STATEMENT BY DR. ARJUN KARKI, INTERNATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR AT THE MEETING OF THE HEADS OF STATE/GOVERNMENT/DELEGATION ON RIO+20 AND LDCS, UN CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (RIO+20) 21 JUNE 2012, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

Right Honourable Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Prime Minister of Nepal and the Chair of the LDC Group,His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey,His Excellency Elio Di Rupo, Prime Minister of Belgium,His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations,His Excellency Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the General Assembly of the United Nations,Hon. Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Mr. Chairperson, let me begin by saying that we cannot achieve sustainable development anywhere if we fail to ensure it in the 48 UN defined Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Mr. Chairperson, the richest 10 per cent of people on this planet hold 57 per cent of global income while the poorest 20 per cent has less than 1 per cent; this one per cent also includes the share of LDC group of countries.