NEW YORK: Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has stressed the need of intensifying implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Minister Gyawali said this while addressing the annual Ministerial Meeting of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) here Friday.
“This year marks the completion of the first four-year cycle of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. The High-Level Political Forum and the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development both at the General Assembly have been concluded urging all of us to do more in the days ahead,” he observed, adding that financing gap looms large, particularly in the LDCs.
They are the most vulnerable and neediest group of countries with structural vulnerability and economic volatility. Their plight is further aggravated by Climate Change, according to him.
The LDCs’ efforts, the Minister argued, are not enough. They need support: technical, financial and investments. Response to this genuine appeal is yet to be forthcoming.
Commitments are there in the Istanbul Program of Action and other internationally agreed development agendas that highlight the needs and concerns of LDCs.
Moreover, the Foreign Minister viewed the GDP growth rate in LDCs was increasing but it still below the IPOA target of 7 percent annually until 2021 and beyond.
“While we look forward to the Fifth UN Conference on LDCs in 2021 in Doha, we should also look back into the past eight years and do as much as we can in the graduation and poverty eradication. IPOA should be implemented in optimum synergy with the 2030 Agenda,” he mentioned.
Nepal persistent on making graduation smooth
According to him, graduated country still needs international support measures for irreversible gain and sustainability. This is the reason why Nepal has been so persistent on making graduation both ‘smooth and sustainable’, he argued.
He shared, “Nepal has met graduation criteria in CDP triennial reviews in 2015 for the first time and in 2018 for the second time but due to sustainability concerns following the disastrous earthquakes and other issues in 2015, it was postponed. Nepal’s graduation will be reconsidered during the 2021 triennial review by CDP.”
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