[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.7″ border_style=”solid” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n
– As delivered –<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Delivered by Toni-Shae Freckleton, Senior Adviser and Team Leader for Sustainable Development<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 7-8 May 2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Your Excellency, Inga Rhonda King, President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Economic and Social Council,<\/p>\n Your Excellency, Doma Tshering, Permanent Representative of Bhutan \u2013 co-facilitator of the Vienna Programme of Action mid-term review,<\/p>\n Fekitamoeloa Katoa \u2018Utoikamanu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States,<\/p>\n Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator, Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDP<\/p>\n Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n Over half of the 32 Landlocked Developing Countries are categorized as \u201cleast developed\u201d. Meanwhile, of all Least Developed Countries, more than a third are landlocked.<\/p>\n Less than a third of people in LLDCs have access to basic sanitation services and safely managed drinking water. On the other hand, these countries have huge potential to contribute to global green growth and innovative development practices. So supporting LLDCs in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is essential \u2013 to fulfilling our promise to leave no one behind, and to realizing the 2030 Agenda as whole.<\/p>\n I am therefore extremely sorry not to be able to join you in person for this retreat. But I assure you: I am wholly convinced of the importance of the Vienna Programme of Action, and 100% committed to supporting preparations for the General Assembly\u2019s Midterm Review later this year.<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n The Vienna Programme of Action offers a framework to address the specific challenges faced by LLDCs \u2013 due to their remoteness from world markets, lack of territorial access to the sea, and high transport and transit costs. For instance, according to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Conference on Trade and Development, LLDCs spend nearly two times more of their export earnings on transport and insurance services than developing countries.<\/p>\n As we approach the mid-way point of the Vienna Programme, we should reflect on the progress achieved to date: such as ratification by 24 LLDCs of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, LLDCs\u2019 entry into sub-regional and bilateral agreements, and advances in transport, energy and ICT infrastructure development.<\/p>\n However, it is clear that Member States will need to ensure that the Midterm Review significantly strengthens and refines existing initiatives, and expands and enhances partnerships with stakeholders \u2013 international, regional, national and local.<\/p>\n We must find ways to maintain progress in high-skill and technology-intensive exports \u2013 particularly in the context of the decline in LLDCs\u2019 overall share in global merchandise exports.<\/p>\n We must continue to increase regional and bilateral cooperation with neighboring states in areas such as tourism and transit arrangements. And we must intensify our efforts to close the \u201cinfrastructure gap\u201d in LLDCs.<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n The Vienna Programme of Action is integral to our ability to achieve the 2030 Agenda, from SDG 1 on ending poverty in all its forms, to SDG 17 on revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development. As such, we should ensure that every key meeting \u2013 the High-Level Political Forum in July, all the meetings during High-Level Week in September \u2013 is used an opportunity to make progress on the VPoA.<\/p>\n At a time when the value of multilateralism and multilateral institutions is being questioned, the best way to demonstrate the benefits of global cooperation is for us to deliver on our commitment to leave no one behind.<\/p>\n I wish you a fruitful retreat and look forward to being briefed on your discussions. Thank you.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, MARI\u0301A FERNANDA ESPINOSA GARC\u00c9S – Ambassadorial Retreat on the Comprehensive High-Level Midterm Review on the Implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for the Decade 2014-2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":266,"featured_media":183604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-speeches","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nStatement by H.E. Mrs. Mar\u00eda Fernanda Espinosa Garc\u00e9s, President of the 73rd<\/sup> Session of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly<\/h3>\n