No:133/23, Press release on the speech of Minister Jeyhun Bayramov at the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5)
06 March 2023 21:03
On 6 March 2023, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov delivered a speech at the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5).
During his speech, the Minister first extended his condolences in connection with the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria.
Then, gratitude was expressed to the State of Qatar for the high-level organization of the event. Confidence was expressed that this prestigious conference will adopt important decisions towards addressing the problems of the 46 least developed countries currently existing in the world and the 1.1 billion people living in these countries.
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov underscored that this conference, held once every 10 years, is important not only for solidarity, but also for the reaffirmation of the commitments of development partners towards meeting the needs of the least developed countries and for the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action for 2022-2031 in this field. It was recalled that 39 of these 46 countries are members of the Non-Aligned Movement chaired by Azerbaijan.
It was noted that despite the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories by Armenia for nearly 30 years, the displacement of nearly one million Azerbaijanis from their native lands, the death of thousands of people, and the devastating impact of the occupation on Azerbaijan’s socio-economic welfare, as a result of successful domestic and foreign policy, our country overcame difficulties and transformed from an aid-recipient country into a donor country.
Assistance provided by the Republic of Azerbaijan to nearly 130 countries in the fields of healthcare, education, technical and humanitarian assistance was highlighted.
Azerbaijan’s practical contributions within the framework of the Istanbul Programme of Action and the Sustainable Development Goals were noted. Information was provided on the scholarship programs of the Government of Azerbaijan within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement, and it was emphasized that trainings were held for diplomats from 21 least developed countries.
Detailed information was provided on our country’s donor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and its contributions to the fight against the global pandemic. It was stated that in connection with the pandemic, Azerbaijan provided financial and humanitarian support to 80 countries and offered 1 million doses of vaccine to 14 countries.
It was emphasized that the Summit of the Contact Group of the Non-Aligned Movement on the fight against COVID-19, held in Baku on 2 March 2023, was important in terms of demonstrating solidarity by countries during pandemics. During the speech, it was noted that Azerbaijan came forward at the Summit with an initiative to establish funds to support Africa, as well as Small Island developing states, and allocated 1 million US dollars to each of these funds. The necessity of supporting these initiatives of Azerbaijan was underlined.
