Statement by Dr. Arjun Karki, Chair and Spokesperson of the Civil Society Steering Committee, to the LDC Bureau closed group meeting during the UN LDC IV Conference, Istanbul, Turkey (9 May 2011)

Mr. Chairman Rt. Honourable Jhala Nath Khanal, Prime Minister of Nepal,

His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations,

Head of Delegations,

President Wolfensohn, Co-chair of the Group of Eminent Persons,

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the Civil Society Steering Committee and Civil Society Forum representatives gathered here in this beautiful city of Istanbul, I thank you for this invitation to address you. It is also a personal honour.

Opening Remarks by Dr Arjun Karki, International Coordinator of LDC Watch and Chair and Spokesperson of the LDC-IV Civil Society Forum       

Honourable Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu, Foreign Minister of Turkey

His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations,

His Excellency Joseph Diess, President of the General Assembly,

Rt. Honourable Jhala Nath Khanal, Prime Minister of Nepal,

Ms Antoneita Gomes, Former Foreign Minister of Guinea-Bissau,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Civil Society Colleagues,

It is my great pleasure and honour to warmly welcome you to this Civil Society Forum of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the LDCs. I thank you for your commitment, solidarity and enthusiasm to be with us today, at this critical juncture. Over the next four days we will be adopting the new Programme of Action for the betterment of the world’s poorest, most vulnerable and marginalised citizens – and we are talking about over 900 million of our fellow human beings!

Arjun Karki 
 
MAY 07 -
As world leaders prepare to discuss the issues and challenges facing the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) next week in Istanbul, Turkey, one issue that rich nations would like to see off the table has been haunting the poorest parts of the world for a long time.

The huge burden of debt has perpetually dragged down growth in LDCs. In today’s international economic order, the LDCs are caught in a vicious debt trap that has sapped their energy.