Rijal highlights need of int'l support for LDCs in Geneva

Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: Minister for Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture Minendra Rijal voiced for international support for debt relief, trade preference, and technical assistance for the states that are listed as Least Developed Countries.

“Given the situation the LDCs are in, despite decades of efforts carried out to improve the quality of life people in the respective countries, it is necessary to strengthen international support measures put in place in favour of LDCs including ODA, debt relief,

trade preferences, development finance, technical assistance and other forms of support under the UN system and WTO,” said Rijal.

Minister Rijal made this remarks while addressing the high level segment of a pre-conference event for the Fourth United Nations Conference on LDCs on ‘Building Productive Capacity in Least Developed Countries for Inclusive and Sustainable Development’ in Geneva on Thursday, Nepal’s Permanent Mission in Geneva said in a statement.

He also stated that the specific needs in the post-conflict countries should be addressed in a priority basis to prevent their relapse.

The event is one of the series of such pre-conference events by UNCTAD, a knowledge-based institution within the UN, aimed at providing substantive and technical contributions to the preparatory process for the UN Least Developed Countries IV to be held in Istanbul, Turkey in May, 2011.

Minister Rijal pointed out a series of multiple global crises — food, fuel and financial and climate change challenge — have disproportionately impacted a number of developing countries, LDCs in particular, and urged all for an enhanced international support to address these formidable new challenges .

Inviting attention to the issue of climate change, Minister Rijal stated that the Least Developed Countries have suffered disproportionate human and economic losses from natural calamities. Glacier melting, flash floods, landslides, untimely rainfall, delayed monsoon have become common problems often leading to the displacement of people and loss of livelihoods, he added.