Midterm Review of the Istanbul Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries - Antalya, 27-29 May 2016

ANTALYA, Turkey, 27 May — The world’s 48 poorest countries were an enormous resource for global prosperity, but without redoubled efforts to help them enhance productivity, diversify their economies and weather external shocks, the full potential of their 900 million citizens would remain untapped, high-level speakers stressed today as the Midterm Review for the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries opened in Antalya, Turkey.

High-level officials from around the world have gathered in Antalya, Turkey, today to assess the progress of the world’s least developed countries and their path to sustainable development.  The event is set to discuss the lessons learnt over the past five years and assess ways forward, highlighting that global peace and prosperity hinges on progress in these countries where almost a billion people face significant development challenges.

ISTANBUL, 12 May — As central managers of families and communities, women held the key to unlocking human development potential, but unless they were equally empowered to access financial, social and health services, and engaged — from the start — in decisions that affected their lives, least developed countries would remain powerless to unleash it, said participants in the last of six high-level thematic debates held during the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

ISTANBUL, 11 May — The inexorable collapse of autocratic regimes in Africa, the stirring cries for free expression in the Middle East, and the demand for transparent political processes worldwide were vivid examples of why good governance practices should be encouraged –- and reinforced -- in all societies, experts said this morning during a high-level panel at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

ISTANBUL, 11 May — An expert panel at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries this afternoon considered the unique vulnerabilities of those countries and weighed strategies to help them rise above a raft of complex challenges, including geographical isolation, skyrocketing food prices, global warming, and lack of access to clean water.

ISTANBUL, 10 May — Prodigious existing domestic and international flows of funds, as well as innovative financing methods, must be harnessed to fill the huge gap in infrastructure and human resources suffered by the poorest countries, a high-level panel said this morning at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Istanbul.

ISTANBUL, 9 May — Declaring that they had lived up to their end of the development partnership bargain, leaders from developing nations called for renewed political will from donors to help them stimulate economic activity, create jobs, participate as equals in global trade and turn back the ravages of poverty, as talks on a new 10-year development programme for the world’s poorest countries got under way in Istanbul this afternoon.