Annual Ministerial Meeting of Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, at the Annual Ministerial Meeting of Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

 
Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you, Minister Hassan Ali, for your kind invitation to deliver a few remarks at this year’s Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Least Developing Countries. I apologise for being late; you will understand the schedule these days.

We meet today at a mid-way point of the Istanbul Programme of Action. We are halfway between the date of its adoption, and the deadline set for its accomplishment. We need to keep our eye on the prize. And that is to support the aspiration of at least half of LDC members to meet the criteria for graduation by 2020. If we are to succeed, we need to ramp up our activities as we move into the second half of the Programme of Action.

We have also reached another milestone. That is the signing ceremony for the establishment of the Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries. This is a significant step towards addressing one of the main challenges affecting LDCs.

I want to congratulate the LDC group, the Government of Turkey, the OHRLLS, the Philippines and all others involved in making this Technology Bank a reality. You have achieved target 17.8.

This demonstrates the power of partnership to achieve sustainable development.

I commend the Government of Turkey for hosting the Technology Bank and for its continued support for LDCs. Minister, this action is a model that other Member States can emulate.

We need to ensure that the Technology Bank has sustained, long-term finance. This needs to be backed by productive partnerships. I call on the international community to continue their full support to the LDCs in this regard.

National ownership is crucial. We must remember that LDCs governments have the main responsibility of planning their national development strategies. At the same time, developed countries bear a responsibility to scale up actions if LDCs are to meet the goals set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as the Istanbul Programme of Action.

Empowering and including young people will propel us more rapidly towards development.

MIROSLAV LAJČÁK

President of the UN General Assembly

Let’s build on this momentum and intensify our work to achieve the SDGs.
Financing for Development will be critical. All of our commitments will be meaningless if we cannot get the means of implementation right. Our partnerships will need to move beyond the traditional and embrace, in a more holistic way, the private sector, civil society and other key stakeholders.

At the same time, developed countries should fulfil their ODA commitments to LDCs. This is imperative for effectively implementing the SDGs in these countries.

Empowering and including young people will propel us more rapidly towards development. They are brimming with innovation and creativity that can be unleashed for global benefit.

At the same time, we have to reinforce the global commitment to action on the environment. The Paris Agreement is indispensable to our efforts to confront and repel the common threat of climate change.

If we fail, we condemn ourselves and future generations to face the existential threat of lack of adequate water, inhabitable lands, insufficient food and catastrophic disasters. We cannot, we must not fail.

We must also work to create and sustain peace. If there is no peace, there will be no development.

And I want to stress this again: the international community must meet its financial commitments to Least Developed Countries. This includes commitments made through the Istanbul Programme, as well as through the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development. ODA remains a critical commitment that must be met. At the same time LDCs need coordinated investment support from innovative financing and productive partnerships. These can take many forms:
• development partnerships
• South-South Cooperation
• triangular cooperation, and
• public-private partnerships.

Finally, let us work together to improve the structure and effectiveness of our United Nations. I stress our United Nations. We should seek coherent and mutually reinforcing outcomes that meet the aspirations of our nations for peace, sustainability and human dignity.
I am confident that LDCs will engage constructively in the ongoing process of UN reform.

Excellencies,

Let me close by once again congratulating you on this excellent achievement. I encourage other partners to support the sustainability of the Technology Bank through financial contributions.
We need to build on positive trends. We cannot afford to fall back. We need to work towards future graduations. And we need to sustain support to those who have graduated, or are in the process of graduation.

I look forward to engaging with Least Developed Countries’ delegations and working closely with you throughout this session.

Thank you for your attention.