The State of Qatar stressed that achieving security, stability and peace for all peoples contributes significantly to realizing sustainable development and to changing people's lives for the better, adding it plays a vital role in the international community in this regard and is committed to supporting developing countries seeking ways to improve living standards for their societies.
This came in Qatar's statement before the plenary of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly on item 68, "New Partnership for Africa's Development: progress in implementation and international support", delivered by second secretary at the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Ahmed Saif Al Kuwari.
The statement said that the State of Qatar has read with great interest the Secretary-General's reports under this item, one of which points to the enormous challenges faced by African countries in their quest for sustainable development and the importance of increasing support from the international community through finance, trade, debt relief that are essential to support African countries in implementing the goals of sustainable development.
It added that the Secretary-General's report on "Causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa" had many important recommendations and conclusions, and noted the importance of taking all necessary action to help African countries avoid the outbreak or renewal of violent crises and conflicts that had negative effects on civilian population, and undermined the institutions and capacities for peace and development.
The statement said it is very important to address the root causes of conflicts in pursuit of the goal of making Africa a conflict-free zone dominated by harmony among all societies in the context of the implementation of the 2063 Africa transformation plan and the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan, which affirmed the importance of supporting 2063 plan and the New Partnership for Africa's Development, as an integral part of the Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The statement noted that the State of Qatar had voluntarily provided development assistance to developing countries, especially the least developed countries, as the amount of development assistance and aid provided by Qatar, both governmental and non-governmental, had increased to over $2 billion by 2017, pointing out that African continent had the largest share of it.
It stressed that within the context of the wise leadership of HH the Amir and in solidarity with African peoples, Qatar continues to intensify its efforts to support development projects in Africa and support sectors such as infrastructure, education and health, pointing out that the Qatar Fund for Development supported many developing countries in Africa with financial resources through relief and development projects, including support for 596,000 students to enroll in primary schools. This stems from the firm belief of the State of Qatar that children access to primary education is the key driver for human development. Moreover, there are projects to support infrastructure such as road construction, provision of electrical resources and provision of health resource materials, it said.
The statement said that African countries are primarily responsible for their economic and social development. However, the support of the international community is essential to the efforts of these countries, and the international community's commitments should be honored, it said, adding that the State of Qatar, for its part, will remain committed to work and partner with the international community to advance the sustainable development agenda, in particular the New Partnership for Africa's Development.