Chairperson of poorest countries in the world, Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has said his squad of leaders from poor countries has agreed to make their countries rich.
Chakwera made the remarks yesterday on arrival from the United States where he went to attend the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, a 46-member group of underprivileged nations.
During the meeting, members adopted the Doha Programme of Action in the hope that its implementation from 2022 to 2031 will transform economies towards self-sustained development.
“I am aware that our membership in the LDCs club is treated with contempt by some people. However, I believe that we must continue building solidarity with peer economies while systemically working our way out towards becoming a middle income economy,” said Chakwera.
During his keynote address, the Malawi leader appealed to the international community to support poor nations following the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters.
He added that it is important that poor countries, in the next decade, achieve all internationally accepted key indicators in nutrition, health, education, communication, social infrastructure, transport, water and sanitation, housing and jobs for our people.
He further said that LDCs are ready to utilise the partnerships the programme has facilitated with the United Nations, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, multilateral institutions and regional development banks.
During the trip, Chakwera also held talks with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, chief executive officer at Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Alice Albright, Administrator at United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
