Turkiye President Calls For Supporting Doha Program Of Action For The LDCs

Doha, March 05 (QNA) - HE President of the Republic Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the world countries to support the Doha Program of Action (DPoA) for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which aims at removing structural obstacles to comprehensive growth and sustainable development. In his speech, delivered on his behalf by Turkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, before the opening session of the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), HE 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 the period 2022-2031 offered prospects for building the resilience of this group, a step on the road to continuing the pledges undertaken by the Istanbul Program. The conference, which proceedings started today, is a new building block in the efforts aiming at laying down and building a global partnership that ensures that LDCs benefit from social, economic and environmental development, His Excellence said adding that international cooperation, is an important guarantee to prevent further pressure on the international economic and financial system, which in turn impedes tangible progress for the LDCs. His Excellency emphasized 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, pointing out that the LDC5 takes place with international system passing through swift transformations. In this context, HE 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. His Excellency pointed out the huge digital and technological gap separating the developed countries from the LDCs, stressing that the world has to break the vicious cycles that hinder 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, His Excellency stressed. Calling on everyone to not leave the LDCs behind, HE President 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," His Excellency also said. HE President 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," His Excellency said. (QNA)