By Fatou Sillah
The Gambia has assumed the chairmanship of the 44-member Least Developed Countries Group for a three-year term, succeeding Nepal and taking on a leading role in coordinating the bloc’s positions in global negotiations on development, debt, trade, and climate change.
The country was elected by consensus to chair the Global Coordination Bureau of the LDC Group during a plenary meeting on Sept. 2 at United Nations headquarters in New York. The election followed The Gambia’s endorsement by the African Ambassadors’ Group in New York.
The Gambia formally assumed the leadership at an LDC ministerial meeting on Sept. 25 in New York, where Vice President Mohammed B.S. Jallow received the chairmanship from Nepal.
The handover ceremony was attended by the president of the United Nations General Assembly; the U.N. deputy secretary-general; and the undersecretary-general and high representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States.
Mr. Jallow thanked member states for their trust. He pledged that The Gambia would lead the group with “dedication, fairness, and diligence,” working closely with member countries and development partners to advance implementation of the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the decade 2022-2031.
The LDC Group represents 44 countries across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Caribbean and is part of the broader group of 92 countries classified as being in special situations.
The group serves as the principal platform for coordinating the positions of the world’s least developed countries in UN negotiations, including those involving sustainable development, development financing, debt sustainability, trade, climate action, technology transfer, and productive capacity.
In New York, Lamin B. Dibba, the country’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, will lead The Gambia’s chairmanship. Binta Jeng, a consular and the mission’s second committee expert, will coordinate the group’s negotiations and expert-level work.
As chair, The Gambia will be responsible for providing strategic direction, maintaining unity among member states, facilitating consensus, and convening and presiding over meetings. It will also coordinate common positions in U.N. negotiations and represent the LDC Group in engagements with the United Nations system, development partners, and other stakeholders.
Among The Gambia’s priorities are accelerating implementation of the Doha Programme of Action, strengthening accountability for international commitments made to LDCs, and securing greater support for countries preparing to graduate from least-developed-country status.
The Gambia has also assumed the chairmanship of the LDC Group in Geneva, expanding its coordinating role to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Ambassador Prof. Muhammadou M.O. Kah, The Gambia’s permanent representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, formally received the leadership mantle during a handover ceremony at the Palais des Nations.
Mr. Kah also serves as coordinator of the LDC Group at the World Trade Organization.
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