The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has said enhancing productive capacities and improving human resources to get benefit from globalisation are the main concerns for the least developed countries.
She highlighted the concerns while speaking as the key-note speaker at the thematic session on 'enhancing productive capacity of the LDCs' at Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Centre in Istanbul on Monday.
The thematic debate was co-chaired by foreign affairs minister of Senegal Madicke Niang and under-secretary of state of development policy and cooperation Ritva Koukku-Ronde.
Joseph Deiss (Switzerland), president of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, UN Conference on Trade and Development secretary general Supachai Panitchpakdi, under-secretary general and executive secretary of ESCAP Noeleen Heyzer, director general of UNIDO Kandeh K Yumkella, director general of World Intellectual Property Organisation Francis Gurry, executive director of ILO Juan Somavia, and deputy secretary general of International Telecommunications Union Houlin Zhao also spoke at the session.
Hasina urged all to discard past myopic strategies and opt for a win-win arrangement benefiting all.
She said the first Action Plan of the LDCs in '80s recognised that LDCs must produce more goods and services to escape from poverty and deprivation.
'To be able to do so, LDCs would need to improve human resources, ensure macro-economic stability, enhance trade and establish good governance.'
The prime minister mentioned that after the first LDCs' Action Plan, both the LDCs and development partners made a specific commitment to enhance the productive capacity of the LDCs.
In this regard, she said to enhance productive capacities and improve human resources, the LDCs required investment, manpower training, transfer of knowledge and also resources.
'Primarily, inadequate resources in the form of development assistance and investment, and insufficient access to trade and integration in the market of developed countries, have hampered development of infrastructure, manpower development and hence the productive capacity of the LDCs.'
Hasina also said restraining the transfer of technology and of the accompanying knowledge and skills also added to retarding development of the LDCs.
Citing example of Bangladesh, she said in order to enhance productive capacity and take advantage of the globalisation process, the government had strived to frame appropriate monetary, fiscal, trade and investment policies and initiatives in infrastructure, power, energy, communications and transport sectors.
'We've also progressed reasonably well in human resource development, social safety nets, micro-credit in alleviating poverty, domestic resource mobilisation, transforming our agriculture and rural economy by integrating the domestic market, and making technological advance.'
The prime minister also said the present government lately introduced public private partnership for development activities, and was seeking FDI and remittance from expatriate Bangladeshis to meet the domestic gap.
To develop the LDCs from their precarious situation, she urged the Istanbul Programme of Action to include a structure of genuine commitment for a reinforced partnership between the LDCs and the development partners to ensure production of more goods and services in the LDCs.
Hasina said she believed that improvement of the economies of LDCs meant improvement of their purchasing power, and becoming stronger and more viable markets for the developed countries.
Source: New Age
