Kathmandu, July 18 : Dr. Min Bahadur Shrestha, Vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC), shed light on the profound impacts of multiple crises on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) during his statement at the General Debate of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF).

Representing the LDCs, Dr. Shrestha also highlighted the critical priorities necessary to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the LDCs.Earlier on the same day, Dr. Shrestha attended the Opening of the three-day High-level Ministerial Segment of the Forum. The delegation from Nepal, led by Vice-chair Shrestha, arrived in New York on July 13, 2023, to participate in the High-level Political Forum.

During his address, Dr. Shrestha urged the global community to unite in supporting the Doha Programme of Action for LDCs, ensuring its full and timely implementation, while also assisting LDCs in achieving structural transformation through innovation and technology transfer.Emphasizing the importance of multilateralism, he stressed the necessity for global financial architecture reform.

Furthermore, Vice-chair Shrestha called upon the global community to allocate SDG Stimulus to support SDG implementation and to mobilize Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) amounting to 100 billion dollars for the benefit of LDCs. He asserted, “The LDCs must be the center of the global focus: SDGs will succeed if LDCs succeed.”

The delegation from Nepal comprises distinguished members, including Prakash Pantha, Member of Parliament and Chair of the Sustainable Development and Good Governance Committee of the National Assembly, along with Mahesh Kumar Bartaula and Madhav Sapkota, Members of the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament. The delegation also includes Secretaries and officials from the Government of Nepal and officials from the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations.

The 2023 HLPF, themed “Accelerating the recovery from the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels,” is being conducted at the UN Headquarters from July 10 to July 19, 2023.