The need for greater support for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and their peoples, so that they can cope with the multiple challenges of the modern world, was highlighted by Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, Kostas Fragogiannis, in his intervention at the Plenary Session of the United Nations Conference on LDCs, held in Doha, between 4 and 8 March 2023.
Representing the Prime Minister, Mr. Fragogiannis pointed out that the new Doha Programme of Action for LDCs 2022-2031, should build upon the lessons learned during the last decade and present an ambitious and coherent set of commitments with emphasis on the development of human resources in these countries on the one hand and the adoption of measures for the structural transformation of their economies on the other.
The Deputy Minister also participated in two thematic round tables on the following topics: a) Addressing climate change and supporting the environment and b) Leveraging the power of science, technology, and innovation for the sustainable development of LDCs.
On the sidelines of the LDC5 UN Conference, Mr. Fragogiannis held a series of meetings with heads of delegations of participating countries with the aim of promoting Greece’s candidacy for election to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for the 2025-26 term. The Special Envoy for the support of Greece’s candidacy, Ambassador Maria Theofili attended the meetings, as well.
In this regard, the Deputy Minister had bilateral meetings with the Director of the Prime Minister’s Office of Bhutan, Mr. Chencho, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation & Communities of Guinea-Bissau, Suzi Carla Barbosa, with Secretary of State for International Cooperation of Angola, Domingos Custodio Vieira Lopes, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Trade of Zimbabwe, Fredrick Shava, with the Vice President of the Government and Minister of Finance & Economic Development of Kiribati, Dr. Teuea Toatu, with Malawi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nancy Tembo, with Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Tourism, Viliame Gavoka, with Haiti’s Minister of Planning & External Cooperation, Ricard Pierre and with Antigua & Barbuda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade & Immigration, E. Paul Chet Greene.
Mr. Fragogiannis also met with the Italian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Maria Tripodi and the French Minister of State for Development, Francophonie, and International Partnerships, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou.
Lastly, during his stay in Doha, Deputy Minister K. Fragogiannis also had a brief meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, during which the developments of recent weeks in Türkiye and Greece were discussed, as well as the issue of resuming the “positive agenda” talks, which were postponed last summer. The “positive agenda” is an initiative to strengthen Greek-Turkish cooperation on soft power issues and is developed around 25 topics of economic, business, and trade interest.