PAPERS FOR AN ASSESSMENT AND PROJECTION IN THE FUTURE

As part of the 12th least developed Countries Ministerial Conference which started yesterday at the Cotonou International Conference Centre, participants who came from various regions, listened to presentations scheduled for the first day. These presentations well match with the Conference Objectives.

The first paper was presented in the afternoon by his Excellency Mister Anwarul K. CHOWDHURY, Ambassador and High Representative of the UN Secretary General for Least Developed Countries, developing Land locked states and small Island States on the following " The Least Developed Countries Programme of Action one year after the Brussels Conference".

The presentation of Mister CHOWDHURY shown that the Brussels Programme of Action for LDCs has been addressed by a number of relevant international meetings which followed the third LDCs Ministerial Conference of Brussels.

According to Mister CHOWDHURY there is hope as regards the development of Least Developed Countries with the establishment of the High Representative's office. Such office constitutes a mechanism for tangible follow up and high performance to ensure the responsibility relating to the coordination, monitoring and implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action. But despite the great progress achieved since the establishment of this Office, many challenges are still to be taken up and this can only be achieved through the adoption of efficient national and international policies which will be centered on long term development strategies for the implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action during the first decade of the new millenium.

The presentation made by Ambassador CHOWDHURY was followed by a fruitful debate during which a number of delegations took the floor to congratulate BENIN for the excellent initiative of the Cotonou Ministerial Conference, and to enrich the presentation of Ambassador CHOWDHURY.

"Monterry consensus and Financing the implementation of LDCs Programme of Action" . That is the theme of the second paper presented by Mister Edouard AHO-GLELE, Minister Counsellor of the Benin Permanent Mission at the united Nations – New York.

The Monterrey Consensus (Mexico) of March 2001 focuses on the effort to be made in the areas of national and international resources mobilisation, trade, strengthening of financial cooperation, external debt as well as strengthening international coherence of monetary, financial and commercial systems.

The mechanism finance the implementation of LDCs Programme of Action should not be searched for in the Monterrey Consensus; the LDCs Programme of Action already bears in itself clauses for the financing of its implementation. The major task now will be the implementation of such clauses.

During the debates which followed, participants stressed the need to mobilise necessary resources for the implementation of LDCs Programme of Action and raised awareness of the international Community for the purpose.

Il the third Presentation on the theme : " The outcome of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha. Which lessons should be learnt by the LDCs ?", Mister Jean Marc FORTIN, Counsellor at the WTO, stated among others that since the 3rd United Nations Conference on the LDCs held in Brussels in May 2001, WTO devoted itself to the drafting of provisions relating to trading included in the 10 year. Programme of Action adopted during that Conference.

The fourth presentation made by Mister Luc GNANCADJA the Benin Minister for Environment, housing and town Planning focussed on the "World Summit on Sustainable Development : which outcome for LDCs ? "

According to Mister Luc GNANCADJA, the Johannesburg Summit will have to take into account the LDCs concerns relating to the improvement of the international Trade Regulations. Such regulations aim at facilitating the selling of items produced in the countries of the south on the international market at good and fair prices.

They also aim at adopting a world Programme on poverty alleviation, debt reduction and the setting up of a reinforced institutional mechanism for international governance as far as are concerned environmental.