Statement by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the Expanded Extraordinary Meeting of OIC Executive Committee, 12 August 2014, Jeddah Statement by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu at the Meeting of Turkey-CARICOM Consultation and Cooperation Mechanism, 18 July 2014, İstanbul Speech of H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Conference on “International Development Cooperation: Trends and Emerging Opportunities -Perspectives of the New Actors”, 20 June 2014, Istanbul Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the 41st Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, 18 June 2014, Jeddah Speech Delivered by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu at the Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, 28 May 2014, Algeria Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 4th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, 21 May 2014, Shanghai Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Meeting of Group of Friends of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, 2 April 2014, New York Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the OIC Executive Committee Meeting on the Latest Developments in the Central African Republic, 20 February 2014, Jeddah Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Geneva II Conference, Montreux, 22 January 2014 Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the 16th Session of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers, 19 December 2013, Islamabad Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 29th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, 12 December 2013, Yerevan Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 21st Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization, 26 November 2013, Tehran Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Member States, 25 November 2013, Manama Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the High Level Segment Meeting During the 64th Excom Meeting of UNHCR, Geneva, 30 September 2013 Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Group of Friends Ministerial Meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations, 27 September 2013, New York Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the meeting entitled “LDC Graduation: The Way Towards MDG Acceleration, Sustainable Development and Structural Transformation”, 27 September 2013, New York Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum Opening Speech by H.E. Ahmet Davutoglu Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, 27 September 2013, New York Address by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 22nd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, İstanbul, 29 June 2013 Speech Delivered by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the 28th Ministerial Meeting of BSEC, 21 June 2013, Odessa Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the OIC Donor Conference in Support of The City of Al-Quds, Baku, Azerbaijan, 11 June 2013 Speech delivered by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Mali, 13 May 2013, Jeddah Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Somalia Conference, 7 May 2013, London Address by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Third Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process, 26 April 2013, Almaty Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the Third Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention, 9 April 2013, The Hague Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 24th Summit Meeting of the League of Arab States, 26 March 2013, Doha Speech Delivered by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, in the University of London School of Economics and Political Science, 7 March 2013, London Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the UN Human Rights Council, 25 February 2013, Geneva Statement by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the Ministerial Meeting Preparatory to the Twelfth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, 4 February 2013, Cairo Speech Delivered by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the Ministerial Meeting of BSEC,15 December 2012, İstanbul Opening Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, 14 December 2012, Abu Dhabi
  1. Ministry
  2. List of Former Ministers of Foreign Affairs
  3. Ahmet Davutoğlu
  4. Speeches of the Minister
  5. Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the meeting entitled “LDC Graduation: The Way Towards MDG Acceleration, Sustainable Development and Structural Transformation”, 27 September 2013, New York
Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the meeting entitled “LDC Graduation: The Way Towards MDG Acceleration, Sustainable Development and Structural Transformation”, 27 September 2013, New York

Distinguished Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to welcome you to the Turkish House.

Thank you for joining us in this event on “LDC Graduation: The Way Towards MDG Acceleration, Sustainable Development and Structural Transformation”

I am delighted to chair this meeting together with my distinguished colleague, H.E. Mr. Jean-Pascal Labille, Minister for Development Cooperation of Belgium.

My special thanks go to H.E. Mr. Helen Clark, Administrator of the UNDP, for being with us.

I should also like to thank H.E. Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya, Under- Secretary General, and his able team, for their efforts for the organization of today’s event.

Excellencies,

The Istanbul Conference in May 2011 was a landmark in drawing global attention to the LDCs. We must deliver on our commitments stipulated in the Istanbul Programme of Action timely and effectively.

The global economic crisis and austerity measures should not be put forward as excuses to waver from our joint commitment to help the most vulnerable among us.

As a member of the G-20 and an emerging donor country, Turkey is committed to implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action and supports the development endeavors of LDCs in the context of South-South Cooperation.

We believe that the Economic and Technical Cooperation Package of Turkey towards the LDCs will have a substantial impact on the ground, in line with our proven successful record in providing demand-driven and need-based assistance.

Our total spending on the projects implemented in LDCs in 2012 is estimated around 260 million US Dollars.

For Somalia alone, the Turkish people collected over 300 million US Dollars last year in voluntary donation campaigns conducted in the framework of the humanitarian crisis caused by drought, hunger and famine in the country.

We are providing many scholarships to the students from the LDCs. Turkey stands ready to host Science, Technology and Innovation Center/Technology Bank dedicated to the LDCs. The International Agricultural Center in İzmir is already working with the LDCs, mainly through training programmes.

Turkey’s current investments in the LDCs have exceeded 2 billion USD. We aim to increase this amount to 10 billion USD by 2020. The Turkish private sector is being facilitated through various support measures such as increased credit lines for LDC-related projects and programs.

Furthermore, the Turkish civil society organizations are conducting training and education programmes, building hospitals and schools, extending financial aid, providing health services and donating equipment in many LDCs.

The goal of enabling half of the LDCs to graduate from this category within this decade may seem ambitious. However, it is our firm belief that this is achievable provided that the necessary political will is demonstrated on the part of development partners. New thinking and sustained efforts are required to this effect. We cannot continue with the “business-as-usual” approach in the international aid and development architecture.

There exists a need for a smooth transition process for the graduating LDCs. They should not feel uncomfortable and left behind after graduation. In this regard, the donor community and the UN system should continue their assistance to those countries. It is highly important to craft their smooth transition process in line with their specific needs and ongoing vulnerabilities. Otherwise, we cannot encourage the LDCs, especially those approaching to fulfill the graduation criteria, to graduate.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we continue our work to define sustainable development goals and establish the post-2015 development agenda, we must pay special attention and due care to the particular conditions of the LDCs. The Member States and the UN system should consider and adopt effective safeguards for countries in the LDC category in the context of the deliberations on the post-2015 development agenda.

Turkey will assume the Chairmanship of the G-20 in 2015. LDCs will be one of the priorities of our G-20 Chairmanship and we will be in close consultation with our counterparts in the LDCs to obtain concrete results on the ground and make some LDCs to graduate.

Finally, I would like to reiterate that Turkey already offered to host the Midterm Review Conference of the Istanbul Programme of Action in 2015 as well.

I thank you once again for your participation.