Least developed countries to miss growth target in 2021 without world support: deputy UN chief

UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said here Saturday that the world's least developed countries (LDCs) will miss the growth and productivity targets they have set themselves by the target date of 2021 with no considerable support from the international community.

"But unless this progress speeds up considerably over the next five years, across all sectors, it will not be possible to achieve the Istanbul Programme of Action by the target date of 2021," Eliasson said at the ministerial meeting of 28 least developed countries, which was held on the sidelines of the ongoing annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly.

The Istanbul Programme, adopted at a UN conference in 2011, set a whole roster of goals to be achieved by the LDCs by 2021, including sustained economic growth by strengthening productive capacity, fostering human and social development with gender equality and the empowerment of women, and enhancing financial resources and good governance.

"LDCs will need robust support to diversify their production, boost trade and protect development gains from external shocks," he said.

The LDCs account for more than 880 million people, about 12 percent of world population, but for less than two percent of world gross domestic product (GDP) and one percent of global trade in goods.

Structural constraints, natural disasters, pandemics, conflict and post-conflict situations, and climate change are continuing to undermine progress, he said.

Eliasson noted that many LDCs are affected by the large movements of refugees and migrants, either as countries of origin or as host countries, and he called on donor countries to fulfil their pledge to allocate at least 0.2 percent of their Gross National Income for official development assistance (ODA) to LDCs.

"But ODA alone will not be enough," he said.

"LDCs themselves will need to make greater efforts to raise domestic resources through capacity building, private sector development, and better institutional and policy interventions," he said.

"Sustainable development relies on national ownership and leadership, strengthening democratic processes and the rule of law, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls," he said.

Public-private partnerships, North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation must play a part, he added, pledging UN support for all areas.

"We must reinforce our work at every level, including here at the United Nations, to accelerate progress to achieve the Istanbul Programme of Action by 2021, and the Sustainable Development Goals," he said. "But we must always remember that while these frameworks are vital, they should not be seen as an end in themselves." Enditem