Opening Statement by Ms. Rabab Fatima at the High-Level Meeting on “Forging Ambitious Global Partnerships for Sustainable and Resilient Graduation of LDCs”

His Excellency Sheikh Thani bin Hamad Al-Thani, Chairperson of the Qatar Fund for Development,
Her Excellency Mariam Al Misnad, Minister of State for International Cooperation at Ministry of Foreign Affairs
His Excellency Mr. Amrit Rai, Chair of LDC Group,
Hon’ble Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It’s an honour and privilege to welcome you to the High-level Meeting on “Forging Ambitious Global Partnerships for Sustainable and Resilient Graduation of Least Developed Countries”. 

It is wonderful to be back in Doha, where three years ago at the fifth UN Conference of Least Developed Countries - LDC5 - the transformative journey of the Doha Programme of Action began. 

Returning to Doha reminds us of the bold ambition, enduring solidarity, and shared commitments that shaped the DPOA and continue to guide our efforts today.

Allow me at the outset to express our deep appreciation to the Government and the people of Qatar for their warm hospitality and unwavering support to this agenda.  Qatar’s leadership - including its sustained partnership through the Qatar Fund for Development - has been instrumental in advancing the DPOA and strengthening the architecture of global support for LDCs.

The theme of this meeting is both timely and forward looking. Our shared objective is clear:  graduation must not be a point of vulnerability. Rather it must serve as a launchpad for sustained resilience, inclusive growth, and long-term partnership. 

This meeting offers us a valuable opportunity to mobilize transformative partnerships, reinforce mutual accountability, and shape actionable policies that enable every graduating country to move forward with confidence, enhanced capacity, and renewed optimism.

And for the first time we have brought together all the graduating LDCs and recently graduated countries to share their experiences and identify practical pathways to make graduation smooth and sustainable. 

Excellencies,

As you will recall,  the LDC category was established by the UN General Assembly in 1971, in recognition of the need for special international support for these countries. 

Today, we meet at a moment of profound significance for the LDCs. More countries are meeting the graduation thresholds now than at any point of time since the category’s creation. From an initial group of 25 countries - growing to 52 at its peak - the LDC group now stands at 44.

Eight countries have graduated successfully, including most recently Bhutan and São Tomé and Príncipe. Fourteen others are progressing steadily and are expected to graduate by the end of this decade.

For the first time, Asian and African LDCs are graduating in equal numbers - a testament to the resilience, determination, and leadership of these countries, and to the support and solidarity of the international community.

Yet this progress is unfolding in a fragile global context. Graduating LDCs continue to face persistent structural vulnerabilities: narrow production and export bases, modest productive capacities, declining fiscal space, rising debt burdens, and intensifying climate-related shocks. These challenges do not disappear with graduation. Rather they often become more pronounced as LDC-specific support measures begin to phase out.

But it is equally important to underscore that graduation is foremost a national achievement - and its sustainability depends primarily on strong, nationally driven reforms, well-sequenced policies, and effective and timely implementation of Smooth Transition Strategies. The role of the international community is to support, accompany, and reinforce these national efforts.

Excellencies,

Three years into DPOA implementation, we are witnessing encouraging progress. Many LDCs are investing in people, science, technology, and innovation, early warning systems, infrastructure, and economic diversification.

The DPOA’s key deliverables - the Food Stockholding Mechanism, the Resilience-Building Mechanism, the International Investment Support Centre, the Online University for STEM, and the Sustainable Graduation Support Facility (iGRAD) - are now moving into concrete implementation. And I thank the Government of Qatar for its continued generous and steadfast support in making that happen. 

Together, these deliverables constitute a new generation of tools to anticipate risks, support resilience, and accompany countries before, during, and after graduation.

Yet much more needs to be done. 

As we start our discussions here, allow me to highlight some strategic actions to guide our collective efforts.

Firstly, graduation marks a significant milestone, and its success requires countries to continue strengthening policies, systems, and institutions so that development gains remain durable and irreversible.

At the same time, this transition must be accompanied by steady and predictable international support. As LDC-specific support measures are phased out, it is essential that graduating countries do not face abrupt gaps that could undermine progress or heighten vulnerability.

