UN Resident Coordinators, National Focal Points Meeting Discusses Doha Program's Implementation at Country Level

 

 

Doha, March 08 (QNA) - The meeting of the United Nations resident coordinators and representatives of national focal points from least developed countries, within the framework of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, discussed ways to 'implement the Doha Program of Action at the country level'.

The meeting reviewed the Program's importance at the level of national development in these countries, where one in three people lives in extreme poverty, in addition to discussing the strategies and the role of national focal points in the effective implementation of this Program.

In opening remarks to the meeting, HE Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States Rabab Fatima said that the Program - in its first year of implementation - is ambitious and focused. If it is fully implemented, it will be effective in terms of removing some of these countries from the list of least developed countries as 'it takes into account many emerging challenges that did not exist when the Istanbul Program of Action was agreed upon, or even the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.'

The Program, she said, reflects the new reality created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and is based on the principle of leaving no country behind and bringing about radical changes in the lives and livelihoods of 1.2 billion people in the most vulnerable countries. It aims to achieve a rapid recovery from the epidemic, as well as build resilience in the face of current and future shocks, eradicate extreme poverty, benefit from the power of science and technology, harness the trade and investment potential of the least developed countries, accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and ensure that another 15 countries be removed from the least developed countries' list by the end of this decade.

She stressed that the Doha Program of Action not only reaffirms existing goals and targets but also sets new goals and targets that go beyond the 2030 Agenda, and it launches new measures and initiatives in support of least developed countries. Its five concrete pillars aim to address pressing challenges faced by least developed countries in a more focused and comprehensive manner, including bridging widespread gaps in education, food security and investment for sustainable development and ability to adapt to climate change, in addition to supporting the least developed countries to exit this category in order to fully integrate into the global economy, she said.

She noted that the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States would launch a comprehensive road map for the implementation of the Doha Program, a flexible and dynamic tool that defines the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, including the United Nations system, to ensure the full and effective implementation of the Program.