Chakwera Support Endorsement Of Doha Programme of Action for LDCs

State President Dr Lazarus Chakwera on Thursday endorsed the Doha Programme of Action because it outlines steps for diversifying economies, for increasing exports and trade in Least Developed Countries (LDCs).Chakwera said the Doha Programme of Action demands a collaborative, collective, and courageous response.

The President made the remarks at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, when he was delivering a keynote address in his capacity as the Chairperson of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) during the adoption of the Doha Programme of Action. “We need to adopt the Doha Programme of Action, for it is our best opportunity for charting a recovery path for the world’s most vulnerable countries. Action is our only hope,” he said.

He further said the Doha Programme of Action is ambitious because it is a Programme whose aim is to show solidarity with the world’s poorest countries. “My own country of Malawi is a case in point, for it suffered deep wounds in 2019 at the hands of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, and while those wounds are still fresh, we have just been attacked again by Tropical Storms Ana and Gombe in the last seven weeks, leaving a trail of destruction and death,” he said.

Through six focus areas that include: eradicating poverty, fostering science, technology and innovation as well as addressing climate change and recovering from COVID-19, the Doha Programme of Action sets out ambitious commitments by the international community and LDCs to gain support.