CFC joins the eleventh Inter-Agency Consultative Group Meeting on the Follow-up and Implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action (VPOA) for LLDCs
The CFC intervened in the Eleventh Inter-Agency Consultative Group Meeting on the Follow-up and Implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). The meeting was inaugurated by Ms. Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, while H.E. Mr. Maghzan Ilyassov, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations and Chair of the Group of LLDCs and representatives of several UN organizations Chaired the event.
Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Managing Director of the CFC, in his statement, emphasised that landlockedness is a major factor to extreme poverty and structural constraints that LLDCs face. As these issues have been intensified by the ongoing pandemic, it is paramount to promote LLDCs’ participation in regional and global value chains.
Ambassador Belal restated the focus of CFC’s activities on creating high impact, and mitigating smallholder producers’ dependency on the commodities market. In this regard, the CFC expects to empower them by giving them the tools and resources to scale up on the value chain. Specifically, between 2014 and 2020, the CFC’s Executive Board has approved 19 projects operating in LLDCs, committing a total of USD 15.3 million.
According to the CFC’s operational plan for 2021-2025, approximately USD 16 million are expected to be committed to the development of innovative enterprise in the commodity sector in LLDCs. The impact of these projects are expected to be around:
- 300,000 beneficiaries;
- USD 100 to USD 700 p.a. additional net income of the beneficiaries;
- 45% to 50% of females among the beneficiaries;
- 27,000 additional net hectares of land cultivated;
- 3,200 additional net jobs created;
- USD 1,000 to USD 4,700 p.a. net income per job created.
Ambassador Belal ended his statement by stressing the need for increased financial contributions from the donor community in order to alleviate the poorest countries from poverty, and to ultimately build a more peaceful and prosperous world.