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Ambassador Esen Altug,

Ms. Gwi Yeop Son, Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, DCO,

Mr. Deodat Maharaj, Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank for LDCs, 

Resident Coordinators,

Distinguished National Focal Points,  

A warm welcome to our annual NFP meeting. 

I am so very pleased to see such a strong presence here today, with the highest number of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) participating in the annual NFP meeting. 

At the outset, I would like to extend my deep appreciation to the Government of Türkiye for its generous support and excellent hospitality, here in the beautiful and historic city of Istanbul. I would also like to thank other partner countries for their support to this meeting.
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We deeply value this partnership and appreciate their invaluable support to the LDC NFP network. 

I also wish to thank colleagues from relevant UN entities for their active participation, collaboration, and contributions. 

Two years after the adoption of the Doha Programme of Action-the DPOA, LDCs are at different stages of mainstreaming and implementing the DPOA. 

However, the lingering socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with complex geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges are pushing LDCs to the edge. They face mounting capacity and fiscal constraints in implementing the DPOA.  

Addressing these constraints is imperative if we are to ensure the full and effective implementation of the DPOA by delivering on its transformative targets, commitments, and deliverables. 

At last year’s annual meeting, LDCs stressed the need for further support in mainstreaming and monitoring the implementation of the DPOA. They also suggested developing a standardized framework for aligning national development strategies with the DPOA and called for capacity building in this regard. 
Effective mainstreaming and monitoring are vital for the timely, full, and successful implementation of the DPOA.  A critical lesson learned from the previous Programmes of Action for the LDCs was the lack of a robust framework for effective mainstreaming and monitoring.

The Guidelines, before you, are the culmination of our efforts to bridge this gap.  They have been developed through extensive consultations with LDCs, the Inter-Agency Consultative Group of the LDCs, and the Offices of the UN Resident Coordinators in LDCs. I extend my sincere thanks to all who have contributed to the development of the Guidelines. 

The Guidelines offer toolkits for policymakers in LDCs to align the national development plans with the DPOA and adapt them to national, subnational, and local conditions. 

National experiences and lessons learned provided in the Guidelines aim to help LDCs prioritize the commitments and targets of the DPOA and identifying interventions with multiplier effects. 
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While LDCs assume ownership and leadership in implementation of the DPOA, targeted support from the UN country team, led by the UN Resident Coordinators in LDCs, is crucial. The Guidelines will also serve as a resource for the UN country teams in LDCS to offer tailored capacity building support.

The guidelines also provide practical examples from the ground on successful multi-stakeholder initiatives to support the implementation of the DPOA and underline the importance of the principle of shared responsibility and mutual accountability between LDCs and their development partners through a renewed and strengthened global partnership.

Allow me to highlight three specific points, which require further work and collaboration to advance this shared agenda:

First: we need to address the data gaps that impede evidence-based decision-making in LDCs. 

LDCs face significant challenges in data collection and analysis due to lack of technical and institutional capacity. This hinders evidence-based policy making, monitoring progress, and building a stronger case for accessing development financing. 
Our preparation of the annual Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the DPOA identified persistent data gaps, resulting in difficulties in reporting on some targets. 

Therefore, scaling up support and technical assistance to help LDCs advance in data collection and statistical analysis, prioritizing high-quality, inclusive, reliable, and disaggregated data, is urgently required. 

Second: we need to forge synergy with existing processes to improve policy coherence, promote better alignment with the SDGs, and enhance monitoring of progress towards the DPOA. 

The DPOA coincides with the Decade of Action to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. 

It also overlaps with the new Programmes of Action of SIDS and the LLDCs.

In the 4th International Conference of the SIDS, held in Antigua and Barbuda, in May this year, the Member States adopted the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) for the next 10 years. 
The new Programme of Action for the LLDCs has also been agreed in June this year, which will be adopted at the Third UN Conference on the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3) in Gaborone, Botswana, in December. 

Among the 45 LDCs, 16 are LLDCs, and 8 are SIDS.  Given the overlapping mandates, priorities and focus of these three POAs, it is important to adopt an integrated approach. In particular, the countries which would be simultaneously implement two POAs because of their concurrent memberships of two vulnerable groups (such as: an LDC/LLDC or an LDC/SIDS), must identify interlinkages across the targets to prioritize actions, and make best use of the resources.  
 
Third: LDCs in conflict and post-conflict situations need integrated and tailored support in their efforts to mainstream the DPOA into national development plans and build monitoring mechanisms. 

These countries are faced with growing needs for humanitarian, development, and peace building support.  
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The DPOA highlights the nexus between sustaining peace and sustainable development.  It further invites all relevant 51吃瓜 entities to collaborate under the Inter-Agency Consultative Group for the LDCs to develop operational guidelines for supporting the LDCs, which are conflict-affected. 

I am pleased to inform you that my Office has already started its work in this regard and plans to collaborate with the relevant UN entities to fulfil this mandate. 

To enable the LDCs, which are in a conflict and post-conflict situation, to embark on a path of sustainable development, we indeed need greater cooperation, coherence, coordination and complementarity among development, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian action, and peacebuilding actors.

Excellencies, Dear Colleagues, 

Two years have passed since the adoption of the Doha Programme of Action. 

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My Office has prepared a roadmap for the implementation of the DPOA, identifying specific actions for LDCs, development partners, the UN system, and other stakeholders. The roadmap also includes milestones for the midterm review in 2026 and the period leading up to 2031.  

I am pleased to inform you that tangible progress has been made in the five deliverables of the DPOA, in particular, the food stockholding mechanism to ensure food security of LDCs, and a resilience building mechanism for LDCs to build multi-hazard early warning systems and multi-hazard crises mitigation for risk-informed sustainable development. 

We are very close to securing funding for the implementation of these two deliverables.  

In the remaining few months of this year, a few major events will take place. They include the Summit of the Future, the ministerial meeting of the LDC, LLDC and SIDS Groups, and COP- 29 on climate change. 
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We are also preparing for the Third UN Conference on the Landlocked Developing Countries in Gaborone, Botswana from 10 to 13 December. 

This is our once-in-a-decade opportunity to mobilize further political support in favour of the sustainable and resilient development of the LLDCs in the next decade. 

My office will continue to provide necessary support to the relevant intergovernmental processes and prepare for your country’s effective participation in these meetings, as well reflecting the priorities of the LDCs in the outcomes of these important meetings and processes. 

Excellencies, Dear Colleagues,
 
This workshop is the first of its kind organized by my Office to cater to the growing demand of LDCs for capacity building. This initiative represents our commitment to supporting LDCs in their efforts to effectively implement and monitor the DPOA. 
Your active engagement and timely feedback are crucial to our mission. They will not only help us refine and enhance this training module but also shape future programs to better meet your needs. 
I would like to thank, Mr. Eric Akobeng, who was commissioned by my Office to develop the Guidelines.  And I am happy that he has joined us here to facilitate the training workshop. 

I am also very pleased to have here with us the UN Resident Coordinators in Bangladesh, Lao PDR, Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia.  I thank them for their support and contribution.  

Looking ahead, my Office plans to incorporate the lessons learned and feedback received to ensure our future programmes remain relevant and impactful. This ongoing dialogue and partnership will be key to our collective success.

I trust that you will find the training programme over the next two days enriching and beneficial. 

I thank you.  I wish you a productive workshop.