Tracking Progress, Accelerating Transformations: Achieving the IPoA by 2020

The publication, titled "Tracking Progress, Accelerating Transformation: Achieving the Istanbul Programme of Action by 2020", is the second instalment of the LDC IV Monitor for tracking progress on implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA). It is a set of scholarly papers that address the multidimensional outlook for LDCs and analyses their progress on different development criteria before the midterm review of the IPoA in May 2016. On the eve of the mid-term review of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA), LDC IV Monitor has produced a new report titled, “Tracking Progress, Accelerating Transformation: Achieving the Istanbul Programme of Action by 2030”. The report is an outcome of the combined efforts of seven globally reputed think-tanks and international organisations. Five years into the implementation of the special programme, drawn up at the Fourth UN Conference at Istanbul in 2011, the international development community is getting together in Antalya, Turkey on 27-29 May 2016 for a mid-term review of the IPoA. The purpose of the event is to assess the state of delivery of the programme and its implications for the remaining five years. The report will be launched at the event in Antalya, Turkey. The new publication of LDC IV Monitor highlights recent accomplishments and missed opportunities for the LDCs in the context of unfavourable global economic environment and inadequate delivery of global commitments. The report focuses on four themes which are at the core of IPoA: (i) structural transformation and export diversification in the LDCs; (ii) prospects for the countries’ graduation from the LDC classification; (iii) implications of the 2030 Agenda for the LDCs’ concerns; and (iv) new challenges facing LDCs in their pursuit of achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report will be useful for policy-makers, academia and civil society, as well as general public within and outside LDCs and their development partners, who will consider the messages of this report to move ahead in implementation of IPoA. The Monitor’s earlier contribution included a set of two reports tracking the initial state of implementation of the IPoA – a volume titled, Istanbul Programme of Action for the LDCs (2011–2020): Monitoring Deliverables, Tracking Progress – Analytical Perspectives and a Synthesis Report.