Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Unequal distribution leaves poor and vulnerable countries behind

There is unequal distribution of the benefits of globalization leaving the poor and vulnerable countries behind, according to foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.
Addressing the Preparatory Ministerial Meeting for the XVIII Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in Baku, Republic of Azerbaija today, Gyawali said that there is unequal distribution of the benefits of globalisation, which left the poor and vulnerable countries behind. “In fact, these countries had become more vulnerable to the adverse impacts of financial and economic crises,” he said, adding that increasing incidents of terrorism, transnational organised crimes, violent extremism, and hate speeches, among others, have become everyday phenomena.
“The menace of climate change is outpacing our response,” Gyawali added. “Unfortunately, it is the poorest and most vulnerable who are hit hardest by the impacts of climate change despite their negligible emissions,” he said, adding that multilateralism has been under attack due to growing trends of populist nationalism and protectionism. “We must strengthen the multilateral system by upholding and defending the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law.
According to him, no peace and security can ever be sustained without achieving sustainable development. Similarly, no sustainable development can ever be achieved without sustaining peace and security. Therefore, NAM, as a group of 120 countries, has the special responsibility to use its numerical and moral strength to ensure adequate and predictable resources in preventing conflicts and helping its members achieve peace and stability.
The NAM is an epitome of collective pursuit of member countries for peaceful, just, fair and equitable world order. But he said that drawing its strength from the Bandung Principles, NAM has always led the path towards international solidarity and cooperation in the wake of ever-increasing challenges. “However, at present, our collective efforts to establish a peaceful and prosperous world are hindered by multiple challenges,” he said, adding that poverty and hunger still existed as blemishes on human dignity and achievements in scientific inventions, technological advances, and managerial innovations had not succeeded in soothing the pain of disease and deprivation. “Fair distribution of economic development and prosperity remains a far dream for millions of people trapped in abject poverty.”
The world economy has bounced back from the great recession and has been achieving global growth since 2010, but it has failed to raise the hope of the bottom billion for a better future,” he added.
The NAM membership, in the spirit of solidarity, should support each other in building domestic capacity by sharing their experiences, best practices and resources through the South-South Cooperation mechanism.
The Preparatory Ministerial Meeting is scheduled to make necessary substantive preparation for the XVIII NAM Summit to be held on October 25-26.

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