Pakistan to continue advocating sustainable development in LDCs: PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that Pakistan will continue to advocate several specific steps to advance sustainable development in the world's least developed countries (LDCs) and move towards the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action. Addressing the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries taking place in Doha, he said that Pakistan fully supports and expresses solidarity with developing countries in their quest for social progress and economic prosperity. However, meeting the ambitious targets will require the revitalization of global partnerships based on effective means of implementation in priority areas, he added. The premier said that it is timely and important to revisit the implementation of the vision and strategy for the sustainable development of the LDCs charted out at the end of the Istanbul Programme of Action. The premier also called for addressing vaccine inequity by advocating its timely access for people living in the least developed countries. PM Shehbaz said the historical commitment of official development assistance comprising 0.7% of the gross national income of countries from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development must be fulfilled, of which 0.15% to 0.2% must be allocated to the LDCs. Read Qatar assures PM of continued cooperation He said the increasingly unsustainable debt burden faced by many LDCs must be addressed, adding that it is a matter of great concern that six LDCs are classified as suffering from the debt burden while 17 are at high risk of debt distress. "We must provide universal access to social protection in order to support most needy and vulnerable," said the prime minister, highlighting the need to "reform the unequal international financial architecture and make it people-centric". Shehbaz said an international technology compact aligned with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) should also be adopted. He furthered that developing countries should have easy access to relevant advanced technologies to develop their productivity and bridge the digital divide. He noted that the Doha Programme of Action sets an ambitious target to enable 15 additional LCDs to meet the criteria for graduation by 2031. The premier thanked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for hosting the UN conference and concluded his address.

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