Graduation therefore brings shared responsibilities: nationally, to deepen reforms and build diversified, resilient economies; and globally, to provide coherent, timely, and well-aligned support that prevents “graduation cliffs.”

To truly incentivize graduation in both letter and spirit, it must serve as a gateway to greater opportunity - opening access to more diversified and innovative financing, enabling deeper and more mutually beneficial trade and investment, and fostering deeper, more confident engagement in the global economy.

Second, the vulnerabilities confronting LDCs are complex and highly differentiated. 

The type and intensity of support a country requires depends on the extent to which it has relied on LDC-specific international support measures, the composition of its export base, its exposure to internal and external shocks, and its structural constraints.

Some countries remain deeply dependent on preferential market access, ODA, or climate finance, while others grapple with narrow export bases, high debt, or extreme vulnerability to climate and external shocks. 

And the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the situation.  It exposed profound differences in national resilience and capacity gaps in managing a crisis of such magnitude.

These diverse complexities on the ground demand tailored, context-responsive transition arrangements. A “one-size-fits-all” approach is neither viable nor sustainable. 

 Therefore, transition arrangements need to be tailored, evidence-based, and responsive to country-specific needs and risk profile.

Third, the phase out of international support measures must be gradual and predictable, as affirmed by UNGA resolutions on smooth transitions. 

But preparing for this phase-out also requires LDCs to anticipate and adapt policies, broaden productive bases, and mobilize domestic resources.

 Given the fact that more LDCs are now on the graduation pipeline than ever before, a global consensus for more adaptive support windows, systematically aligned with a country’s readiness, critical needs, and structural vulnerabilities is more urgent than ever.  

Fourth, there are important support measures already in place for a certain period after graduation, including the European Union’s Everything but Arms (EBA) initiative, the UNCDF’s financial inclusion work, specialized support for climate adaptation and resilience building, as well as by the EIF and the UN Technology Bank, and the DPOA deliverables.  

But sustained transition requires country-driven planning, coordinated One-UN support, and stronger engagement from development and trading partners.  The UN Inter-Agency Task Force for Graduation that my Office chairs, will continue to ensure UN system-wide support on graduation.

The Sustainable Graduation Support Facility (iGRAD), an important DPOA deliverable, led by my office, is an operational innovation, offering demand-driven, country-specific technical support, diagnostics, and risk management. 

The enhanced monitoring mechanism (EMM) and crisis response process (CRP) as mandated by the DPOA, must also become more closely aligned with national needs and situations.

Fifth: We must move beyond ad-hoc approaches and make full and effective use of the arrangements and guidance already established under the DPOA. This includes drawing on the crisis-management expertise that exists across the United Nations system and other partners to ensure coordinated engagement - both during periods of crisis and through regular monitoring and follow-up.

Where significant shocks or capacity constraints persist, preparatory periods may require flexibility. Readiness assessments - as piloted in Lao PDR and underway in Bangladesh and Nepal - are useful tools to support national planning, identify gaps, and foster joint action between governments, partners, and the UN system.

Finally, I am pleased to share that last week, the UN General Assembly through its resolution on DPOA implementation has decided to establish an open-ended ad hoc working group on smooth transition, and to hold the midterm review of the DPOA,   in Doha in 2027. 

This is our moment to shape a more comprehensive, and incentives-based graduation framework - one that rewards progress, reinforces resilience, and ensures that countries emerge from the LDC category on a trajectory toward greater prosperity, not heightened fragility. As the UN Secretary-General reminds us [that]: graduation should be rewarded, not penalized.

Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues, 

Let us make this meeting a turning point.  Let us reaffirm a transition model that places resilience, structural transformation, fiscal sustainability, and inclusive growth at the very center of graduation. 

Let us commit to stronger, longer-term, and more predictable partnerships. Let us build a framework where incentives drive ambition, where risks are anticipated, and where no country faces the journey alone.

In closing, I wish to recognize with deep appreciation the presence here of partner countries – your support, solidarity, and partnership is critical.

And I once again, express my deep gratitude and thanks to Qatar, for its unwavering commitment and support to the LDCs in this transformative journey.

I look forward to a productive dialogue over the next three days, and to working together with you all to make graduation a powerful symbol of hope, confidence, and lasting progress.

I thank you.