Mr. President of the General Assembly,

Mr. President of the Economic and Social Council,

At the outset, allow me to thank you for your commitment to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in these trying times.
I also thank the previous speakers and panelists for their very insightful and intriguing remarks, on the challenges faced by the LDCs, and how the development partners could further support them.
I believe that today’s rich discussion will feed into the upcoming Session of the Preparatory Committee of the LDC-5 Conference to be held from 26 to 30 July, 2021.
Excellencies, dear colleagues,
One year into the Covid-19 pandemic, the multilateral system is still far from providing a coordinated and targeted response to LDCs, in addressing the immediate health crisis and mitigating its socio-economic impacts.
This extraordinary global challenge requires strong international cooperation. Now is the time to ramp up our efforts to strengthen solidarity with the LDCs, first and foremost, through providing equitable acccess to vaccines.
It is alarming that, as of May 2021, only 1.6 percent of global Covid-19 vaccinations have been administered in LDCs; whereas Africa, where 33 of the 46 LDCs are located, have received less than 2 percent of the world’s Covid-19 vaccines.
The provision of affordable and rapid supply of vaccines and antiviral drugs needs to be prioritized without delay, including through the COVAX Facility.
The “Tech Access Partnership” launched by the UN Technology Bank, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, UNCTAD and UNDP, should be supported to enhance the access of LDCs to health technologies and contribute to the local production capacity in developing countries.
We also need to put back on track the child immunization programmes, which have been interrupted in 70 countries by the pandemic.
Colleagues,
The pandemic shines a harsh light on the need to build productive capacities in LDCs, including in agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

Unfortunately, since the adoption of the Istanbul Programme of Action, LDCs have achieved limited progress in structural economic transformation and domestic value addition.

The contribution of manufacturing to GDP remained at around 10 per cent.

In the next decade of action for LDCs, we need to provide a coherent framework for LDCs to ensure an integrated approach to promote structural transformation, which could only be enabled by diversified financial tools, including mobilizing domestic resources and private sector investment.

As part of our work in this direction, first, we should support the efforts of LDCs in establishing conducive financial and macroeconomic frameworks. This will also enable inclusive long-term growth, ensure macroeconomic stability and reduce within-country inequalities.

Second, we should prioritize effective global economic governance, along with accelerated action on the reform of the international debt architecture and on lowering the cost of remittances.

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the protracted debt crisis of LDCs, as half of them are in debt distress or at high risk. It has also severely effected the remittances, which are further expected to fall by more than 20 per cent.

We also need to step up our efforts to honor our financial commitments, including on the Official Development Assistance.

In line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, Türkiye’s total development assistance for 46 LDCs reached 8.7 billion USD between 2009 and 2019.

We were recognized as a leading donor country in 2019, with 7.6 billion USD worth of humanitarian aid.
Türkiye will continue to support the Covid-19 related debt relief initiatives, including in the G20 to create more fiscal space, in order to address the increasing debt burden faced by LDCs.

Colleagues,

The LDC-V Conference will take place at a critical time when our societies and economies are adjusting to the new dynamics of the post-pandemic world.

The success of the next decade of action for LDCs will depend on LDC’s determination and the support from the development partners.

Our collective agenda should be based on international cooperation and multilateral solutions, as we will win or lose together.

Thank you.