Nepal
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Statement by Mr. Shatrudhwan P S Pokharel, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations at the Sixth Meeting of UNGA’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals under the theme
“Means of Implementation (Science and Technology, Knowledge-sharing and Capacity Building),
New York, 10 December 2013
Mr. Co-chair,
Thank you very much for giving me the floor.
I am delivering this statement in my national capacity.
My delegation aligns itself with the statements by Fiji and Benin on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and LDCs respectively. We appreciate the hard work of Co-chairs to this meeting along with the Technical Support Teams for issue briefs. We also thank the panelists for their rich presentations at the beginning of this meeting.
1. As is recognized, the poorest and the most vulnerable countries like the LDCs are most off-track in all three dimensions of sustainable development. Therefore, we must emphasize the importance of Rio principle 6 which categorically states that the special needs and interests of the LDCs shall be given special priority as it is impossible to attain global sustainability without ensuring the development needs of the LDCs.
2. Countries like Nepal, which are also landlocked and emerging from conflict, are not only lagging behind in meeting MDGs, but their development gains are also being eroded by the ongoing and emerging multiple crises, declining ODA, falling FDI inflows, sluggish service sector growth, and huge energy shortfall, in the face of the negative and disproportionate impact of climate change. This should change.
3. Our experience in MDG implementation confirms that robust means of implementation is the key to achieving sustainable progress, hence we call for an enhanced and predictable means of implementation to address the unique development challenges of the LDCs.
4. My delegation considers the Istanbul Programme of Action to be the key instrument for the LDCs and should be treated as such. Due priority must be given for its implementation without further delay. Also, the integrity of IPOA must be preserved and upheld and its contents integrated into any new development framework to be of help to the LDCs.
5. The lack of productive capacity and the huge resource gap are the major constraints in LDCs’ development efforts. The scope for domestic resource mobilization in LDCs is extremely limited due to capacity constraints.
6. The ODA plays an extremely important role in LDCs but its fall especially in the last two years has made it more difficult to meet our development challenges.
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While we appreciate the development partners that have kept promises despite the financial crisis, we urge all developed countries to meet their ODA commitment of 0.15-0.20 percent of their GNP to the LDCs, and align their aid allocation to LDCs’ priorities with a focus on building productive capacity.
7. Science, technology and innovation are strong enablers for development. The LDCs require access to the development, acquisition, transfer and diffusion of technologies and corresponding know-how to accelerate their development trajectory. Therefore, we call for the early establishment of a Technology Bank and supporting mechanism dedicated to the LDCs for the effective implementation of the IPOA.
8. Trade is an engine of growth and development. Therefore, poorest developing countries should be given the top priority to special and differentiated treatment, aid for trade, facilitative rules of origin, reduction of non-tariff barriers, duty free quota free (DFQF) market access, cotton, and LDCs service waiver.
9. Debt relief is an important means of implementation for development efforts in LDCs. Full cancellation of multilateral and bilateral debt owned by all LDCs can be an important avenue for making resources available for the implementation of SDGs.
10. Foreign direct investment plays an important role in attaining SDGs, but it is far short of meeting the huge investment needs of the LDCs. Therefore, we urge development partners to undertake promotional measures to introduce incentive mechanisms to encourage their investors for enhanced FDI in LDCs.
11. We call for genuine partnerships among all stakeholders such as private and corporate sectors, civil society and media including South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation. In this regard, refurbishing the current structure of BWIs and international financial architecture, for the common cause of humanity is a must.
Mr. Co-chair,
Finally, capacity building in terms of enhanced support for human resources development, development of ICT, and institution building are also critical means of implementation for SDGs in LDCs. Enhanced coordination and coherence among the different policy areas including ODA, trade, FDI, debt and finance must be responsive to the emerging challenges faced by developing countries, especially the LDCs. This aspect should form the strong basis in the financial architecture of SDGs.
I thank you, Mr. Co-chair.
