Unified positions internationally and job creation domestically are key to better future for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). When dealing with the more developed economies, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is encouraging the LDCs to plan and work together for greater effectiveness. Further, foreign investment in LDCs should have as a primary goal job growth.

United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon addressed in Istanbul, Turkey at the meeting of the LDCs and encouraged leaders of the world''s poorest countries to agree on a common position and send a strong political message to the rest of the world on the importance of investing in the least developed countries to eradicate global poverty: “The priority for the new programme of action is to build strong economies that can withstand external shocks,”

The summit of the leaders from 48 States in Istanbul will open this week the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) . The conference will assess the implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action – the outcome document adopted at the 2001 LDC conference – and to reach agreement on a new set of support measures for the 48 nations classified as LDCs. (From UN News Centre)

Ambitious Plans & Action Needed!
Mr. Ban called for the building of productive capacity and the expanding of opportunities for decent employment for men and women in LDCs:
“It means guaranteeing space for civil society and the private sector to operate. It means expanding the provision of essential services – education ? health ? infrastructure ? and social safety nets, especially for nutrition security. To achieve this you will need the engagement of a wide range of partners: traditional donors ? emerging economies ? and the world of business,” said the Secretary-General, urging the leaders “not to allow the new atmosphere of global austerity to undermine progress.”
In an interview with UN Radio, the Secretary-General stressed that the LDCs conference must come up with an “ambitious, strong, workable programme of action.” “We will make sure that it is monitored and [that] these commitments are delivered,” he added.

He acknowledged that the goal of reducing LDCs from 48 at present to 24 over the next decade is ambitious, but realistic, provided that those countries maintain their commitment to implementing the program of action that will emerge from Istanbul.

“Politically Correct & Morally Correct”
Developed countries are also facing challenges similar to those bedevilling poorer nations, including climate change and soaring food prices; however ,Mr. Ban said that the main issue was that LDCs have limited capacity and resources to address those global problems. Assistance from developed countries to developing ones was not charity but the “politically correct and morally correct” thing to do, the Secretary-General said. “Developed countries should understand that this is going to be a great opportunity for them to live together [with others] harmoniously,” he added.
In his speech to the LDCs leaders'' summit, the Mr. Ban said enterprises from around the world will, during the five-day conference, be networking, exchanging ideas and establishing relations that can form an enduring basis for cooperation and opportunity.
“We hope they will go away from Istanbul with the message that doing business in the LDCs is not charity but a wise and profitable endeavour, But even when we leave Istanbul with a comprehensive program of action, there will be no time to relax. The promises made here in Istanbul must become promises kept. As Nelson Mandela remarked on becoming president: ''After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.''” “The United Nations is committed to climbing these hills alongside you,”

Civil Society Forum of LDCs
The Secretary-General also addressed the opening of the civil society forum the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries, telling delegates that the conference success would depend on their energy and ideas.
“You have been representing the aspirations of the people of our planet''s 48 least developed countries during the national, regional and preparatory processes. Your voices have been heard and your ideas are reflected in the draft outcome document of this Conference that will be finalized during the next coming five days,”

Speaking at a session of the LDCs parliamentarians forum, the Secretary-General emphasized that his appeal to the conference will be for more commitment, especially in the key areas of building productive capacity aid and trade debt relief and foreign direct investment technology transfer and climate change adaptation and mitigation. “Securing and implementing this commitment will fall, in large part, with you – the world''s parliamentarians,”

Encouraging & Investing in Job Creation
The Conference of LDCs in Istanbul, Turkey has had several weeks, months of intense preparations, which also includes the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). notes that while FDI to the 48 least developed countries (LDCs) grew rapidly over a decade to reach an estimated $24 billion in 2010, most of that was dedicated to natural-resource extraction – a sector that has tended to create relatively few jobs.
“Such investment also has not tended to ‘fertilize’ LDC economies by leading to greater links between foreign businesses and local firms that can spread know-how and technology and help spur broad-based, long-term economic growth,” the agency says in a news release about the report.
Although FDI has been an economic boon to some LDCs, the report – entitled “Foreign Direct Investment in Least Developed Countries: Lessons Learned from the Decade 2001-2010 and the Way Forward” – states that the majority of them remain marginalized from the world economy.

Internet as Facilitator for Education, Skills Jobs
The report recommends a number of steps including setting up a “LDC infrastructure development fund” that would improve the ability of LDCs to attract investment by upgrading such factors as electricity supply, roads, railroads and computer or Internet connections. It also calls for an aid-for-productive-capacities programme that would support technical and vocational training, education and entrepreneurship in LDCs. “The intent is to provide LDC populations with skills that can attract foreign investment and spur sustainable economic progress,” UNCTAD points out.

In addition, the report recommends that LDC governments and overseas development partners boost efforts to attract small- and medium-scale international investors, and that LDC governments develop strategies and provide incentives to target opportunities where investors can use technology to “leapfrog,” as is already the case in areas such as telecommunications.

In a report launched in March, the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) highlighted the need for LDCs to diversify their economies and for measures to ensure productive employment. The report found that employment in LDCs has grown at an annual average rate of 2.9 per cent, slightly above population growth but much weaker than that of gross domestic product (GDP). However, this growth did not produce sufficient social and economic benefits, according to the agency, which noted that the large majority of workers remained trapped in vulnerable forms of employment that cannot lift them above the poverty line.

If One Gets Out, More Are Encouraged & Likely to Succeed:
The 48 countries currently designated by the UN as LDCs, include 33 in the African region, 14 in Asia and Oceania and one (Haiti) in the Caribbean (Nicaragua has come off the list, since above map was produced). The LDC is a club that no one really wants to be a part off, but it also offers some opportunity to help each other escape it - a type of prison break - if one gets out then more likely more will be encouraged and succeed!

Related Reports: at diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/international-financial-crisis

Including:

---“IMF World Economic Forecast – 2 Speedsss” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/imf-world-economic-forecast2-speedsss/24257

---“Food Prices: Killing Poor- Staggering Middle Classes” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/food-prices-killing-poor-staggering-middle-classes/24574


---“Global Financial Crisis: Transformative or Transitional” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/global-financial-crisis-transformative-or-transitional/26064

By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey
Face Book at “Diplomatically Incorrect”
Twitter - DiplomaticallyX