…SORASAK PAN, Minister for Commerce of Cambodia, reported that his country met the criteria for graduation from the least developed countries category in 2021, and that it could graduate as early as 2024 if things go smoothly. Further, it hopes to be an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050. He emphasized, however, that graduation comes with challenges, as currently enjoyed benefits and concessions will fade out. Expressing hope that the Doha Programme of Action will help smooth the graduation process and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, he said that it will also complement the next phase of his country’s strategic development plan. He then detailed Government efforts in this regard, including work to diversify sources of economic growth, foster digital transformation and promote a circular, green economy. Further, the Government has allocated more than 20 per cent of its budget to support small- and medium-size enterprises, civil-sector workers and the most vulnerable. On that point, he noted that cash transfers were rapidly disbursed to more than 700,000 families through this initiative. He added that, with United Nations support, the Government is developing a multidimensional variability index to identify threats to national livelihoods. Note: A complete summary of today’s fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries meetings will be made available after their conclusion.
Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries: 7th & 8th Meetings (AM & PM)
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