The potential for least developed countries (LDCs) and small island states (SIDS) to have rapid growth and development could be realised if they had equal access to resources and opportunities, Seychelles’ President Wavel Ramkalawan said in a plenary session on Sunday.
Ramkalawan was speaking at the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, Qatar.
“Seychelles has graduated to the high-income status, however, our presence here is a sign of solidarity, regional and global support for our fellow SIDS and Africans and a strong expression of seeking greater standing and cooperation. No state should be punished for progress. Let not the so-called graduation be another hurdle in meeting the needs of our people and its communities,” he said.
The head of state of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, said that the world has changed drastically since the 4th United Nations Conference on the least developed countries.
“Since then, only three countries have graduated from LDC status in an age where our economies, priorities and challenges are interlinked, no country should be left behind. All governments and partners must respond decisively to address the challenges that we collectively face,” he added.
Ramkalwan said that 20 percent of LDCs are small island developing states and a third of the LDCs are African.
