President Halonen at UN conference in Istanbul

President Halonen delivered Finland’s statement at the conference. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic of Finland

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen delivered Finland’s statement at the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Istanbul on Tuesday, 10 May 2011. While in Istanbul, President Halonen also had meetings with several heads of state, including the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai. The conference is the largest UN meeting since the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Held in Istanbul on 9–13 May, the conference focuses on finding ways for steering the world’s poorest countries on the road to sustainable economic growth, development and eradication of poverty. The conference also adopted a new action plan geared towards reaching these objectives.

The participating countries include the 48 Least Developed Countries, which are mainly from Africa. In addition to donor countries, participants also include non-governmental organisations, international organisations and representatives of business life. The preparatory committee is chaired by Ambassador Jarmo Viinanen, Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations.

Everyone must do their share

According to President Halonen we must all do our share as members of the international community. “The LDC group itself has set a very ambitious goal: half the 48 LDCs are to start graduating from their LDC status within the next 10 years. To achieve this goal, it is necessary for them to have good partners,” the President said in Finland’s national statement.

“We must reach a balance between the economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainable development, the so-called modern trinity,” President Halonen said. Women are in a key position in creating sustainable development: “Women are half the world’s population. However, their resources are often misused or unused.”

President Halonen also emphasised that the Least Developed Countries are the best experts on their own development. Fragility and conflicts are major challenges faced by many of these countries. “Studies show that poverty rates are around 20 percentage points higher in countries with conflicts and violence. Conflicts often stem from poverty, unemployment and inequality, as well as from lack of human rights and democracy.”

“Continued poverty and hunger in the LDCs not only hampers their own development, but presents a risk to peace, stability and well-being worldwide. The indivisibility of development, peace and security is a simple but very meaningful truth.” 

President Tarja Halonen and President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai in Istanbul on 10 May 2011. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic of Finland

Meeting with the President of Afghanistan

The topics of the bilateral meeting with President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai included the situation in Afghanistan, as well as current affairs. President Karzai also expressed great interest in Finland’s education system, which led to discussion on the possibility of an expert visit.

On Tuesday, President Halonen also had bilateral meetings with other heads of state, including President of Montenegro Filip Vujanović and President of Nepal Ram Baran Yadav.

President Halonen also took part in a special event on sustainable development, organised on Tuesday. President Halonen co-chairs the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, which will convene in Helsinki in the week after the Istanbul conference.

President Halonen heads the Finnish delegation, which also includes Minister of Communications Suvi Lindén.

• President Halonen’s speech in full
• Website for the conference