Home » The State of Qatar took part in the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) on Monday. The delegation of the State of Qatar was chaired by HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi. In a videotaped speech during the opening of the session, HE Al Muraikhi expressed thanks and appreciation to HE the Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations Robert Rae and HE the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Rabab Fatima for chairing the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), praising the efforts they exerted to prepare for the session, and the efforts of all members of the committee to make the conference a success. HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said that the State of Qatar has not wavered in playing its desired role as an active partner in the international community in reducing the burdens and addressing common crises and challenges. The State of Qatar has been keen to support the least developed countries, by allocating a large part of its international development aid to these countries. Realizing the importance of supporting countries affected by the negative effects of climate change, HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani announced during the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit Qatar’s contribution of $100 million to support the least developed countries and small island developing states to deal with climate change. HE Al Muraikhi underlined that the State of Qatar attaches great importance to multilateral cooperation, in accordance with its established policy of the need to support effective international partnerships to address the existing challenges. In this framework, the State will host the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), which will be held from January 23 to 27, 2022. In light of the challenges resulting from the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and its negative repercussions that have burdened all countries, especially the least developed countries, HE Al Muraikhi expressed confidence that the LDC5 in Doha will provide a very important opportunity to show the importance of international multilateral action, mobilize additional international support for the least developed countries, and create and promote partnerships between the least developed countries and their development partners in a way that contributes to building and strengthening the capacity of these countries and supporting their path towards development. HE Al Muraikhi said that the State of Qatar looks forward for the work of the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries to build on the previous successes achieved during previous editions, the last of which was the 5th conference hosted by the Republic of Turkey, whose estimated efforts had distinguished contributions represented in the Istanbul Program of Action for the Least Developed Countries. HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs reiterated that the State of Qatar will spare no effort for the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries to be a milestone in fulfilling the aspirations of the millions living in the most vulnerable countries, and to be a starting point for moving forward in finding solutions and investing in the abundant development opportunities in those countries. He noted that the Doha Program of Action for the next ten years will be the first to address the implications of the coronavirus pandemic on the least developed countries, and an opportunity to chart a path that supports these countries in their efforts to build back better, take advantage of the tremendous potential offered by science, technology and innovation, and enable them to emerge from the list of least developed countries and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs believed that the deliberations of the meeting today will form a solid basis and will constitute a valuable contribution to the Doha work program. “We looking forward to your active participation and to welcoming you to Doha in January, and we hope that the Doha conference will achieve its desired goals,” HE concluded. Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs