Laos attends LDC5 conference in Doha

Doha, Qatar: Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith is this week leading a high-level Lao delegation attending an international conference designed to bolster efforts to put the graduation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) back on track after they faced delays due to global upheavals.

Mr Saleumxay Kommasith addresses the LDC5 Summit in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday.

The LDC5 Summit, which takes place once every 10 years, opened here last weekend. The UN event, which will run until March 9, aims to facilitate high level representatives of 46 least developed countries, development partners, and civil societies to discuss and form partnerships to implement the Doha Programme of Action.
The new 10-year UN-sponsored programme has been developed to speed up the recovery of the most vulnerable countries from the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and other global disruptions.
Speaking at the LDC5 Summit last weekend, Mr Saleumxay said the conference provided great opportunities for least developed nations and stakeholders to discuss and share practical experiences in addressing their multiple challenges in graduating from the UN’s list of least developed countries.
“We meet today at a critical juncture when the international community is facing multiple challenges, in particular the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, financial difficulties, food and energy crises, and armed conflict,” he said, adding that least developed countries are suffering severely from these challenges.
At the opening ceremony of the LCD5 plenary session, United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, said least developed countries were being stranded amidst a rising tide of crisis, debt, climate chaos, and deep global injustice, adding that the conference would discuss support for the most vulnerable countries in the world.
“The Fifth Conference on Least Developed Countries is an opportunity for the world to step up. Countries with the least need support the most,” he said.
According to the media release, LDC populations have experienced a sharp decline in living standards and increasing inequality, while their current account balances have come under additional pressure from rising external debt payments and soaring international energy and food prices.
“The problems that keep us awake at night – be it climate change, Covid-19, or the spiralling prices of food and basic commodities – all of these problems are felt more keenly by least developed countries,” said Rabab Fatima, UN High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
 (Latest Update March 6, 2023)