Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on the world countries to support the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA) for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which aims at removing structural obstacles to comprehensive growth and sustainable development.
In a speech, delivered on his behalf by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, before the opening session of the 5th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5), President Erdogan said that all countries should expand their efforts to get these countries on the path of sustainable development, pointing out that the DPoA for 2022-2031 offered prospects for building the resilience of this group, a step on the road to continuing the pledges undertaken by the Istanbul Programme.
The conference proceedings which started Sunday, is a new building block in the efforts aimed at laying down and building a global partnership that ensures that LDCs benefit from social, economic and environmental development, he said adding that international co-operation, is an important guarantee to prevent further pressure on the international economic and financial system, which in turn impedes tangible progress for the LDCs.
He emphasised that supporting progress, advancement and development in weaker countries is a collective responsibility, given that the LDCs are the weakest and most vulnerable in the face of the developments of the current international economic and financial system, and pointed out that the LDC5 takes place with international system passing through swift transformations.
The Turkish president called for reforming the international economic and financial system and finding ways to combat climate change, which affects the LDCs more than others, even though they are not responsible for those climate changes.
He pointed out the huge digital and technological gap separating the developed countries from the LDCs, and stressed that the world has to break the vicious cycle that hinders development.
Turkiye, as an old and trusted partner of the least developed countries, is exerting great efforts in this direction and is continuing its pledges made at the LDC4, which was held in Istanbul in 2011, he said.
Calling on everyone to not leave the LDCs behind, Erdogan noted: "We must act now, without further delay. It is a shame that we are nowhere near ending hunger in the 21st century."
"The (July 2022) Istanbul Grain Initiative that we brokered with the UN, helped every household around the world, especially in LDCs, by bringing down global food prices," he said.
Erdogan hailed the solidarity that his country has enjoyed in the wake of the earthquakes that struck southeast Turkiye in February. "LDCs were among the first to offer support and solidarity during the darkest days. Your solidarity after the earthquake showed once again that you are the most developed and generous in heart," he said.
Mevlut Cavusoglu
