Excellencies,?
Colleagues,?
Ladies and gentlemen,
First, I would like to thank?ESCAP for organizing this webinar meeting.
NEW YORK 4 December 2020 ¨C?The small island nation of Vanuatu is celebrating today as it is no longer classified as one of the world¡¯s least developed countries, or LDCs.
Despite the compounding threats of COVID-19, natural disasters and climate change, the Vanuatu government sees graduation as a positive sign that the country is increasingly able to build resilience and meet its citizens¡¯ needs.
NEW YORK 12 October 2020 ¨C?The?Istanbul?Programme?of Action for the Least Developed Countries?(LDCs) set an ambitious goal to see half of the LDCs graduate from the category during its period of implementation of 2011-2020.?Though that target has not been met,?progress made by several LDCs has led to a record?number?meeting?the?graduation criteria.??
