Experts for Al Sharq: Qatar plays a central role in supporting the least developed countries
March 04, 2023, 07:00 am
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Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries
Iman Bugmelin
Tomorrow, Sunday, the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries will start in Doha, and heads and government leaders from 33 African countries and 12 from Asia and the Pacific and Haiti will participate in the summit, which will be held from the fifth to the ninth of March, with more than 5 Thousands of members are ministers, experts and activists.
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Over five days, world leaders will convene in Doha with representatives of the private sector, civil society, parliamentarians, and youth to brainstorm new ideas, obtain new pledges of support, and catalyze the fulfillment of commitments agreed through the Doha Work Agenda. It is expected that in this conference, once every 10 years, specific initiatives and tangible results that will help address the challenges of the least developed countries will be announced. The conference includes plenary sessions with parallel high-level thematic meetings, as well as a series of side events on the various thematic priorities of the Doha Work Programme. Also, on the sidelines of the conference, events dedicated to the private sector, civil society organizations, youth, parliamentarians and South-South cooperation tracks will be organized.
The events will feature a Summit of the Least Developed Countries and an event commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Least Developed Countries Group.
During the conference, leaders will build on the outputs of the Istanbul Action Program and take appropriate measures at the international level for the benefit of the least developed countries, and it will be agreed to renew the partnership between these countries and their development partners to overcome structural challenges, eradicate poverty, achieve internationally agreed development goals, and empower concerned countries to exit the category of least developed countries.
The Fifth United Nations Conference in Doha on the Least Developed Countries represents an opportunity that only comes once every ten years to accelerate sustainable development in the regions most in need of international assistance, and to harness the full potential of the least developed countries in a way that helps them advance towards prosperity.
In this context, political and economist experts whose opinions were surveyed from the East stressed the importance of the conference and the vital role played by Qatar in mobilizing multilateral international cooperation, in light of the many challenges facing the least developed countries.
The experts pointed out that Qatar plays an important role in supporting the least developed countries through its many continuous initiatives to fund relief and development projects in those countries, which include vital sectors such as education, health care, climate change projects and others, as the State of Qatar is one of the largest donors and supporters of countries. Less developed and pay special attention to them.
leading role
Economic expert Dr. Abdullah Al-Khater, Executive Director of Al-Amal International Investment Company, said that Qatar’s pioneering role in humanitarian work is a very important responsibility in today’s world threatened by crises and wars and their disastrous effects on developed and developing nations, such as the food crisis and the energy crisis that impede the progress of nations and make it difficult to maintain the standard of living from Europe to developing countries, but developing countries remain more vulnerable to the repercussions of these crises, and the most affected are the displaced and immigrants. In the midst of international crises, the world needs someone to play the role of the savior and the role of the initiator. Qatar has always carried this human burden tirelessly, and the world today is looking forward hoping that Qatar will advance and carry the banner of humanity.
Qatari efforts
For his part, Dr. Younis Abu Ayoub, Head of the Department of Governance and Building State Institutions of the United Nations, said that the least developed countries have a share of the global trade gross domestic product, which is approximately 1.6 percent, or less than 1 percent of global trade and foreign direct investment, and these countries together constitute about 13 percent of the global trade. The world’s population, 4 of which are located in the Arab world, and these countries face low social and economic levels and weak development capabilities, so there is disparity in income and lack of local financial resources, and these countries are vulnerable to crises related to foreign trade exchange and face many restrictions and challenges that impede development and insufficient mobilization From local resources, the ability to develop economically, weakness in program design and implementation, chronic budget deficit and high debt, as well as heavy dependence on external financing and foreign aid.
He explained that the conference, in its fifth edition in Doha, comes after the Istanbul conference, and it will be an opportunity to develop a new strategy and plan that discusses an aid package for the least developed countries and an opportunity for the countries of the world to support these countries. The State of Qatar also played a major role in helping these least developed countries through the Qatar Fund for Development by providing $708 million last year in humanitarian and development aid. The State of Qatar is making great efforts to help these countries achieve sustainable development, as well as focus on countries that suffer from fragility. economic and institutional.
Central role
In turn, the economic analyst, Muhammad Afzaz, confirmed that the conference is of great importance in the way of the commitment of international governments, especially developed countries, to help the least developed countries to get out of poverty and face the social and economic challenges that these countries are floundering in, especially after the impact and repercussions of the Corona pandemic, as well as the crisis of high inflation rates and the energy crisis. The world is affected by the conditions in these countries, which are crises that have deepened health and social problems.
And he considered that the Fifth United Nations Conference in Doha is a station for the need to remind high-income countries and developed economies that there are peoples and populations in the world who constitute a large percentage of more than a billion people at the global level who need support to get out of the crises they live in, stressing that the conference is a very important international station for commitment undertakings.
He believed that Qatar plays a central role in supporting the least developed countries, not only through its hosting of the conference in its fifth edition, but also in Qatar’s commitment to pumping funds for these development programs from which these countries and their citizens will benefit, as the State of Qatar’s contributions during the past world amounted to more than 708 million. Dollars for projects related to health and education, as well as infrastructure, and this number is not an easy number for a small country, but its economy is very strong. He added that this conference will be an important station for experts and analysts in order to come up with ideas and solutions that benefit not only the least developed countries, but also the balance and stability of the world.
vital development investments
Economic analyst Ali Qaisiyah said that there is no doubt that the State of Qatar plays a major role in the issue of achieving development in the world in several aspects. Targeting some development sectors that help improve the development indicators of these countries. The third aspect is investment through the Qatar Investment Authority, where there was a tendency to invest in a number of less developed countries in various fields such as agriculture and industry in Africa, South America and some Asian countries. Significantly in providing and creating jobs and improving development indicators. Also, these projects have a sustainable nature, whether they are investments belonging to the Qatar Authority directly or through its subsidiaries such as Qatari Diar, Hassad Food Company, or some other companies, or even if it is related to major companies (OoredooIt has several investments in less developed countries as well as Qatar National Bank) in addition to that Qatar Energy has entered into several projects to invest in gas fields in East African countries that need more development.
He added, “We do not forget Qatar’s role in the education initiative, where it was credited with educating millions of people in Asia, and this initiative was praised by the United Nations, which confirms Qatar’s important role in supporting and achieving development in the least developed countries.”
