14 May 2001

The President today spoke at the Inaugural Ceremony of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Brussels. In his remarks the President noted that the LDC-conference is the first major UN conference after last September's Millennium Summit and therefore a test whether the Member States are truly committed to the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. The President stressed the importance of the Programme of Action which will be adopted at the Conference and called for a cohesive response by the industrialized countries. The full text of his remarks is available on the Statements and Messages page.

The President addressed also the Special Event of the LDC-Conference. In his statement the President gave his view on how the International Development goals can be reached, especially in connection to the LDC-countries. The President asked the international community to live up to global responsibility. He suggested using a multidimensional and integrated approach, where different policies reinforce one another. The full text of his statement is available on the Statements and Messages page.