Although the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per capita have been lower in least developed countries (LDCs) than expected, the socio-economic fallout for their populations has been dire, pushing an estimated 32 million more people into extreme poverty in 2020. Continue reading
230 world leaders, including 100 former prime ministers, presidents and foreign ministers have issued an emotional plea calling on the G7 to pay for vaccinating the world against COVID-19. Continue reading
ORF — The African continent’s social, economic, and political resilience has been severely tested in 2020. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, African leaders have been vocal and vociferous about their long-standing grievances and the region’s status in global affairs. The deplorable treatment of Africans in Guangzhou, China, and more recently in the US that culminated in the Black Lives Matter movement has been an eye opener that threw light into deep-rooted issues of systemic racial injustice. Continue reading
London — The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement, signed on November 15, will provide a boost for foreign investment into the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the region, officials said.
The RCEP deal includes all ten ASEAN countries, along with Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.The agrement will benefit Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, among others. Continue reading
Geneva, 13 November 2020 — The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a new Council on the Economics of Health for All, comprising leading economists and health experts, to put “Health for All” at the centre of how we think about value creation and economic growth.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the consequences of chronic under-investment in public health. Continue reading
Shamel Azmeh, The Conversation
COVID continues to ravage societies around the world, and a key issue is how governments can afford to fight it. As economies are disrupted, governments are stepping in to increase their
MENAFN, Gulf Times — Qatar participated in the virtual ministerial meeting of the Least Developed Countries, during 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The State was represented at the meeting by HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi. Continue reading
DR RATNAKAR ADHIKARI has been serving as the Executive Director of the Geneva-based Enhanced Integrated Framework (www.enhancedif.org) since October 2013, prior to which he was the Chief Executive Director of South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), a Kathmandu-based regional think-tank. He also served as a Visiting Professor at the Mid-western University, Nepal; as Senior Adviser to the National Planning Commission, Gov
ernment of Nepal; Trade Programme Specialist for UNDP, Asia Pacific Regional Centre in Colombo; and Manager at the Nepal Indosuez Bank Ltd. Dr Adhikari has published extensively in the areas of trade, investment, technology, intellectual property and competition. Having completed his Masters degrees from University of Delhi, India and World Trade Institute, Switzerland, he obtained his PhD from the University of Warwick, UK. Dr Adhikari spoke to BHAGIRATH YOGI on issues related to the impact of COVID -19 on LDCs, trade and investment. Excerpts:
New survey results from 40 countries shows that climate change matters to most people. In the vast majority of countries, fewer than 3% said climate change was not serious at all.
We carried out this research as part of the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute annual Digital News Reports. More than 80,000 people were surveyed online in January and February of this year. Continue reading
The pandemic of Covid-19 has brought many challenges for states of all size and shape, whether economically or politically. The hardest hit is likely to be the least-developed countries like Nepal which already suffer from other handicaps. They lack a long-term strategy to use economic diplomacy successfully to develop the economy of the country. Economic diplomacy is about knowing how to exploit the unique selling points that the country has, maximise the benefits resulting from them and putting in place policies designed to achieve such objectives. The following are some of them:
We are often led to believe that Nepal is a resource poor country, but in reality, it is a country rich in water resources and other resources such medicinal Himalayan herbs and has a huge potential for the development of the tourism and other services sectors. Since the country is endowed with such resources and there is so much potential for the services sector, Nepal is well placed to attract foreign investment to harness its natural resources and develop its services sector since the country has achieved some degree of political stability. Continue reading
