Today, Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Maria Tripodi spoke on behalf of Italy at the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), to be held in Doha from 5 to 9 March.
The UN Conference is being attended by government delegations from over 150 countries, with the ambitious goal of reviving international solidarity towards LDCs and fostering the mobilisation of resources and the adoption of measures to facilitate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
In her address to the plenary session, Undersecretary Tripodi emphasised the need to take decisive measures in favour of countries that are on the road to development, stressing that global challenges, which are increasingly interconnected and multidimensional, stand in the way of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
“Climate change, food insecurity, geopolitical conflicts and global financial instability mainly affect the Least Developed Countries,” continued Undersecretary Tripodi, reiterating the Italian Government’s commitment to taking action in a number of sectors crucial to their growth, i.e., education, health, food security, and gender equality. In line with this approach, the Least Developed Countries traditionally constitute the main partners of Italian Development Cooperation: in fact, of the twenty priority states for Italy, ten belong to the group of Least Developed Countries.
On top of the Conference, Undersecretary Tripodi’s agenda includes an intense programme of bilateral meetings with representatives of LDCs, which are aimed at both reaffirming Italy’s solidarity and commitment to taking measures in favour of their development, and supporting Rome’s candidacy to host the 2030 Universal Exposition.
