Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the country, the State of Qatar is preparing to host the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries from 5-9 March.

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said at the opening session of the first part of the conference, which was held in New York and chaired by him last March: The State of Qatar took the initiative to host the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, under the guidance of His Highness the Emir, and based on For its policy based on partnership with the international community, stressing that we are confident that this conference will contribute to meeting the needs and priorities of these countries, and support their path towards achieving development in them for the next ten years.

Al-Raya monitors the most prominent and fateful issues and goals of the international conference of many peoples, which will be held for the first time on Arab soil, with great international and international appreciation for the role of Qatar and its active diplomacy regionally and internationally. What the international community is facing in terms of cross-border challenges and crises that are not limited to its peoples and extend beyond its geography to the rest of the world, such as the repercussions of the Corona pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war on the wheel of the global economy, as well as the importance of the Doha Work Program for the Decade 2022-2031, which defines collective cooperation and concerted international efforts to implement its destiny in the least developed countries for the next ten years after its adoption by consensus within the United Nations.

• The repercussions of Corona, the war, and the weakness of the food and energy chains affected all peoples
• The biggest challenge lies in implementing effective policies to overcome poverty and malnutrition

Conference timing

The conference and its timing are of exceptional importance to enhance the ability of the international community to face the common global challenges that crises - such as the Corona pandemic, refugee and displacement issues resulting from the constraints of nature and people from disasters and conflicts, up to the impact of the movement of trade and the global economy and the lack of energy and food supplies in the Russian-Ukrainian war - have proven to be Cross-border challenges that affect everyone - and in a deeper way - the most vulnerable, disadvantaged and least developed countries, which include 46 countries on the list of the United Nations, and are home to 880 million people, constituting 12% of the world’s population, and all of them contribute less than 2% of the global GDP, and about Only 1% of world trade, according to United Nations statistics.

Qatar commitment

Qatar's initiative - to host the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries - confirms its commitment to partnership with the international community to confront these challenges. Joint international efforts to alleviate the impact of global cross-border crises, and to enhance solidarity and support from all members of the international community to achieve the desired goals.

First time in the area

Hosting Qatar - the conference for the first time in the Arab and Middle East region since the establishment of the category of least developed countries in the United Nations in 1971 - reflects a great international appreciation for Qatar's positive role, its balanced foreign policy and its active diplomacy, which is based on strengthening international cooperation and partnership and the principle of dialogue and negotiation to resolve disputes and put forward initiatives for the good. Peoples, as Paris hosted the first and second conferences in 1981 and 1990, then the European Union in Brussels in 2001, and the fourth in Istanbul in 2011.

According to a resolution submitted by the Group of (77) and China to the United Nations, in which the dates for the Fifth Conference of the Least Developed Countries were set, the first part of the conference was held under the chairmanship of His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in New York last March, on That the second part of the conference be held in Doha at the highest level in the presence of heads of state and government next March.

Doha work program

Last March, the State of Qatar welcomed the adoption, by consensus, of the Doha Action Program for the Fifth United Nations Conference of the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2022-2031, and considered the adoption of the program in the first part of the conference an important achievement that will contribute to giving a positive impetus to the efforts and preparations for holding the second part of the conference in Doha.

His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said: The Doha Action Program will be a road map and a solid foundation for raising the level of ambition and leaving no one behind, because of the important tools and measures it entails to bring about change, and the commitment it reflects to all parties. Partners to provide more resources, realize the full potential of science, technology and innovation, to achieve all-round development.

His Excellency also pointed out that being able to translate all long-term promises and commitments into practical actions requires the cooperation of all partners, stressing that the State of Qatar will continue its policy based on the spirit of cooperation and initiative, and that we have the ability and opportunity for this conference to be an important turning point to respond to the aspirations of the least developed countries through the cooperation of all.

Implementation effectiveness

Concerted international efforts to implement the Doha Work Program will determine the fate of the least developed countries for the next ten years. HE Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, explained that the adoption of the Doha Work Program represents a new stage, expressing the firm conviction of the State of Qatar that the collective success in this endeavor lies in the effectiveness of the full implementation of this program by all parties. Partners and stakeholders.

Her Excellency stressed that the State of Qatar will spare no effort to continue making all endeavors so that the conference is a landmark event that lives up to the aspirations and expectations of the least developed countries in their path towards achieving growth and prosperity.

The Doha Work Program is the first program to address the challenges associated with the repercussions of the Corona virus on the least developed countries, and what it also constitutes as a transformational program to bring about the desired change and build resilient societies, especially in the framework of the important and ambitious measures, initiatives and commitments it entails on the part of all. The State of Qatar pledged that the Doha Action Program would be a starting point for bringing about a transformative change in the lives of millions of people living in the most vulnerable countries, and putting the least developed countries on the desired path in their march towards sustainable and comprehensive development.

Least developed countries

Agreement-between-the-State-of-Qatar-and-the-United-Nations-to-host-the-conference-of-least-developed-countries

In 1971, the United Nations recognized the least developed countries as a category of countries considered extremely disadvantaged in their development process for structural, historical and geographical reasons. The UN list of least developed countries includes 46 countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, East Timor, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia.

3 international standards

Three UN criteria define the status of least developed countries: per capita income, human assets, and economic vulnerability. LDCs, more than other countries, face the risks of extreme poverty and remaining underdeveloped. More than 75 percent of the population of the least developed countries still lives in poverty. These countries are also characterized by their vulnerability to external economic shocks, natural and other man-made disasters, and infectious diseases. As such, the least developed countries need the highest degree of attention from the international community.

The biggest challenge

The group of least developed countries is still suffering despite the privileges granted to it in terms of financing development efforts from donors and financial institutions, preferential access to markets, special transactions and technical support for the generalization of trade. Accelerated economic development in least developed countries is at the core of efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. According to the United Nations, it is not limited to addressing the issues of widespread poverty and malnutrition in this group of countries, but the selection and implementation of effective policies to overcome these problems is the biggest challenge.