of the United Nations, comprising more than one-tenth of the world's population, see no prospect of sharing in the benefits that the new international environment offers.

The international community, as affirmed by the Millennium Declaration, bears a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level and to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all the peoples of the world. Substantial progress has to be made towards the international development goals of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015 and promoting the sustainable development of the Least Developed Countries.

Poverty eradication requires a broad approach, addressing the economic, social and economic aspects of the problem. Such an approach calls for the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, the LDCs, their development partners, the private sector, civil society, and international organizations. For this reason, Cyprus fully supports the thrust of the Programme of Action. Special attention should be given by LDCs to issues like good governance, the fight against corruption, full respect of human rights, peace, social stability, gender equality and institutional capacity building.

Despite the fact that the main responsibility rests with the countries concerned, the international community bears a significant responsibility in creating an environment conducive to development and the elimination of poverty. Furthermore, it has to assist the Least Developed Countries to formulate and effectively implement appropriate policies that would lead to sustained growth.

To do so, the international community has to adequately address the vulnerabilities of the Least Developed Countries. Limited productive capacity, natural disasters and communicable diseases, poor infrastructure, limited access to education, health services and natural resources, to name a few, have to be dealt with. At the same time, development policies will only yield concrete results if they are adjusted to the special capacities and needs of each individual country.

In reviewing the progress made during the last decade, it is evident that the results are not encouraging. In their effort to meet international development targets, the Least Developed Countries call for public and private direct investment, which unfortunately is concentrated to a small number of countries. They call for continuation of the policies aimed at early debt relief and for increasingly broader market access for LDC exports of goods and services. The declining trend in developed countries' financial contribution through ODA to poverty alleviation and development in the countries concerned must urgently be reversed. Equally, development policies require substantial improvement in aid effectiveness. The need for providing deeper, faster and broader debt relief is more than ever urgent and in this respect, we firmly support the financing and implementation of the HIPC initiative.

We also believe that the international community, in its fight against the HIV/AIDS, should show a special concern for the economic difficulties facing most of the least developed countries in confronting the AIDS epidemic, -malaria, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. We are encouraged by the recent attention given and the efforts of both the developing countries and their developed partners to fight the epidemic and put AIDS-devastated societies back on their feet.

Mr. President,

The path of open trade and open markets has brought unprecedented growth during the second half of the last century. We firmly believe that ultimately, such a multilateral trading system will be for the benefit of all. International support for the export sector of the Least Developed Countries is essential not only for poverty reduction and economic growth but for attracting foreign investors as well. In this respect, we welcome the European Union's initiative "Everything but Arms" by which as from last March, all duties and quotas for essentially all products from the Least Developed Countries are eliminated. We sincerely hope that other actors will take a similar approach and we are encouraged by the commitments made by some other developed countries.

Cyprus, which is proceeding speedily in its accession negotiations with the European Union, will carefully review its policies in light of the adoption by the Union of the relevant regulation and upon its accession will implement it fully. We are also actively considering an overhaul of its assistance programmes both at the institutional and financial level. Moreover, in a spirit of solidarity, Cyprus is examining ways at increasing its already existing emergency relief assistance. At the same time, we will continue to support national development policies by providing technical assistance.

Mr. President,

In revisiting the agenda for the least developed countries, we firmly believe that a new global partnership must be forged, based on the mobilization of the entire international community including all financial, economic and trade bodies as well as the United Nations system. Increased coordination between all those involved is of crucial importance.

We earnestly hope that this will not be just another conference with pledges that are not going to be implemented. Reaching a consensus on the text of yet another Programme of Action does not suffice. What can really make the difference this time is the implementation of the commitments made and the review of the Programme of Action as necessitated by new and evolving developments.

Mr. President,

Assisting the Least Developed Countries to confront their grave daily reality of poverty and underdevelopment will be evidence of our global ethos but also it is in our common interest. We must recognize that the precarious state of the less fortunate of our community inhibits the prospects of economic growth at the global level and restricts the prospects for gaining the most out of globalisation. Indeed, Mr. President, our actions should not be geared towards the ephemeral pursuit of short-term objectives, but rather, should be governed by the belief that we are only the custodians of this planet, which we should improve for the generations to come.

It is obvious that what we need is to intensify the dialogue and coordination among all stakeholders so that we pursue policies of inclusion. We must, therefore, act individually and collectively as states, as well as support the valuable efforts of civil society, for managing change for the common good.