Momen urges international community to support LDCs in addressing development challenges

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has urged the international community to support the LDCs to address their development challenges 

He highlighted Bangladesh's readiness to share its home-grown development experiences with other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) through South-South and triangular cooperation. The minister made the remarks while delivering a statement at an LDC Group Summit held in Doha, Qatar on 4 March.

He emphasised the need for LDCs to diversify their economies and exports, with customised support from UN programmes and specialised agencies. He also called for the continuation of preferential market access for LDCs for a certain period of time beyond their graduation, reads a press release. 

With regard to WTO services waiver for LDCs, he urged developed countries to align their demands with services offered by LDCs, especially for IT-enabled services.

Momen thanked the UN secretary general for his suggestion that graduation must be rewarded not punished. He further urged the international community to support the submission made by the LDC Group to the WTO for the continuation of waiver provisions under the TRIPS Agreement for graduating LDCs in the interest of their public health, food security, and climate action.
The foreign minister stressed the need for viable investments in infrastructure development and digital transformation in LDCs. He emphasised on effective international support for investing in education, skills, and technology to enhance LDCs' human capital. 

Momen underlined the importance of remittance for LDCS economies and urged destination countries to work together for the reduction of transaction costs for remittances. He called for dignified treatment of migrants in source, transit, and destination countries, regardless of their status.