Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011–2020 :Progress in the implementation of the priority areas

Abstract

Least developed countries are the countries that face the most difficult obstacles to ongoing efforts to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development. Two thirds of the world’s least developed countries are in Africa, making the Istanbul Program of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the decade 2011–2020 highly relevant to the continent. In 2018, approximately 654 million people lived in the African least developed countries. The Istanbul Program of Action sets out priority areas, actions and targets for least developed countries and their development partners, with the objective to accelerate economic growth of the least developed countries and assist them in overcoming impediments to their development. The Istanbul Programme of Action is being implemented simultaneously with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addition, African least developed countries are implementing Agenda 2063, a continental action plan developed by the African Union. Those three international development agendas, which overlap substantially, seek to put forward a comprehensive, wide-ranging approach to sustainable development. In the present report, progress made in the eight priority areas of the Istanbul Program of Action by the 33 African least developed countries is highlighted. The report also includes a discussion on the prospects for graduation of the African countries nearest to the graduation thresholds set in the most recent (2018) triennial review of the Committee for Development Policy of the list of least developed countries.