DOHA/LAHORE    -    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Monday that Pakistan would continue to advocate several spe­cific steps to advance sustainable development in the Least Devel­oped Countries (LDCs) to move towards the implementation of Doha Programme of Action. 

Addressing the 5th United Na­tions Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha on Monday, he said Pakistan fully supports and expresses solidari­ty with the developing countries in their quest for social progress and economic prosperity. How­ever, meeting its ambitious tar­gets will require revitalise global partnerships based on effective means of implementation in the priority areas.

The prime minister said it is timely and important to revis­it implementation of the vision and strategy for the sustainable development of the Least Devel­oped Countries, charted out at the end of the Istanbul Pro­gramme of Action.

He called for addressing vac­cine inequity through advo­cating and its timely access for Least Developed Countries. The prime minister said historical commitment of official devel­opment assistance comprising 0.7 percent of the gross nation­al income of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and De­velopment’s countries must be fulfilled of which 0.15 to 0.2 per­cent must be allocated to the Least Developed Countries.

Shehbaz Sharif said we must address the increasingly unsus­tainable debt burden of many Least Developed Countries. He said it is matter of great concern that six Least Developed Countries are classified as suffering from the debt bur­den while seventeen are at high risk of debt distress.

He said we must provide universal access to social pro­tection in order to support most needy and vulnerable.

The prime minister said we also need to reform the un­equal international financial architecture and make it peo­ple-centric.

He said an international technology compact aligned with the SDGs should also be adopted and offered easy ac­cess to the developing coun­tries to relevant advance technologies to develop their productivity and bridge digi­tal divide. He noted that Doha Program of Action sets an am­bitious target to enable fifteen additional Least Developed Countries to meet the criteria for graduation by 2031.

Shehbaz Sharif thanked Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for host­ing the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least De­veloped Countries.

Meanwhile, Prime Minis­ter Shehbaz Sharif returned home Monday after conclud­ing his two-day visit to Qatar. During his stay in Qatar, the prime minister addressed the fifth United Nations Confer­ence on the Least Developed Countries, where he chalked out Pakistan’s priorities to at­tain the development goals.

The prime minister’s speech at the conference focused on exploring the opportunity to ensure sustainable develop­ment in the places where in­ternational assistance was needed the most. 

He also called upon the in­ternational community to join hands in tapping the full potential of the least devel­oped nations helping them make progress on the road to prosperity. Shehbaz Shar­if also held a meeting with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Althani and CEO of Qatar Investment Authori­ty Mansoor Ebrahim Al-Mah­moud.