From 5 to 7 March 2023, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Gunda Reire, took part in the United Nations 5th Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha, Qatar. The Parliamentary Secretary delivered an address at the plenary session and took part in a high-level thematic round table on science and innovation.
In her speech at the general debate, Gunda Reire emphasised that countries still trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and the adverse impacts of climate change were now fighting additional challenges – food shortage, rising energy prices, and the shortage of artificial fertilisers, which influence future crop yields and people’s incomes. Access to food is a fundamental human right; we must not allow Russia to weaponize food, the Parliamentary Secretary underlined.
Gunda Reire drew attention to Latvia supporting the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the Grain From Ukraine programme launched by the President of Ukraine to also supply food from Ukraine to the least developed countries. Latvia is prepared to expand cooperation in the areas of digitalisation, gender equality, sustainable agriculture, and good governance. Through the United Nations programmes, Latvia is providing support to address climate change in the least developed countries.
The Parliamentary Secretary also took part in a high-level thematic round table on leveraging the power of science, technology and innovation for the sustainable development of least developed countries. Gunda Reire noted the support provided by Latvia and the European Union to countries in this field: “We see that our knowledge and solutions in the fields of digitisation, smart technology and science have been valued and sought after. Latvian universities, civil society and entrepreneurs are ready to extend this cooperation.”
The Conference on the Least Developed Countries take places once a decade. The aim of the meeting is to take stock of progress, mobilise additional international support for the growth of least developed countries, and agree on cooperation between those countries and their development partners. Help must be provided to overcome structural challenges, eradicate poverty and support them in achieving internationally agreed sustainable development goals.
More than 50 years ago, in 1971, a list of least developed countries was compiled by the United Nations. The list currently comprises 46 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The criteria for a country to fall in this category are the level of income (GNI per capita less than 1018 USD), human resource indicators, especially in the health and education sector, and the economic and environmental vulnerability.
Photo: United Nations