In view of the forthcoming Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) due to take place in Istanbul, Turkey from 30 May to 3 June 2011, the Secretary-General has appointed a Group of Eminent Persons to advise on the strong international support measures needed to accelerate development in the LDCs.
The members have been selected in view of their high international stature, expertise and strong commitment to global development. They will be making efforts to raise public awareness and build strong political commitment in support of the LDCs in key areas, including trade, investments, technology transfer, official development assistance, building productive capacities, adaptation to the effects of climate change, and a stimulus package to manage the impacts of the global financial crisis.
The full membership of the Group is as follows:
1. Alpha Oumar Konaré, former president of the Republic of Mali (co-chairperson of the Group);
2. Jacques Delors, former president of the European Commission (co-chairperson of the Group);
3. Sir Fazle Hassan Abed, the founder and chairperson of BRAC, the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee;
4. Nancy Birdsall, the founding president of the Center for Global Development;
5. Kemal Derviº vice president and director of Global Economy and Development at Brookings Institution;
6. James Wolfensohn, chairman and CEO of Wolfensohn & Company and former President of the World Bank;
7. Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Sumitomo Chemical Company Ltd.;
8. Louis Michel, member of European Parliament and formerly the European commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid;
9. Louis A. Kasekende, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda and formerly executive director at the World Bank; and
10. Sir Richard Jolly, Honorary Professor of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex
The Fourth United Nations Conference on the LDCs is a milestone event for the United Nations. It will assess the implementation of the Brussels Programme of Actions for the LDCs for the decade 2001-2010 and reach agreement on a new generation of international support measures for the LDCs.
The Secretary-General thanks each member of the group for agreeing to work with the United Nations in this undertaking.