Developed countries agree to address LDCs woes multilaterally

The developed countries have pledged to work together with the least developed countries (LDCs) under the multilateral approach to advance and halve the number of LDCs by 2020.
The developed countries expressed such a commitment during the 13th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which concluded in Doha, Qatar on Friday. They made such announcement after the conference strongly flayed their approach to deal with LDCs bilaterally, something which has weakened multilateral initiatives in recent years.
"The bilateral approach is a bias one," the Conference has concluded and urged the developed country to switch back to multilateral approach, referring that difference in size and capacity largely disables LDCs from enjoying fair say in bilateral deals. "Only multilateral approach can address the problems that the world is facing now," the 6-day long conference declared at the end of the meeting.
The conference adopted an outcome document termed as Doha Mandate, which was prepared after lengthy intergovernmental negotiation for months, to guide the global leaders for the coming four years to address the multitude of challenges facing the world. There are around 13 multilateral including the UN and more than 50 bilateral donor agencies working in Nepal.
Shanker D Bairagi, permanent representative of Nepal to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, in his address as the coordinator of the LDCs highlighted the role the UN can play to address the global problems. Nepal is the chair of the all 48 LDCs and around 70 million people live under the extreme poverty in these countries.
“The conference helped to identify the structural constraints and vulnerabilities, and garner international support for addressing those constraints in the LDCs,” Bairagi said at the closing plenary of the conference.
Referring to the last minute agreements on a number contentious issues, Bairagi stated that the consensus in Doha was the manifestation of the collective commitment of the international community to work for a better future for all.
Bairagi expressed the hope that the conference´s outcome will contribute meaningfully in the process of implementation of the Istanbul Program of Action for the LDCs -2010, which envisions enabling half of the LDCs to reach the level of graduation from the LDC category by 2020.