Niger on behalf of LLDCs
General Statement by H.E. Ambassador Boubacar Boureima, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Niger to United Nations, for the Chair of the Global Bureau of Landlocked Developing Countries on behalf of the LLDCs Group, at the Stock taking Session for Intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda.
New York 19 January 2015
Co facilitators
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is my honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Chair of LLDCs Global Bureau for the group of the 32 Land locked Developing Countries at this Session. I wish to express my gratitude for organizing this stocktaking meeting and to thank you for giving me the floor to share the group’s initial views for the subjects in this session. I wish to align this statement to the Group of 77 and China made by the Ambassador of South Africa for the LLDCs that are members of the group. I wish to express our sincere thanks to H.E. Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly and the H.E. Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary General for the insightful statements during the opening session this morning. I also wish to thank Ms. Nancy Birdsall, for the keynote speech presentation.
Co facilitators,
The group of Landlocked Developing Countries regards this meeting as very important step to begin with, and it has come at an opportune and very crucial time for the LLDCs, which is barely a month after the United Nations General Assembly membership endorsed the new Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA) for the decade 2014 to 2024, which was a key outcome of the 2nd United Nations Conference on LLDCs held from 3-5 November, 2014 in Vienna, Austria and that it spells out the Key priorities for the LLDCs for this decade. The new VPoA reflects the specificity of the challenges that the LLDCs face, as it draws upon lessons learned, gaps and experiences from the Almaty Programme of Action of 2003, including the context of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
I wish to stress in these negotiations that the international community considers the VPoA as an important development blueprint that seeks to promote an enhanced rate of sustainable and inclusive growth along with poverty reduction for more than 440 million people in LLDCs. As the global community charts a new path for development in the Post 2015 period with the overarching objective of ending poverty and giving a life of dignity to all, to give due recognition to the Group of landlocked developing countries, the special development challenges faced and to place the priorities and concerns firmly on this global development agenda at the international level. It is imperative that LLDCs are able to generate and sustain robust economic growth and structurally transform their economies and be able to overcome the negative effects of their geographic constraints. I therefore reiterate that the post 2015 development agenda puts at the core, the important overarching objective of poverty eradication which should be achieved through sustainable development as it has been already indicated in the SDGs and the associated targets.
The new program of action is centred around competitiveness of trade and economic growth through addressing barriers that have continued to perpetuate lower productivity and inhibit industrial growth of the LLDCs, through multi-faceted approach to sustainable development.
Through the VPoA, referring to paragraphs 5, 8 and 15 of the VPoA document, the international community acknowledges that LLDCs continue to face unacceptably high cost of transaction and delays when compared to their maritime neighbours. In addition, there is recognition that these problems are further compounded by new and emerging challenges such as climate change, external shocks, increasing economic structural constraints such as low productivity and lack of competitiveness.
The LLDCs group stresses the need to integrate the VPoA that proposes very specific and concrete actions for the next decade which are premised on 6 key priority areas and on genuine partnerships involving LLDCs, transit developing countries and their development partners, including multilateral institutions.
The six priority areas in the VPoA, are; 1) fundamental transit policy issues, 2) infrastructure development and maintenance, [with, a) Transport infrastructure and b) Energy and information and communications technology infrastructure] 3) international trade and trade facilitation, 4) regional integration and cooperation, 5) structural economic transformation and 6) means of implementation.
Let me underscore that renewed and strengthened partnership for development it is very essential that it is clearly reflected in the post 2015 development Agenda. The LLDCs partnership with the transit countries and development partners is indispensable for making meaningful development. Strengthened partnerships in the context of South South Cooperation, triangular cooperation, partnership with international and regional organizations, as well as between public and private sector actors are also key.
With regard to Means of Implementation, increased support to countries in special situations such as the group of LLDCs in order for them to fully implement the new programme of Action. New additional priorities on structural transformation of economies for LLDCs especially need increased resources. In this regard additional and improved commitments to ODA, Aid for Trade, Foreign Direct Investment and South-South cooperation should be fully enhanced and harnessed to address the physical and non-physical barriers that separate LLDCs from the broad currents of world trade and to help them to structurally transform their economies. The LLDCs also require support in the form of increased market access, and technology transfer for enhanced productive capacities.
The group of LLDCs also wishes to emphasise on the importance of efficient and regular follow up mechanism at global, regional and national level for the post 2015 development agenda that also embraces the LLDCs need for strengthened statistical data system, that will enable them generate appropriate data. The UN system should be enhanced to particularly ensure that the UN institutions at country level be supported in our countries to integrate advancement of LLDCs and priorities of the new programme of action as well as develop a criteria and indicators for measuring the progress of implementing the new VPoA in LLDCs.
Let me conclude by stressing the following key issues that the Post 2015 development Agenda should consider for the LLDCs;
1) the international community to give priority to the special needs of the LLDCs as agreed upon in the VPoA and reflect these matters in the final draft of the negotiations of Post 2015 development agenda as well as the global agendas such as the Conference on Financing for Development, the United Nations Climate Change Conference and others.
2) The group would like to see reflected in the Political Declaration of the post 2015 development agenda, specific reference to the special challenges and priorities of the LLDCs.
3) The Special Programme of Work of the WTO should take into consideration the LLDCs priorities of Transit, Trade and Trade Facilitation as their economic growth and development face vulnerability due to the geographical disadvantage.
4) The LLDCs need special preferential and differential treatment including in the generalized system of preferences with the WTO Bali agreement.
