Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan will continue to advocate several specific steps to advance sustainable development in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to move towards the implementation of Doha Programme of Action.

Addressing the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha on Monday, he said Pakistan fully supports and expresses solidarity with the developing countries in their quest for social progress and economic prosperity. However, meeting its ambitious target, will require revitalize global partnerships based on effective means of implementation in the priority areas.

The Prime Minister said 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.

He called for addressing vaccine inequity through advocating and its timely access for Least Developed Countries.

The Prime Minister said historical commitment of official development assistance comprising 0.7 percent of the gross national income of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s countries must be fulfilled of which 0.15 to 0.2 percent must be allocated to the Least Developed Countries.

Shehbaz Sharif said we must address the increasingly unsustainable debt burden of many Least Developed Countries. He said 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 we must provide universal access to social protection in order to support most needy and vulnerable.

The Prime Minister said we also need to reform the unequal international financial architecture and make it people-centric.

He said 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.

He noted that Doha Program of Action sets an ambitious target to enable fifteen additional Least Developed Countries to meet the criteria for graduation by 2031.

Shehbaz Sharif thanked Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for hosting the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

Source: Radio Pakistan