Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan would continue to advocate several steps to advance sustainable development in the Least Developed Countries to move towards the implementation of Doha Programme of Action.
Addressing the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha, he said that Pakistan fully supports and expresses solidarity with the developing countries in their quest for social progress and economic prosperity. However, meeting its ambitious targets will require revitalise global partnerships based on effective means of implementation in the priority areas.
The prime minister said that it is timely and important to revisit implementation of the vision and strategy for the sustainable development of the Least Developed Countries, charted out at the end of the Istanbul Programme of Action.
Shehbaz Sharif said that we must address the increasingly unsustainable debt burden of many Least Developed Countries. He added further by saying that it is matter of great concern that six Least Developed Countries are classified as suffering from the debt burden while seventeen are at high risk of debt distress. He said that we must provide universal access to social protection in order to support most needy and vulnerable.
He said that an international technology compact aligned with the SDGs should also be adopted and offered easy access to the developing countries to relevant advance technologies to develop their productivity and bridge digital divide.
Shehbaz Sharif thanked Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for hosting the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.
The prime minister’s speech at the conference focused on exploring the opportunity to ensure sustainable development in the places where international assistance was needed the most.
