Second United Nations LDC Future Forum

Supported by Finland, the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) organised the second Forum on the Future of LDCs, on the theme of "Innovation for Structural Transformation in Least Developed Countries".

This second Forum on the Future of LDCs examined how to harness innovation, digitisation and technology to foster structural transformation and sustainable development in LDCs.

The panels at this second Forum covered key sectors, including education, job creation, agribusiness and e-commerce. Bringing together researchers and policy-makers, the objective was to share ideas and lessons learned, and to formulate evidence-based policy recommendations, in order to contribute to strengthening the science/policy interface. 

The aim of the multi-year series of Forums on the Future of LDCs is to support the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action. The themes of each Forum are based on the priority areas of the Doha Programme of Action. The LDC Forums should also help to promote the achievement of the MDGs in the LDCs.

Ferdi took part in the Forum with speeches by :

• Jean Michel Severino, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of I&P and Senior Fellow at FERDI. Session 2 "Innovative entrepreneurship to drive structural transformation and job creation". 
• Jean- Louis Arcand, President of the Global Development Network. Fireside chat: Managing the risks and identifying the benefits of technology,especially artificial intelligence (AI), in fostering productivity in LDCs. 
• Patrick Guillaumont, President of FERDI.  Session 4 "International support measures for LDCs". Session moderated with Agnes Chimbiri Molande, Permanent Representative of Malawi. 

On 7 March, following the Forum, FERDI organised an event in collaboration with the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) and the OECD Development Centre, to present the LDC5 Monitor, its scope and uses.

The LDC5 Monitor was launched at the Fifth Least Developed Countries Conference in Doha, Qatar, in 2023. It follows the LDC4 Monitor. As an independent initiative, the LDC Monitor aims to monitor progress in implementing the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA).

The meeting in Helsinki aimed:

• To identify the scope, including ISMs, tools and methodology of the LDC5 Monitor (e.g., deep-diving into and concretising accompanying process and the peer-learning exercise); 
• To hear from LDCs some specific aspects that the LDC5 Monitor should investigate; 
• To identify key specificities of potential selected countries for more precise monitoring.