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UN urges developing countries to expedite poverty eradication

UN urges developing countries to expedite poverty eradication
By Joan Chirwa-Ngoma
Thu 12 May 2011, 03:10 CAT

UN General Assembly president Joseph Deiss has asked leaders of developing countries to be impatient and work faster to eliminate poverty.

Deiss, in an interview with UN Radio on the sidelines of the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Istanbul, Turkey, expressed hope that the plan of action that will emerge from the conference will include elements for job creation and greater investment in those nations.

He urged the world to remain keenly engaged in the global effort to combat high levels of poverty in those countries.

“We have to be impatient. We have to work faster than possible, knowing that it will take time, that we’ll have drawbacks. But if you are not ambitious, you will not succeed,” Deiss said.

He said many LDCs were on track to graduate from the LDC category before the effects of the global economic crisis undermined their efforts.

“I think this action plan of Istanbul should restart helping them to come back on this track they were on and create new hopes and also results,” he said.

“Our goal should be that all of them graduate. There should be no one country considered as least developed country. On the other hand we have also to prepare them to graduate,” he added.

Deiss said supporting LDCs was not only a question of money, but also partnership.

“It is also a case for the LDCs. They have their own homework and this is essentially the institutions. They have to create the framework so investments can be profitable…both sides have to do it,” said Deiss.

posted by MrK @ 6:10 AM