News

On 18 December 2012, the General Assembly added South Sudan to the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). LDC status was established in 1971, under the auspices of UNCTAD, as a vehicle for international attention to the most structurally disadvantaged countries. 

UNCTAD's Least Developed Countries Report 2012 analyses the impact of remittances sent to the least developed countries (LDCs), and the effect of "brain drain" from LDCs, and looks at the potential benefits that the very wide LDC diaspora may have for home countries.

The Least Developed Countries Report 2012 focuses on how the world’s poorest countries can benefit further from the billions of dollars their ex-patriots send home from jobs overseas – and on how to counteract “brain drain.”

The Minister of Trade and Industry of Lesotho, the Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD, and several other officials described how UN agencies work effectively in one of Africa's least developed countries.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the twenty-sixth conference of the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI), in Kathmandu, Nepal, which was inaugurated this last Wednesday by the President of Nepal, Mr. Ram Baram Yadav, UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi outlined specific examples of UNCTAD assistance to least developed countries in the region and urged business leaders to uplift the economic status of underdeveloped countries like Nepal.

Improving the world's 48 poorest nations' productive capacities, thus enabling them to link effectively into the global economy, is vital for helping them to transcend the "LDC" category, experts told the Trade and Development Board.

Mrs. Exalgina Gamboa, the Secretary of State for Cooperation of the Republic of Angola, has informed that her Government is currently finalizing a National Status Report outlining measures to be taken on the road to graduation from Least Developed Country status by 2020.

As part of the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action adopted by the Fourth UN conference on LDCs held in Istanbul, Turkey, in May 2011 the Government of Turkey has launched the  "Graduate Scholarship Programme for the Least Developed Countries".​

The Trade and Development Board of UNCTAD concluded its executive session on 3 July with a panel discussion on NEPAD -- the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development -- and welcomed the continuing role of UNCTAD in support of NEPAD.

"Harnessing Remittances and Diaspora Knowledge for Productive Capacities in the Least Developed Countries" is the working title and theme of this year's LDC Report currently under preparation by UNCTAD. ​