Statement by Mr. Shatrudhwan P S Pokharel, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations at the Sixth Meeting of UNGA’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals under the theme
“Means of Implementation (Science and Technology, Knowledge-sharing and Capacity Building),
New York, 10 December 2013
Mr. Co-chair,
Thank you very much for giving me the floor.
I am delivering this statement in my national capacity.
My delegation aligns itself with the statements by Fiji and Benin on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and LDCs respectively. We appreciate the hard work of Co-chairs to this meeting along with the Technical Support Teams for issue briefs. We also thank the panelists for their rich presentations at the beginning of this meeting.
1. As is recognized, the poorest and the most vulnerable countries like the LDCs are most off-track in all three dimensions of sustainable development. Therefore, we must emphasize the importance of Rio principle 6 which categorically states that the special needs and interests of the LDCs shall be given special priority as it is impossible to attain global sustainability without ensuring the development needs of the LDCs.
2. Countries like Nepal, which are also landlocked and emerging from conflict, are not only lagging behind in meeting MDGs, but their development gains are also being eroded by the ongoing and emerging multiple crises, declining ODA, falling FDI inflows, sluggish service sector growth, and huge energy shortfall, in the face of the negative and disproportionate impact of climate change. This should change.
3. Our experience in MDG implementation confirms that robust means of implementation is the key to achieving sustainable progress, hence we call for an enhanced and predictable means of implementation to address the unique development challenges of the LDCs.
4. My delegation considers the Istanbul Programme of Action to be the key instrument for the LDCs and should be treated as such. Due priority must be given for its implementation without further delay. Also, the integrity of IPOA must be preserved and upheld and its contents integrated into any new development framework to be of help to the LDCs.
5. The lack of productive capacity and the huge resource gap are the major constraints in LDCs’ development efforts. The scope for domestic resource mobilization in LDCs is extremely limited due to capacity constraints.
6. The ODA plays an extremely important role in LDCs but its fall especially in the last two years has made it more difficult to meet our development challenges.
2
While we appreciate the development partners that have kept promises despite the financial crisis, we urge all developed countries to meet their ODA commitment of 0.15-0.20 percent of their GNP to the LDCs, and align their aid allocation to LDCs’ priorities with a focus on building productive capacity.
7. Science, technology and innovation are strong enablers for development. The LDCs require access to the development, acquisition, transfer and diffusion of technologies and corresponding know-how to accelerate their development trajectory. Therefore, we call for the early establishment of a Technology Bank and supporting mechanism dedicated to the LDCs for the effective implementation of the IPOA.
8. Trade is an engine of growth and development. Therefore, poorest developing countries should be given the top priority to special and differentiated treatment, aid for trade, facilitative rules of origin, reduction of non-tariff barriers, duty free quota free (DFQF) market access, cotton, and LDCs service waiver.
9. Debt relief is an important means of implementation for development efforts in LDCs. Full cancellation of multilateral and bilateral debt owned by all LDCs can be an important avenue for making resources available for the implementation of SDGs.
10. Foreign direct investment plays an important role in attaining SDGs, but it is far short of meeting the huge investment needs of the LDCs. Therefore, we urge development partners to undertake promotional measures to introduce incentive mechanisms to encourage their investors for enhanced FDI in LDCs.
11. We call for genuine partnerships among all stakeholders such as private and corporate sectors, civil society and media including South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation. In this regard, refurbishing the current structure of BWIs and international financial architecture, for the common cause of humanity is a must.
Mr. Co-chair,
Finally, capacity building in terms of enhanced support for human resources development, development of ICT, and institution building are also critical means of implementation for SDGs in LDCs. Enhanced coordination and coherence among the different policy areas including ODA, trade, FDI, debt and finance must be responsive to the emerging challenges faced by developing countries, especially the LDCs. This aspect should form the strong basis in the financial architecture of SDGs.
I thank you, Mr. Co-chair.
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