Out of the Trap: Supporting the least developed countries
October 29, 2019
The event was opened by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa'Utoikamanu, UN Under-Secretary-General, High Representative for the LDCs, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, and moderated by His Excellency Mr. Perks Ligoya, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Malawi to the United Nations, Chairman of the LDC Group at the United Nations Economic and Social Council- ECOSOC.
Patrick Guillaumont and some authors of the various chapters presented the main messages and conclusions from the book to the national focal points of the least developed countries for the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA).
This presentation led to many exchanges between the participants, marked by the interventions of Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, member of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), President of the LDC IV Monitor and Eminent Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka and Minister Ngueto Yambaye, former Minister of Economy and Planning of Chad and former Executive Director for Africa at the IMF.
Participants welcomed the book at a time when LDCs are facing new challenges, such as climate change, and in a context where the issue of graduation is increasingly significant.
It was also pointed out that this book is an excellent support for the preparation of the 5th Ten-Year Action Programme for LDCs which will be discussed at the 5th UN Conference on LDCs in 2021 (LDC V).
The debate then naturally turned to the issue of the future of the category and to the necessary evolution of criteria capable of reflecting the new challenges faced by LDCs and in particular, the multidimensional nature of vulnerability. Finally, participants wowed to strengthen actions favoring the LDCs to have them decisively move from "caught in the trap" to "out of the trap" and towards "breaking the trap" by implementing the necessary reforms to accelerate the development of the private sector but also the use of private development finance.
Launch event introduced by:
Insights into the new book were presented by several authors.
Comments by:
The book was also presented at the 30th anniversary of the Common Fund for Commodities and will be presented in January 2021 in Geneva at UNCTAD.
