UN rep Bairagi airs LDCs plights

THT ONLINE

KATHMANDU: Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations and other International Organisations, Shanker D. Bairagi stressed on the need of a strong, progressive and action oriented outcome document of UNCTAD XIII that accommodates the needs and concerns of the LDCs.

Addressing the opening plenary of the Committee of the Whole constituted to carry on the negotiation of the outcome document of the Thirteenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIII) being held in Doha, Qatar from April 21 to 26, 2012, the Coordinator of the LDC Group Bairagi stated that as a group of countries on the bottom rung of the development ladder have high stakes in the success of UNCTAD XIII, the Conference should reinforce the renewed and strengthened partnership for development of the LDCs as envisioned in the Istanbul Programme of Action.

While participating in the Roundtable Meeting on enhancing enabling economic environment at all levels in support of inclusive and sustainable development, Bairagi pointed out the need of devising appropriate policy measures and institutional arrangements at the domestic level as well as enabling and supportive external environment to promote sustainable development in the LDCs.

The current international policy framework is inadequate, inappropriate, inconsistent and constraining to promote inclusive and sustainable development in the LDCs, he said.

He highlighted that the LDCs have significantly liberalized their economies with the hope that they would receive an increased flow of FDI in productive sector but the same has not been materialized.

The Ambassador underscored the need of urgently implementing duty-free quota-free market access provisions and preferential rules of origin for the products from the LDCs, meeting the internationally agreed commitments on official development assistance, encouraging foreign direct investment in the LDCs as pledged in IPoA, continuing to implement and scale up debt relief mechanisms, encouraging transfer of technology in the LDCs and providing additional resources under

climate financing.

He also underlined the need for ensuring voice and representation of the LDCs in all multilateral institutions and processes.