The COVID-19 pandemic has rolled back some of the hard-earned progress made by the LDCs towards sustainable development. The broadening and full utilization of productive capacities remains central to upgrade their economic structures, bridge their development gaps, and achieve a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient recovery. Bold, concerted policies to strengthen productive capacities are imperative, by both LDCs themselves and by their development partners. In light of the cross-sectoral, integrated, and cross-cutting nature of productive capacities and the positive impact that they can have across the national economy, including on poverty reduction, job creation, graduation from the LDC category and structural transformation, the development of productive capacities should be the central objective of the next Programme of Action for LDCs. Additional information can be found in The Least Developed Countries Report 2020: Productive capacities for the new decade.
UNCTAD has developed a Productive Capacities Index (PCI) that measures and benchmarks the level of a country’s productive capacities. Apart from measurement, the PCI allows the identification of economy-wide gaps and limitations that hinder efforts aimed at fostering productive capacities and structural economic transformation. It could further enable the LDCs and development partners to monitor progress in the implementation of their Programme of Action for 2021-2031.
For further information on the PCI, please visit UNCTAD's new portal, which is available at pci.unctad.org.
Programme
- Opening statement by Mr. Paul Akiwumi, Director, Division for Africa, LDCs and Special Programmes (ALDC), UNCTAD
- Opening statement by H.E. Mr. Perks C. Ligoya, Ambassador of the Republic of Malawi to the UN, Chair of the LDC Group
- Presentation of UNCTAD's Productive Capacities Index (PCI) by Mr. Mussie Delelegn, Chief, Landlocked Developing Countries Section, ALDC, UNCTAD
- Presentation of the main findings and arguments of the LDC Report 2020 by Mr. Rolf Traeger, Chief, LDC Section, ALDC, UNCTAD
- Followed by an interactive discussion
- Concluding remarks by Mr. Paul Akiwumi, Director, Division for Africa, LDCs and Special Programmes (ALDC), UNCTAD
The briefing will be held online in English via Webex. Participation is open to representatives and delegates of UNCTAD member States based in New York.
