Sri Lankan State Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr. Tharaka Balasuriya during his participation in LDC5 conference.
Doha: Sri Lankan State Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr. Tharaka Balasuriya has emphasized on the significance of Fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5) and the urgent need in mobilising a commitment to address challenges faced by least developed countries.
“The conference is being held at a very crucial time for Sri Lanka and for least developed countries,” said Dr. Balasuriya speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries being held in Doha.
Explaining the importance of the LDC5 Conference he said that the wealth inequality has increased dramatically between countries since the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic and least developed countries expect a sovereign default by end of 2023; also the geopolitical tensions have resulted in more concerns for the least developed countries.
“As the UN General Secretary mentioned in his speech at the opening of the conference, during the opening of the unfair global financial system is handing Least Developed Countries the rawest of deals. Least Developed Countries face interest rates that are up to 8 times higher than developed countries. This is a very vicious cycle. Therefore unless the global financial architecture is changed the situation would not improve,” said Dr.Balasuriya.
He said that Sri Lanka is an example of being in a situation to allocate more funds to repay the debt than on infrastructure or development.
“We keep paying interest and you are not spending money on infrastructure, development, health or education. It is not just the question of Sri Lanka but of many countries,” said Dr.Balasuriya.
He also emphasized that as mentioned by the UN Secretary General a new Bretton Woods System, which was first example of a fully negotiated monetary order, intended to govern monetary relations among independent states is a timely need for the benefit of least developed countries.
In reply to a question about the implementation of Doha Programme of Action Dr.Balasuriya, said that it is crucial to have commitments by the development partners.
Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed 2022-2031 manifests a new generation of renewed and strengthened commitments between the least developed countries and their development partners, including the private sector, civil society, and governments at all levels.
“We need commitments and need to have a continued process in order to implement and achieve the goals of Doha Programme of Action,” said Dr.Balasuriya
Several bilateral meeting are also being held between the Sri Lankan State Minister of Foreign Affairs and his counterparts and other officials on the sidelines of the LDC5. Dr.Balasuriya met his Qatari counterpart Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi and discussed aspects of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
“We have had several meetings and international conferences always present us with an opportunity to hold bilateral discussions at the venue. Such meetings with friendly counties and development partners are crucial to us,” he said.
