Excellencies,

Thank you for joining the Second Meeting of the Board of Advisers on Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

It is my pleasure to welcome the new members of this board: 

  • E. Ms. Agnes Mary Chimbiri Molande, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Malawi to the United Nations, and Chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries;
  • Catherine M. Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, though not physically present here today; and
  • Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Acting High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS.

I look forward to continued engagement with Board members to find effective solutions to tackle the particular challenges faced by LLS countries.

Excellencies,

We are now in the third year of a pandemic, unprecedented in recent times. Yet, while the pandemic has affected us all, it has not affected us all the same, or equally. It is widely known that LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS have been disproportionately impacted.

The  pressure on these countries has been immense on all fronts: economically, politically and socially. COVID-19 has exacerbated many of the challenges they were already facing, from debt sustainability to financing efforts to meet the SDGs on time, to the provision of social services.

That is why I feel it is crucial that the Board’s meeting this month focuses on financing a sustainable recovery for LLS countries.

If we are to pursue a sustainable recovery in this now ‘Decade of Recovery’, it is more urgent than ever to scale up financing and investment in the spirit of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. This includes:

  • delivering the promised $100 billion in annual climate funds to climate-vulnerable countries;
  • devoting 0.7 percent of the Gross National Income of developed countries to LDCs;
  • facilitating financial intermediation by multilateral development banks to support long-term development financing;
  • and repurposing the IMF’s unutilized SDR allocations of $650 billion to the LDCs;

Financial assistance such as this will provide much-needed resource relief for the worst pandemic-hit economies.

Excellencies,

It is appropriate that we have planned several initiatives to highlight the importance of development financing for a successful COVID-19 recovery.

This includes the upcoming consultations in the General Assembly on ‘Our Common Agenda’, specifically on cluster 2, Accelerating the SDGs through sustainable financing, to be held from 14-15 February. The OCA consultations will be an opportunity for us to hear the perspectives of Member States, including LLS, on the priorities for sustainable financing.

The ECOSOC President will also convene the Financing for Development Forum, from  25-28 April. The FfD Forum will be an important platform to reinforce key messages on providing financing for especially vulnerable countries.

We hope that the outcomes of these discussions will help avert a deeply unequal global recovery.

Excellencies,

I take this opportunity to reiterate that high national debts remain a major obstacle to the recovery efforts of LLS countries. Currently, they are forced to divert their resources away from rebuilding their socio-economic infrastructure, towards servicing their debt-burdens.

The President of ECOSOC and I thus intend to convene a high-level debate on debt sustainability later in the session to reflect on the concrete actions we can take to resolve this issue.

Another crucially important aspect we must consider is the pandemic’s adverse impact on tourism, one of the most economically significant sectors for many LLS countries. The global downturn in travel and tourism has been economically devastating to these countries.

Revitalizing the tourism sector will help accelerate overall global recovery. That is why in May I will convene a special high-level event on the recovery of the tourism sector, focused on sustainability and resilience.

Excellencies,

As we commence this meeting, I look forward to hearing your views on what messages should be amplified, and what actions you recommend to address the  acute financial constraints faced by LLS countries.

Similarly, I look forward to your inputs on how the UN system can strengthen its support to LLS countries.

Before we begin our discussions, I am pleased to have a briefing by Assistant Secretary General Ms. Maria Francesca Spatolisano on DESA’s recent report on the World Economic Situations, followed by Ms. Laura Jaitman, from the World Bank Group, on the global economic outlook.

Thank you.