Doha - The fifth United Nations Conference on the World’s Least Developed Countries (LDC) started Sunday in Doha, Qatar, under the theme "From Potential to Prosperity", with the participation of the Angolan Vice President, Esperança da Costa.
The Vice President, Esperança da Costa, is the 24th to speak at the event in a list of 165 speeches.
The opening ceremony was dominated by the speeches of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Secretary-General (SG) of the United Nations, António Guterres, Csaba Korosi, president of the General Assembly, Lachezara Stoeva, president of the Social Economic Council.
Also speaking were the Head of State of Malawi, Lazarus Mc Carthy Chakwera, as chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries, Turkey's Foreign minister, Mevlut Çavusoglu, among other individuals.
Guterres said that the Omicron wave that suddenly cancelled the holding of the event in January 2022, demonstrates that the world is subject to constant and unpredictable changes, noting that since then the world has seen the eruption of the war in Ukraine, with a devastating impact on this country, but also on the less developed ones that now suffer from astronomical prices of food and Energy.
The UN Secretary-General said that global tensions are deepening and there is perhaps no more important issue to focus on than turning the words of the Doha Programme of Action into results.
"Least Developed Countries are getting lost in rising tides of crisis and uncertainty, climate chaos and profound global injustice, they cannot keep up with the skyrocketing technological changes and growing unemployment , especially among young people", Guterres said.
The UNSG lamented the fact that "the deeply dysfunctional global financial system has sent LDCs the highest quotas, with interest rates eight times higher than in developed countries, while things tend to get worse”.
He then reminded that today 25 developing economies spend 20 percent of their national budgets, not on building schools, not on feeding their people, not on development opportunities for women and girls, but on paying off debt.
Guterres said LDCs need a revolution of support in several key areas.
The UN chief said the institution has presented to the G-20 a stimulus package to bring the world together and be able to deliver at least 500 billion US dollars a year to the LDCs.
The host, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, announced a 60 million US dollars contribution to LDCs in the framework of the Qatar commitments to LDCs to support the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action, and further 50 million US dollars to support the expected results.
To Malawi's Head of State, Lazarus Mc Carthy Chakwera, Chairman of the Group of Least Developed Countries, there is a common global responsibility to address the security challenges, the energy crisis, and the debt crisis and to find solutions through collective commitment.
There is a moral responsibility for the richer and more developed countries to contribute so that LDCs can meet and overcome global challenges. "This is a responsibility and not a favour," Chakwera said.
