Supporting resilient and sustainable development in Least Developed Countries: UK statement at UN Second Committee
UK statement on Least Developed Countries delivered at UN Second Committee
Madame Chair,
Let me begin by congratulating you and the Bureau for your able stewardship of the Second Committee’s work this year.
The United Kingdom would like to thank Mr. Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Al-Thani from the Permanent Mission of Qatar, for his excellent facilitation of the ‘Follow-up to the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries.’ We would also like to thank the G77+ representative, Mr. Nirupam Dev Nath, from the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh, and the LDCs Chair representative, Ms. Dorcas Mwango, from the Permanent Mission of Malawi for their constructive engagement.
The UK is pleased with the outcomes of this year’s text, as it advocates for international solidarity in support of the Doha Programme of Action. We need renewed global partnership and targeted focus, with full mobilization of the UN system, for sustainable and resilient development in LDCs. This resolution is a step in the right direction.
The UK is committed to working with LDCs, development partners, and multilateral institutions to progress the six priority areas in the Doha Programme of Action. We look forward to participating in the Fifth UN Conference on the LDCs in March at a high-level, to advance this critical agenda.
The United Kingdom will continue to support the global goal of providing at least 0.2% of our gross national income to LDCs. However, we know we must go further than this. Partnership between public and private sectors will be essential to meet the SDG financing gap, which is why we will also mobilise up to £8 billion of UK-backed financing per year by 2025 through British Investment Partnerships.
The UK is also committed to addressing food insecurity in LDCs, which was a key area of discussion in this negotiation. We are working alongside partners – such as the UN-led Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance, the G7 Global Alliance for Food Security, the Roadmap - Call to Action and the EU-led Solidarity Lanes – to meet humanitarian needs. We are keeping food and fertilisers moving, providing emergency funding, improving resilience, and accelerating transition to sustainable food systems that will withstand future challenges in places experiencing food crises.
As we approach 2030, we must accelerate action and ambition to deliver the Doha Programme of Action and respond to the needs of the most vulnerable first. You can count on the UK’s support.
Thank you.