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Russia calls for not reducing assistance to least developed countries — senior diplomat

The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries is running in Doha from March 5 through 9

DUBAI, March 7. /TASS/. Russia calls on international donors not to reduce assistance to support economies of the least developed countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said on Tuesday at a plenary session of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC).

According to the Russian diplomat, one trillion US dollars, or thrice as many as are invested today, will be needed to double the share of industry in the economies of the least developed countries in order to attain the goals of sustainable development. "It should be acknowledged that currently official assistance remains a key source of budgetary revenues for the least developed countries, but such assistance is legging behind their growing needs. Moreover, it is being reduced. Bearing this in mind, we call on international donors not to reduce official assistance and continue their support for the development of these countries in this difficult period," he said.

He also condemned attempts at "politicizing international assistance and creating procedural obstacles for the implementation of Russian technical aid projects." He lambasted such attempts as a "violation of the United Nations’ basic principles and rules."

"It is categorically unacceptable when international officials indulge in such steps," he stressed.

The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries is running in Doha from March 5 through 9. Delegates from several dozen countries discuss ways of implementing the Doha Program of Action geared to exterminate poverty, to use the potential of science, technology and innovation, and to carry out structural reforms in poor countries.

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Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, December 15th