Diplomatic Desk:
Dr. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Finance and Planning, has called for a significant increase in soft financing, reform of the international financial framework, easy access to climate finance, market expansion and strengthening of technology cooperation to accelerate the sustainable development of the world’s least developed countries (LDCs).
He made this call in his statement on behalf of the LDC group at the general debate of the high-level session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held at the United Nations Headquarters.
Dr. Titumir said that increasing credit risks, adverse impacts of climate change, declining official development assistance (ODA), digital inequality and limited access to affordable finance are all reasons why LDCs are facing major challenges in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He called on the international community to provide predictable financing, equitable debt solutions, effective climate action, development-friendly trade policies and increased opportunities for technology transfer to advance the development of LDCs.
In his speech, he reiterated the commitment of the LDC Group to implement the 2030 Agenda and the Doha Development Agenda. Dr. Titumir noted that the time available to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is less than five years. Therefore, urgent and coordinated global initiatives are needed to remove structural barriers to LDCs.
He said that sustainable development cannot be ensured without building a fair and effective international financial system for developing and least developed countries. In this regard, he emphasized on making the promised cooperation of developed countries more effective and practical.
