The least developed countries need a mentor and Turkey could play that role, a Somali official who attended the U.N. Conference of Least Developed Countries in Istanbul said on Tuesday.
“Least developed countries need a guide, a mentor, a patron that speaks on their behalf. Turkey is taking that role,” Dr. Abdiweli Ali, deputy prime minister of Somalia, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Assessing the role of Turkey, which stepped up to the plate to monitor the next action plan of the U.N. for the least developed countries, Ali said, “Turkey is hosting this conference. It does a great job and we appreciate it all.”
Asked about the President Abdullah Gül’s remarks on the opening speech of the conference on Monday, saying, “Istanbul will then be the place where the first heartbeats of a new and fair world order are heard” the Somali deputy prime minister said he was already deserving that role.
“Hopefully Turkey is playing a role that it appropriately deserved to take and it is taking that,” he added.
Ali stressed both the geo-strategic role of and historical assets of Turkey, which was responding to a necessity.
“I am a great admirer of Turkey and admirer of Ottoman civilization. Turkey is strategically located between South and the North, between Asia and Europe. We think Turkey lays a service to fill that gap,” he said.
Yet, Ali criticized low attendance from donor and developed countries at the U.N. conference.
“We were expecting more donors or developed countries to come. Unfortunately a lot of them have not showed up,” he said.
Zacarias Albano da Costa, foreign minister of Timor-Leste, said they see Turkey´s role as host to be indicative of its generous culture, role as a bridge between continents, cultures, and peoples of the world.
“We welcome Turkey´s initiative for the midterm review of the plan for monitoring and implementation in areas where the Brussels Program of Action contains gaps. Hopefully, with Turkey at the helm of monitoring the IPoA, those gaps can be fulfilled,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News on Tuesday.
“As a member of the G-20, we look to Turkey as the bridge and strong partner in delivering the goals which will chart the development path for the LDCs for next decade,” he said.
Turkey could contribute to the goals of the new action plan by continuing to support the LDCs, the minister said. “There are great opportunities for Turkey and its people to invest in LDCs, both economically and in building capacity. Turkey is built upon the foundation of a great history and people and we hope that Turkey will be an example for other partners to follow,” da Costa noted.
LDCs had high expectations on the outcome of this conference and the implementation of what would be the Istanbul Program of Action, the minister said. “We expect this program to improve the lives of our people in every aspect, including economic opportunities, food security, peace and security, healthcare, and education,” he added.
Davutoğlu proposes to change name of summit
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu proposed to the U.N. chief that there should be a change in the name of the Least Developed Countries Conference. “I proposed to the secretary-general of the U.N. that we change this terminology as soon as possible, since this expression is disturbing,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told a group of journalists on Tuesday.
Davutoğlu cited Nepali saying it was an economically less developed, but the country was a stunning center of religious tradition and culture. “I told them they should not take offence because we call them least developed, since that was a UN description,” he added.
Davutoğlu recalled that Turkey was remembered with its role as the region faced security problems. “However, from now on Turkey also enters to the problematic areas such as climate change, poverty and least developed countries,” he added.
Turkey would be more visible on world economics as it had been doing for politics, he said.
“On one hand Turkey gathers least developed countries, on the other hand it holds Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. This displays Turkey’s potential. This attitude has nothing to do with allegations of a change of axis. Turkey hold organizations that could address to entire world,” Davutoğlu noted.
According to the deputy prime minister of Somalia, Turkey can play a mentor role as ´least developed countries need a guide, a mentor, a patron that speaks on their behalf [and] Turkey is taking that role.´ FM Ahmet Davutoğlu, meanwhile, proposes to the UN chief a change in the name of the Least Developed Countries Conference, as he says ´the expression is disturbing´
