Bangladesh has underscored the need for "international solidarity and partnership" in achieving the concrete commitments and deliverables of the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA) for the least developed countries (LDCs).

Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, Ambassador Rabab Fatima, said these while addressing the first part of the 5th United Nations Conference on the LDCs (LDC5) in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations in New York on Thursday. 

Ambassador Fatima, along with the Permanent Representative of Canada Ambassador Robert Rae, co-chaired the preparatory process of this conference.

The General Assembly had earlier decided to hold the LDC5 conference in two parts. The second part will take place from 5th to 9th March, 2023, in Doha, according to a message received from New York. 

The first part of the conference has been organised to adopt the Doha Programme of Action for the LDCs -- a decade-long development roadmap for these countries. The second part will focus on other substantive issues, where heads of states and governments are expected to attend

Speaking on behalf of the two co-chairs, Ambassador Fatima highlighted the unprecedented crisis created by the pandemic and uneven and inequitable responses to tackle it.

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She commended the commitment and solidarity of the member states to adopt the DPoA, which provides an ambitious and well-defined action agenda for the LDCs and their development partners for the decade 2022-31. 

She requested everyone to support the follow-up and monitoring mechanism of the DPoA with due diligence for its successful implementation. The Ambassador also urged the international community and the development partners to remain deeply engaged with the LDCs during the entire cycle of the DPOA implementation. 

In this regard, she underscored the need for integrating the DPOA in the strategic plans and country programmes of the UN agencies, funds and programmes to ensure that the UN’s impact on the LDCs matches their needs and ground realities.

At the outset of the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, was elected as the president of the LDC5 conference.

Ambassador Fatima thanked him and Qatar for the leadership and support to host the 5th United Nations Conference on the LDCs. 

The meeting was also attended by Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi, as the global chair of the LDCs and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, among others.