Khalifa Al Kuwari, Director-General of Qatar Fund for Development, participating in a virtual meeting of United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Doha: Organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) participated in the closed official session of the High Level Political Forums on accelerating action and embarking on new pathways to realise the 2030 Agenda and responding to COVID-19 in African countries, Least Developed Countries and Landlocked Countries.
Khalifa Al Kuwari, Director-General of Qatar Fund for Development participated as a resource person in the closed official session of the HLPF.
The virtual meeting addressed the need for enhancing resilience and structural transformation in Least Developed countries, landlocked developing countries and African countries, drawing from the lessons of COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the poorest, including women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees and informal sector workers.
“Convinced that every country has relevant experiences to share, and every country has new things to learn when tackling own development challenges, we aim to capture and nurture local solutions that enhance resilience and stimulate structural transformation,” said Khalifa Al Kuwari, Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development.
Many of the Least Developed countries, landlocked developing countries and African countries have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to fragility of health systems, limited coverage of social protection systems, limited financial and other resources, vulnerability to external shocks, and significant dependence on international trade and financing.
In many of these countries the effects of the pandemic are amplified by the ongoing conflicts, instability and the climate crisis. Challenges remain in ensuring that existing vulnerabilities are not exacerbated by external economic and other factors.
The meeting comes ahead of the fifth UN Conference on LDCs scheduled to be hosted by the State of Qatar in March 2021. The conference will provide an opportunity to share a new action plan for LDCs to build back better, smarter and resilience in the next decade.
Qatar Fund for development, in partnership with International and Qatari-based strategic partners played a major role in accelerating progress towards the achievement of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. These efforts are guided by the vision of ensuring inclusive and sustainable development for the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in societies and countries.
