DPM Shrestha highlights Nepal’s relentless efforts to advance shared interests, concerns of LDCs

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha delivered his opening remarks at the Annual Ministerial meeting of the LDC Group of countries in the capacity of the chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the LDCs on Thursday.

During the meeting Shrestha handed over a gavel, as a symbol of Chair, to Prof. Nassirou Bako-Arifari, Foreign Minister of Benin.

It may be recalled that Nepal had taken over the responsibility of Chairmanship of LDCs Global Coordination Bureau from Bangladesh in September 2009, since that period Nepal actively led the LDCs as a group and strongly put forward the shared interests of LDCs across the United Nations system and other relevant regional and multilateral fora around the world. Leading the LDCs group Nepal played lead role including on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and coordinated negation to finalize the document of Istanbul Program of Action (IPOA: 2011-2020) which was adopted by the 4th UN Conference on LDCs held in May 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey.

DPM Shrestha, while delivering the opening remarks at the Ministerial meeting, recalled Nepal’s relentless efforts to advance the shared interests and concerns of LDCs within and beyond the United Nations system and processes. Despite the adverse effect of the ongoing global crises, all members have worked hard and succeeded in forging consensus over a global framework of action for the LDCs in the 4th UN Conference on LDCs which adopted Istanbul Program of Action for 10 years (IPOA), he acknowledged.

He emphasized that it is a moral imperative of the global community to scale up support for the LDCs in achieving the overarching goals of sustainable development help meet the goals that were set in the eight priority areas identified by the IPOA. The need of the time is to ensure full and speedy implementation of the IPOA so as to lift-off half of the LDCs from their current status, Shrestha stressed.

DPM Shrestha said that the effective implementation of IPOA is a huge task in itself, since half of the LDCs’ population still lives below poverty line and there is limited progress in education and health sectors. Building strong productive capacity remains critical to achieve robust growth and sustainable development for poverty reduction as well as for the attainment of the MDGs by 2015, he said.

Bilateral Meetings

Meanwhile, DPM Shrestha held a bilateral meeting with Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign affairs of Luxembourg. The two leaders exchanged views on the ways and means of strengthening relations between two countries and agreed to work together in international forums including the United Nations for advancing mutual interests.

He also held a bilateral meeting with Bob Carr, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia. The two leaders expressed satisfaction over strengthening relationships at the levels of the two governments and people and emphasized on the need to further collaboration and mutual exchanges of high-level visits. They agreed to work together in the UN and other multilateral fora on matters achieving mutual interest.

A separate delegation led by Member of the National Planning Commission Dr. Shiba Kumar Rai participated at the High-Level Meeting on Scaling-Up Nutrition convened by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, also in New York Thursday. nepalnews.com