New York: The State of Qatar stressed its commitment to partnering with the international community for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and respond to challenges.
The country said the challenges facing agenda were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the climate change emergency, conflicts, and crises related to food, energy, and financing.
This came in the statement of Qatar at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The head of Qatar's delegation Wassaya bint Abdullah Al Dhaidah delivered the statement before the Economic and Financial (Second) Committee of the General Assembly on macroeconomic policy.
She said that Qatar looks forward to the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the decade of 2022-2031 as an added value of great importance in the framework of efforts to support these countries and complete their recovery. This, she said, is especially in view of the important and ambitious measures involved in the Doha Programme of Action to bring about the desired transformational change.
She also expressed Qatar’s pride in hosting Part 2 of the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which will be held in Doha from March 5-9, 2023. She expressed hope that the conference will be a milestone event, and that it meets the level of aspirations and expectations of the least developed countries, and supports their path towards achieving sustainable and comprehensive development for the next 10 years.
As part of the endeavours to strengthen the global partnership for achieving sustainable development, Al Dhaidah stressed that the Qatar continued its efforts in this field, working with partners and multilateral organisations, and providing the necessary resources and funding. She pointed out that Qatar Fund for Development continues to respond to needs of various economic development issues.
She noted that the fund provided more than $551m in 2021 for development projects and humanitarian aid, in cooperation with its strategic partners.
She added that during the pandemic Qatar Fund for Development provided about $70m to a host of entities, including the Vaccine Alliance, COVAX, and the World Health Organization. This was in order for them to provide the medical devices needed to respond to the pandemic, and support efforts to develop and deliver vaccines while enhancing the resilience of health systems.
She also said that Qatar understands the importance of collective work in addressing climate change, one of the most urgent challenges, and is continuing to support global efforts in that regard.
She highlighted that the Qatar Fund for Development provided a contribution to support Least Developed Countries, and Small Island Developing States to improve their food security and develop sustainable solutions that enhances their resilience.
As part of Qatar’s support for innovative initiatives that provide new solutions and approaches to address development challenges, the state has renewed its support for the UNDP Accelerator Labs. The fund announced an additional contribution of $10m to the laboratory network, bringing the total support to $30m.
