Achieving Sustainable Development in the Least Developed Countries - LDC Future Forum

The next decade is make-or-break for the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed in a brutal fashion just how interconnected the world has become, and how no country will truly recover until every country has been supported through this crisis.

To tackle the unprecedented confluence of the COVID-19, climate, and economic crises, innovative thinking and new solutions based in research are desperately needed.

The LDC Future Forum brings together the academic community, policymakers and practitioners to solicit new thinking on the challenges and make policy recommendations for LDCs for the next decade. The event is organized in Helsinki, Finland, and virtually.

See photos of the event:

The Forum contributes to the Fifth United Nations Conference on LDCs (LDC5), taking place in Doha in January 2022. It addresses the structural challenges and emerging issues faced by LDCs. We also debate and introduce policy recommendations that can support LDCs in achieving the SDGs, build their ability to compete in the global economy, and eventually move towards convergence with other more developed economies.

With support from the Government of Finland, the Forum is being organised by the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) in collaboration with the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

During the LDC Future Forum, selected authors, selected through a competitive process, will present their research findings on issues affecting LDCs. Several world-renowned academics as well as high level representatives from LDCs and their development partners will also participate in the conference.

• See the programme here