Honorable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure and honor for me to be in New Delhi and to attend the Ministerial Meeting “Harnessing the Positive Contribution of South-South Cooperation for the Development of LDCs”.
I would like to express my most sincere thanks and gratitude to H.E. Krishna, Minister for External Affairs of India for the excellent organization of this meeting and for the warm hospitality extended to us. I would also like to express my gratitude to Prime Minister Singh for his visionary speech to us.
This timely event is one of the most important pre-conference activities towards the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (UNLDC4) that Turkey will host in Istanbul on 9 to 13 May 2011.
I am also encouraged by the high- level participation in this meeting. The arrival of over twenty Ministers in Delhi reflects the political will on the part of the developing world to engage in close South-South cooperation and to consider significant input to the UNLDC4 Conference. Before coming to New Delhi, I also visited Nepal and had a chance to have extensive consultations with the President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and the Minister of State.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As a developing country, Turkey feels privileged to host the UNLDC4, which will draw up the parameters of a renewed and invigorated partnership to the benefit of the LDCs and beyond for the next decade. The LDCs are the most vulnerable, the weakest link of our global fabric. The international community is at a critical juncture. We firmly believe that now is the time to act and to deliver. We must come up with a new global vision for the social and economic development and the sustained growth of the LDCs. This new vision should strongly reflect both the fundamental parameters of the international development agenda and the development priorities of the LDCs themselves. In Istanbul, we should come up with ambitious yet realistic targets and a tangible set of commitments and deliverables.
The new economic development architecture that we are trying to establish in the aftermath of the global economic and financial crisis should aim at sustained, all inclusive and equitable growth as well as sustainable development. All peoples have a right to benefit from global wealth and prosperity. This is a moral obligation of the international community as a whole. We need a new paradigm based on justice to properly address the new challenges that the developing countries and in particular the LDCs are faced with. We need to come up with innovative ideas and new modalities of cooperation that would help us shape this new architecture. This is a collective responsibility not only on the part of Member States of the United Nations, but also of the civil society, parliamentarians and the private sector.
I am also grateful for the active engagement of the LDCs themselves as well as of major development partners in the substantive preparations of the Conference.
LDCs have been facing serious challenges in meeting the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. It is regretable that at the beginning of the twenty first century many LDCs are yet to provide their people with safe drinking water, water for sanitation, electricity, access to health facilities and education, which are essential human needs. They are caught in the vicious trap of poverty and hunger. These challenges are exacerbated by new global challenges, namely the global economic and financial crises, food security, energy security and climate change.
In light of these manifold challenges, some longstanding and some new, our efforts must be focused on increasing LDCs’ resilience by enhancing their human, institutional and productive capacities through strengthened international support measures. Sustained and inclusive economic growth and development should be achieved through collective efforts on the part of the LDCs and development partners.
The international community can no longer remain indifferent. “Business as usual” is not a solution. In fact, the message has always been very simple and continuous throughout human history; “Help the needy and defend their rights”. It's in the Koran; it is in the Torah; it is in the Gospels; it is in the Rig Veda, it is in the Upanishads and other holy texts of humanity.
What we need to do is to approach the problems of the LDCs, as a global challenge and seek a global solution without further delay. It is our collective conscience that compels us to galvanize efforts, mobilize resources and sensitize the public on this festering issue.
As a strong supporter of South-South Cooperation, Turkey is ready and willing to do its part, with deep sincerity. In fact, Turkey’s experience as an emerging donor in providing development assistance derives from the basic parameters of this cooperation mechanism. Over the years, Turkey has placed knowledge and experience sharing at the heart of its development policies. We have focused on both short-term projects with immediate impact on local communities, as well as longer-term infrastructural projects, including roads, irrigation canals, dams, schools, hospitals, and housing. Turkish development assistance has contributed to the efforts of developing countries, including the LDCs, in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. We are ready to share our experience with the LDCs and also ready to learn from the LDCs as well/
We are determined to enhance our contributions to the international development efforts in the years to come. In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate once again that Turkey attaches the utmost importance to the success of the UNLDC4. We have been actively involved in the preparatory work of the conference in terms of its organization as well as its substance.
Excellencies,
The Istanbul Program of Action will be the guide for the development partners as well as the LDCs for the next decade. We should aim at a comprehensive document containing targets that are forward looking, action oriented and implementable. Both LDCs and development partners must be clear about what they should do and how they should do it. The Program should create a substantial change in the lives of over 800 million people living in the LDCs. The international community should renew and upgrade its commitment to support LDCs in their efforts to confront their development challenges. Turkey, as an emerging donor country and the host of the Conference will try to promote a clear political will to overcome the existing challenges in a spirit of broad based partnership and solidarity.
We believe that broad support from all stakeholders, including the civil society, along with parliamentarians and the private sector, is essential in effectively implementing development strategies and monitoring the delivery of commitments on the ground. In this context, the side events planned for the participation of the private sector, civil society and parliamentarians during the UNLDC4 will certainly bring a fresh impetus to our work at the intergovernmental level.
In this context, I am also pleased to inform you that a package is under preparation containing Turkey’s contributions to address the challenges of the LDCs in the years to come.
I earnestly hope that Turkey’s efforts be matched by all the other development partners.
I have also instructed my colleagues to organize, as a special event, an Intellectuals/Academicians Forum, We have invited eminent personalities to Istanbul to deliberate on the moral philosophy, which I believe will add an intellectual depth and dimension to our undertakings.
The success of the 4th Conference will not only be based on the immediate outcomes, but also on the close and systematic monitoring and follow-up of the implementation of commitments and targets. Turkey is ready to contribute to the monitoring and follow-up mechanism to help ensure the timely achievement of the goals and commitments.
Excellencies,
We should continue to conduct an intensive campaign to sensitize the developed world to the challenges faced by the LDCs. It is crucial that the UNLDC4 and the Istanbul Program of Action are embraced not only by the LDCs, but also by the international community as a whole.
May I leave you with a last thought: The fact that the least economically developed countries, in most cases possess the most cultural, civilizational, historical and traditional depth puts them in a special category that few “developed countries” can hope to attain for centuries. Today, I see in this room the representatives of the most influential civilizations of history. We should be proud of our cultural identity and legacy. This will guide us in our development efforts.
Before concluding, I would like to commend H.E. Cheick Sidi Diarra, High Representative and the Secretary-General of the UNLDC4. I thank him for his leadership and wisdom through which he has guided the preparatory process. My special thanks also go to his able team and all UN core agencies for their dedication and hard work in this worthy cause.
Finally, I would encourage you to participate in this very important conference at the highest political level.
Turkey is ready to work with all stakeholders in this regard to make the Conference a great success. I look forward to welcoming you in Istanbul in May.
Thank you.