QNA/New York

Qatar reiterated that the situation in the developing countries calls for broadening trade and investment activities, improving access to grants and loans along with putting in place mechanisms to implement the promised projects, and liberalising trade in a fair manner, in accordance with what had been discussed in the Doha Round in 2001.  
In a statement delivered by Sultan Ali al-Khayareen, a member of Qatar’s delegation participating in the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, before a ‘Follow-up to and implementation of the outcomes of the International Conferences on Financing for Development [item 19]’ meeting, Qatar said the financing for development commitments constitute an important platform to continue participation and make further progress in achieving sustainable and inclusive development and respecting all human rights, including the right to development.
“This is the spirit of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration, which were also boosted by the Addis Ababa action plan.”  
To eradicate poverty and hunger, achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions and protect the environment, there is a need for more efforts in the form of partnership and solidarity at the global level to overcome the obstacles and challenges related to financing and creating an enabling environment for sustainable development, al-Kayareen said.  
The lack of stability in the global financial markets coupled with the turmoil in the economies of developing and developed countries due to the financial and economic crisis threaten the achievements in the field of financing for development, said al-Khayareen, adding that developing countries continue to suffer from decline in the financial, investment and trade flows along with decreasing flows of official development assistance.
The statement stressed the importance of growing and predictable official development assistance and debt relief, while stressing the need to fulfil all the commitments of official development assistance, pointing out that the Addis Ababa action plan represents an important milestone in endeavours to support and strengthen the global partnership for development, and is considered a solid foundation to boost the implementation of the post-2015 development plan.  
The successful implementation of this ambitious plan depends on the mobilisation and the availability of resources at both national and international levels as well as the effective use of these resources and successful partnerships between multi-stakeholder in the public and private sectors in order to achieve sustainable development goals, he said.  
“We are deeply concerned about what was highlighted in the report of the Secretary-General which said that more than 2.4bn people continue to suffer from lack of access to clean water and sanitation services, and that 57mn children in the world remain out of school, and that more than half the world’s population lacks coverage of social security systems.”  
He stressed the importance of a good investment in the provision of basic public services for all, including education, energy, water and sanitation.  
Al-Khayareen also outlined the importance of establishing a mechanism to enable developing countries to build, transfer and implement appropriate and environmentally sound technologies in information and communication technology fields in order to achieve sustainable development, noting the pivotal role of trade as a strong enabling tool for growth and development along with the establishment of a multilateral, open, non-discriminatory and equitable trading system as an integral part of this environment.