Dhaka: Bangladesh has urged the development partners to deliver on their commitments in every sector, and provide the least developed countries with the support crucial for the implementation of the SDGs, IPoA and other internationally agreed development goals.

While presiding over an LDCs’ meeting, Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali also called for increased investment in the least developed countries in infrastructure, energy, agriculture, information and communication technology and skill development of the weaker section of the society with emphasis on youths and women, said the Foreign Ministry said in Dhaka on Sunday.

Bangladesh presidency has highly been praised by the LDCs and their friends at the annual ministerial meeting of the LDCs at the UN Headquarters.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 71st Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on Saturday.

‘Bangladesh is rapidly marching towards the middle-income threshold in consonance with its vision 2021 under the leadership of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,’ the Foreign Minister shared with the dignitaries attending the meeting.

The meeting was attended by a good number of ministers, senior government and UN officials, and permanent representatives, including that of to the UN Masud Bin Momen.

Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, emphasised that ‘many LDCs are affected by large movements of refugees and migrants, either as countries of origin or as host countries.

The President of the 71^st General Assembly Peter Thomson called on all governments to make sure that the SDGs are mainstreamed through national education systems.

The LDCs articulated the key challenges that they have been facing in the implementation of the IPOA and 2030 Agenda.  Friends of LDCs comprise 27 countries from the North and the emerging South.

The development partners expressed reassurances of their development support to LDCs in the areas of ODA, trade, investment and technology transfer. A number of them promised that 50 percent of their development support will go to the LDCs.

The meeting adopted the Ministerial Declaration that contains a number of concrete recommendations for addressing the challenges faced by the LDCs.

While concluding the meeting, State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Shahriar Alam mentioned, ‘An enhanced resource package, the Technology Bank, remittances and strong resilience are essential for achieving 2030 Agenda and the IPoA.’

The flagship UN report on the ‘State of the Least Developed Countries 2016’ was launched at the meeting by Under Secretary-General and High Representative Gyan Chandra Acharya.