Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan Government is committed to the implementation of the Doha Action Programme, regarding the Least Developed Countries, said this Sunday, the Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, in Doha, capital of Qatar .
During his speech at the 5th Conference of Least Developed Countries, Esperança da Costa informed that, accordingly, “the Government of Angola has implemented an ambitious Program for Strengthening Social Protection called “Kwenda”, with cash transfers to around 600 thousand families and expected to reach 1,600,000 families by 2024.
Additionally, he said, in the economic domain, measures were implemented that made it possible to resume the growth trajectory of the economy, as well as launch the Informal Economy Reconversion Program to give dignity to work to more than 8 million Angolans in the informal sector with the potential to expand the tax and contributory base.
On the institutional front, he said, measures were implemented to combat practices of corruption and impunity, aimed at strengthening the democratic State and the rule of law.
He made it known that despite the vigorous reforms implemented over the last five years, which allowed for the creation of indispensable conditions for the sustainable development of the country, Angola had experienced consecutive periods of economic recession in addition to the negative effects of the health crises and current geopolitical tensions, which resulted in the deterioration of socioeconomic indicators.
Esperança da Costs argued that “the Government was obliged to review its development strategies, so for the next National Development Plan 2023-2027, we prioritize three fundamental areas: Development of human capital, aiming to increase productivity, Expansion and modernization of infrastructure, to improve mobility, Diversification of the economy, with a focus on food security.
On the other hand, he thanked the organization of the conference, which he considered to be of a high level, as it was a great opportunity to address transversal issues of the LDCs, characterized by the most diverse socioeconomic challenges.
According to Esperança da Costa, when celebrating the 50th anniversary of the institutionalization of the PMA category, it must be recognized that important socio-economic challenges are still present on the agendas of the countries in question.
“Additionally, some gains already made have been eroded by the challenges of the international environment, namely geopolitical tensions, climate change phenomena and health crises, which have impacted the LDCs in achieving the SDGs, so resilience to external shocks has to be at the center of decisions our attention”, he underlined.
According to Esperança da Costa, it is this resilience, in Angola’s view, which is reflected in the Doha Program of Action, approved by the United Nations General Assembly, for the period 2022-2031.
This, he added, represents a generation of renewed and reinforced commitments by the LDCs and their development partners, based on the global objectives of achieving a rapid, sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, eradicating extreme poverty, strengthening labor markets , promoting the transition from informal to formal employment.
“We urge LDCs to be disruptive in their approaches to ensuring macroeconomic stability, increasing their productive capacities and better income sharing with a view to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but also for a smooth transition in the process of graduation from the United Nations system”, he asserted.
He hoped that this event would allow for the concertation of concrete actions that could effectively mobilize additional international support in favor of the LDCs, through an agreement on renewed partnership between the countries.
“In this way it will be possible to overcome the major structural challenges and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”, he said, adding that “Angola reaffirms its commitment to implement concerted actions in the Doha Action Program for a smooth and sustainable graduation, leaving no one behind ”.
Among several personalities, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, the President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the President of the Republic of Malawi and the LDCs, Lazarus Chakwera, different Heads of State and Government, representatives of international organizations and guests.
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