Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal Hon. Mr. Narayan Prakash Saud in the Capacity of the Chair of LDCs at the Preparatory Ministerial Meeting for the Summit of the Future
New York, 21 September 2023
Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary General,
Hon. Ministers, and
Distinguished Delegates,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of LDCs.
LDCs continue to face both traditional and emerging development challenges. Eradicating poverty, reducing inequality, providing health and education to their people, and ensuring them decent living condition remain daunting tasks for all LDCs.
On top of this, crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and geopolitical competition have imperilled their hard-earned development gains. Debt vulnerabilities and debt distress have added further woes to their worries.
Against this backdrop, we hope that the Summit of the Future to be held next year will be able to adopt an action-oriented Pact for the Future. The outcome must make significant headways in addressing the challenges facing the LDCs, building resilience, and getting the world back on track for accelerated implementation of SDGs.
Mr. President,
The decision we are going to adopt today rightly puts us in this course. It stipulates that the Pact of the Future will build on the SDG Summit, and features SDGs implementation and financing for development as top priorities.
The Summit must take decisive steps to achieve the objectives of sustainable development. It should also be guided by the norms and aspirations as envisaged in the Doha Programme of Action for LDCs.
We must also commit to harness the power of science, technology, and information through a Global Digital Compact and tap the potential of youths through a Declaration of Future Generations.
The Summit will be a crucial occasion to demonstrate our collective commitment to a revitalized and reinforced multilateral system, which is capable to tackle the unprecedented challenges that threaten the very future of humanity.
It will indeed be a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’ for making reforms to and strengthening global governance architecture.
It is important to level-up the playing field for all poorer countries. The LDCs must be ensured substantial development assistance and investment to help them realize their development aspirations and better prepare for the future.
Special support measures for LDCs need to be put in place for building resilience with risk-informed development pathways.
Debt relief measures for LDCs must be ensured.
Finally, the global governance and financial system must not be a prisoner of the past. Timely reforms are critical to make it fair, inclusive, and credible.
The true success and relevance of reforms will be contingent upon the impacts they make on the most vulnerable peoples and countries.
If the rules-based international order is the world’s best ‘insurance policy’, it must ensure a ‘comprehensive cover’ to the furthest behind first.
The Summit of the Future must make significant advances towards this end.
Thank you for your attention.