Addressing vulnerabilities through production transformation – Launch of the LDC5 Monitor

One of the main developmental constraints of Least Developed Countries is a lack of productive capacities and dependency on commodities, which create a vicious circle because it is both a consequence and a cause of their structural and income-related challenges. This characteristic illustrates the need for structural and production transformation of these economies, i.e. the development of higher-value added products and the shift of resources from less to more productive activities within the agriculture, industrial and services sectors.

This side event will contribute to the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA) by focusing on production transformation as an organising framework to tackle LDCs’ vulnerabilities. It will identify concrete actions to advance the objectives of the Programme of Action by launching a process of independent monitoring of the implementation of the programme, the LDC5 Monitor. Moreover, it will delve into options for transforming the international support to better face these particular challenges, including the pressing need to reform the international financial architecture.

About the LDC5 Monitor 

The LDC5 Monitor is an independent partnership to monitor and assess the implementation of DPoA. It comprises both analytical and peer-learning activities and involves international organisations, research institutions and interested LDCs. This Monitor will serve to provide suggestions on how international support measures (ISM) should be adapted to better support LDCs in facing vulnerabilities and in undertaking successful production transformation. The initiative will follow and extend the one that took place a decade ago under the name of LDC4 Monitor and shed light on the implementation of several aspects of the Istanbul Programme of Action. All the members of the previous LDC4 Monitor and other interested partners are invited to join the launching of the new Monitor. Going forward, the Monitor’s activities will be complemented by e.g. OECD Development Centre’s Production Transformation Policy Reviews (PTPRs), the OECD Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value Chains, Production Transformation and Development, and the LDC Future Forums organised by UN-OHRLLS and financed by the Government of Finland, among others.

Speakers

The event will be chaired by Annalisa Primi, Head of Division at the OECD Development Centre. Opening remarks will be given by UN Under-Secretary-General Rabab Fatima (UN-OHRLLS). The speakers include Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir (Director, OECD Development Centre), UNU-WIDER Director Kunal Sen, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Mozambique Silvino Moreno, and Chris Sharrock, Vice President for UN Affairs at Microsoft.

See the agenda here.

Programme