Countries assess the progress made in implementing the Istanbul Programme of Action and come together to provide substantive input to the Fifth Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Conference on LDCs (LDC5)

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What: The meeting will be convened in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 73/242, 74/232A and 74/232B by the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir, and the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), H.E. Mr. Munir Akram. The meeting will be attended by ministers and government representatives, the private sector, representatives from United Nations institutions, international organizations and civil society groups, to provide substantive input to the Fifth Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Conference on LDCs (LDC5), which will be held in in Doha, Qatar from 23 to 27 January 2022.

In resolutions 73/242, 74/232A and 74/232B, the General Assembly reaffirmed that LDCs need enhanced global support to overcome the structural challenges that they face in implementing the 2030 Agenda. The General Assembly called upon the international community to prioritize and strengthen support from all sources to facilitate the coordinated implementation and coherent follow-up and monitoring of the Istanbul Programme of Action, the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

The joint event offers a unique platform to advance the following objectives and build common ground on:

  • Strengthening national and global financing mechanisms to ensure a smart and modern risk-informed and resilient financing toolbox for LDCs aiming at accelerated implementation of the SDGs, while building back better from the pandemic and resilience against future crises.
  • Engagement with various stakeholders including governments, IFIs, private sector, foundations and other stakeholders in addressing the new and emerging challenges and seizing the opportunities offered by innovative financing for SDGs.
  • Investing in sustainable infrastructure as a tool to foster growth, address inequality and build resilience against shocks.

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Why: Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the LDCs as a group had?fallen short of?meeting?the targets set out in the Istanbul?Programme?of Action (IPoA) and the SDGs. The social and economic consequences of the pandemic are potentially catastrophic for LDC¡¯s and the risk of another lost decade of development and a failure to achieve the SDGs is high and rising. To date, the SDGs continue to be underfinanced, while needs are skyrocketing. The annual financing gap to achieve the SDGs by 2030 currently sits at USD 2.5 trillion. Without ambitious and transformative global development finance and policy responses, there is a serious risk of the SDGs remaining elusive for LDCs, and this will have serious global ramifications.

It is therefore essential to deploy a comprehensive and robust financial package for LDCs-both domestic and external-to enable them to sustainably recover from the pandemic and implement the SDGs.

Expected Outcome: The President will circulate a summary to Member States which will provide substantive inputs to the LDC5.

Speakers will include:

  • H.E. Volkan Bozkir, President of the General Assembly
  • H.E. Ant¨®nio Gutteres, United Nations Secretary-General
  • H.E. Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi
  • H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar
  • Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
  • Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Development Programme
  • Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Under Secretary-General, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Department of Economic and Social Affairs

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When: Friday 18 June 2021, 10:00am ¨C 1:00pm EDT

Where: The virtual event will be hosted at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters in New York and will be accessible on .

?Related links:

Event Concept Note: ?/pga/75/ldcs/

Contacts:

Office of the President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly ¨C Amy Quantrill (amy.quantrill@un.org)

Office for Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development/DESA ¨C Paul Simon (simonp@un.org)