The challenges facing the world's least developed countries (LDCs) are testing international solidarity and the credibility of multilateralism, Prime Minister's Adviser for Finance and Planning Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir said on Monday, urging stronger global partnerships and presenting a five-point agenda for urgent action.
"The LDC Group stands ready to work with all partners to ensure that the mid-term review becomes a turning point—one that restores momentum, rebuilds trust, and delivers on the promise of sustainable development, leaving no one behind," Titumir said during the general debate of the high-level segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on behalf of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the UN General Assembly Hall in New York.
The Group reaffirmed its commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA), describing them as the guiding framework for advancing sustainable, resilient development and ensuring smooth graduation from LDC status.
"As we enter the final stretch to 2030, progress toward the SDGs remains alarmingly off track. For the LDCs, the situation is even more critical," Prof Titumir said, adding that vulnerabilities, aggravated by climate change, rising debt burdens, constrained fiscal space, declining official development assistance (ODA), widening digital divides, and limited access to affordable finance continue to hamper development efforts.
