Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Employment, Naffie Barry, on
Wednesday launched the UNCTAD, the Least Developed Countries report 2013, on
behalf of her minister.
Held at the UN House in Cape Point in Bakau, the official launch of the report was attended by senior government officials from the Ministry of Trade and UNDP officials.
Delivering her statement, Mrs Barry said the trade ministry, in collaboration with the UNDP, launched the first UNCTAD LDC report last year which specifically relating to small and medium enterprises.
“The Ministry aligns itself with the launch of the 2013 LDC report as it provides a wealth of information on trade statistics and economic development trends. Such information is critical for designing and implementing development policies,” she said.
According to her, the report establishes a link between investment, growth and employment, and considers how LDCs can promote growth that generates quality jobs, which enables them to meet urgent goals now and post-2015 MDGs.
PS Barry added that the Ministry of Trade Industry and Employment therefore welcomed the report.
Bai Ibrahim Jobe, coordinator of the Enhanced Integrated Framework, in his presentation, said the world’s poorest countries should act decisively to upgrade national infrastructure, greatly expand credit, improve education, and especially unleash the potential of domestic firms and entrepreneurs, so that jobs are created, as UNCTAD report urges.
According to him, the Least Develop Countries Report 2013 indicates strongly raising investment and improving such services as electricity supply and transport, and other related steps, to enable LDC economies to increase the variety and value of the goods and services they produce.
If this employment challenge is not met, the world risks being confronted with growing poverty in LDCs, social unrest, and mass international emigration, the report states, adding that some negative consequences of these trends are already being felt.
