Posted by 
President Nicholas Liverpool
President of Dominica His Excellency Nicholas Liverpool says in order to adapt to the adverse impact of the financial crisis, it is crucial that Small Island Developing States and Less Developed Countries receives speedy implementation of the decisions of the UN Conference.
President Liverpool told the UN General Assembly moments ago, that assistance to facilitate economic diversification while responding to the crisis and the negative impact of climate change, fiscal support in view of already high debt burdens, practical assistance from UN agencies through a compact framework, and stimulus funds to be made available by bilateral and multilateral entities are also essential.
According to him, with the onset of the financial crisis, there is now a wrong perception that the food crisis is over.
He said food insecurity continues unabated around the world and it is estimated that over a billion people are going to bed hungry every night. This is both unacceptable and unsustainable.
“The creation of the United Nations System High-level Task Force on Global Food Security was a timely and welcome initiative of the Secretary General and the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Increasing investments in agriculture in the developing nations is critical to addressing the food crisis. We therefore welcome the G-8 pledge of $15 billion over the next three years for enhancing food security but warn that the desired objective may not be achieved if harmful subsidies in agriculture continue to prevail in the developed countries.
“Mr. President, completion of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations at the WTO takes on renewed importance as we seek solutions to the global financial crisis. An appropriate trade environment for a sustainable recovery for all is highly desirable,” he said.
According to President Liverpool, it is in that spirit that we must renew our commitment to re-engage in the Doha negotiations with the declared objective towards its conclusion in 2010.
“The status quo has only served to further UNGA, marginalize small and vulnerable States and led to the almost total collapse of some of their major industries, including sugar and bananas, which provided the livelihoods of numerous farming families and communities,” he said.
He said our governments continue the struggle of developing their economies in the absence of the much needed foreign exchange which these industries generated.
“Increasing the competitiveness of developing countries and their effective participation in world trade underscores that Aid for Trade as a new and independent source of development financing must be at the centre of the trade and development agenda,” he added.