I wish to express to the Co-facilitators, of the LLDCs group’s support in this process and the willingness to engage in these negotiations in a constructively way to the successful conclusion of the post-2015 development agenda.
I thank you
New York 19 January 2015
Co facilitators
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is my honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Chair of LLDCs Global Bureau for the group of the 32 Land locked Developing Countries at this Session. I wish to express my gratitude for organizing this stocktaking meeting and to thank you for giving me the floor to share the group’s initial views for the subjects in this session. I wish to align this statement to the Group of 77 and China made by the Ambassador of South Africa for the LLDCs that are members of the group. I wish to express our sincere thanks to H.E. Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly and the H.E. Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary General for the insightful statements during the opening session this morning. I also wish to thank Ms. Nancy Birdsall, for the keynote speech presentation.
Co facilitators,
The group of Landlocked Developing Countries regards this meeting as very important step to begin with, and it has come at an opportune and very crucial time for the LLDCs, which is barely a month after the United Nations General Assembly membership endorsed the new Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA) for the decade 2014 to 2024, which was a key outcome of the 2nd United Nations Conference on LLDCs held from 3-5 November, 2014 in Vienna, Austria and that it spells out the Key priorities for the LLDCs for this decade. The new VPoA reflects the specificity of the challenges that the LLDCs face, as it draws upon lessons learned, gaps and experiences from the Almaty Programme of Action of 2003, including the context of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
I wish to stress in these negotiations that the international community considers the VPoA as an important development blueprint that seeks to promote an enhanced rate of sustainable and inclusive growth along with poverty reduction for more than 440 million people in LLDCs. As the global community charts a new path for development in the Post 2015 period with the overarching objective of ending poverty and giving a life of dignity to all, to give due recognition to the Group of landlocked developing countries, the special development challenges faced and to place the priorities and concerns firmly on this global development agenda at the international level. It is imperative that LLDCs are able to generate and sustain robust economic growth and structurally transform their economies and be able to overcome the negative effects of their geographic constraints. I therefore reiterate that the post 2015 development agenda puts at the core, the important overarching objective of poverty eradication which should be achieved through sustainable development as it has been already indicated in the SDGs and the associated targets.
The new program of action is centred around competitiveness of trade and economic growth through addressing barriers that have continued to perpetuate lower productivity and inhibit industrial growth of the LLDCs, through multi-faceted approach to sustainable development.
Through the VPoA, referring to paragraphs 5, 8 and 15 of the VPoA document, the international community acknowledges that LLDCs continue to face unacceptably high cost of transaction and delays when compared to their maritime neighbours. In addition, there is recognition that these problems are further compounded by new and emerging challenges such as climate change, external shocks, increasing economic structural constraints such as low productivity and lack of competitiveness.
The LLDCs group stresses the need to integrate the VPoA that proposes very specific and concrete actions for the next decade which are premised on 6 key priority areas and on genuine partnerships involving LLDCs, transit developing countries and their development partners, including multilateral institutions.
The six priority areas in the VPoA, are; 1) fundamental transit policy issues, 2) infrastructure development and maintenance, [with, a) Transport infrastructure and b) Energy and information and communications technology infrastructure] 3) international trade and trade facilitation, 4) regional integration and cooperation, 5) structural economic transformation and 6) means of implementation.
Let me underscore that renewed and strengthened partnership for development it is very essential that it is clearly reflected in the post 2015 development Agenda. The LLDCs partnership with the transit countries and development partners is indispensable for making meaningful development. Strengthened partnerships in the context of South South Cooperation, triangular cooperation, partnership with international and regional organizations, as well as between public and private sector actors are also key.
With regard to Means of Implementation, increased support to countries in special situations such as the group of LLDCs in order for them to fully implement the new programme of Action. New additional priorities on structural transformation of economies for LLDCs especially need increased resources. In this regard additional and improved commitments to ODA, Aid for Trade, Foreign Direct Investment and South-South cooperation should be fully enhanced and harnessed to address the physical and non-physical barriers that separate LLDCs from the broad currents of world trade and to help them to structurally transform their economies. The LLDCs also require support in the form of increased market access, and technology transfer for enhanced productive capacities.
The group of LLDCs also wishes to emphasise on the importance of efficient and regular follow up mechanism at global, regional and national level for the post 2015 development agenda that also embraces the LLDCs need for strengthened statistical data system, that will enable them generate appropriate data. The UN system should be enhanced to particularly ensure that the UN institutions at country level be supported in our countries to integrate advancement of LLDCs and priorities of the new programme of action as well as develop a criteria and indicators for measuring the progress of implementing the new VPoA in LLDCs.
Let me conclude by stressing the following key issues that the Post 2015 development Agenda should consider for the LLDCs;
1) the international community to give priority to the special needs of the LLDCs as agreed upon in the VPoA and reflect these matters in the final draft of the negotiations of Post 2015 development agenda as well as the global agendas such as the Conference on Financing for Development, the United Nations Climate Change Conference and others.
2) The group would like to see reflected in the Political Declaration of the post 2015 development agenda, specific reference to the special challenges and priorities of the LLDCs.
3) The Special Programme of Work of the WTO should take into consideration the LLDCs priorities of Transit, Trade and Trade Facilitation as their economic growth and development face vulnerability due to the geographical disadvantage.
4) The LLDCs need special preferential and differential treatment including in the generalized system of preferences with the WTO Bali agreement.
I wish to express to the Co-facilitators, of the LLDCs group’s support in this process and the willingness to engage in these negotiations in a constructively way to the successful conclusion of the post-2015 development agenda.
I thank you
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