USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman led the United States delegation to the 5th United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, Qatar, which took place from March 5-9 and reaffirmed the United States' strong partnership with LDCs and support for the Sustainable Development Goals. The Deputy Administrator also met with high-level delegates from host nation Qatar and from Egypt, and Timor Leste, as well as Qatar-based delegations working on Afghanistan.
At the LDC5, Deputy Administrator Coleman delivered the U.S. National Statement and spoke on the panel of the High-Level Thematic Roundtable on Addressing Climate Change and Supporting the Environment. She also gave opening remarks at the U.S.-hosted side event on Financing and Programs to Promote Food Security and Resilience. Throughout the conference, the Deputy Administrator highlighted new and ongoing U.S. commitments to help LDCs reach their full potential. Since the LDC4 conference in 2011, the U.S. has provided over $100 billion in development assistance to LDCs.
During her visit, the Deputy Administrator met with Qatari Ambassador to the United Nations Alya bint Ahmed Al Thani and thanked the Government of Qatar for hosting the once-a-decade LDC conference. Deputy Administrator Coleman expressed appreciation for the Government of Qatar's ongoing assistance for U.S. efforts to support the people of Afghanistan, including helping relocate our Afghan colleagues and hosting the USAID/ Afghanistan staff. In a meeting with Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, the Deputy Administrator underscored USAID's strategic partnership with Egypt to pursue shared development goals, particularly on climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Deputy Administrator Coleman met with Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta and shared USAID's commitment to strengthen our partnership in advancing shared democratic values and development priorities, including further engagement on nutrition and advancement toward Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) accession. They also discussed the need for a peaceful and democratic resolution of the crisis in Burma.
While in Doha, Deputy Administrator Coleman hosted a high-level dinner for Qatar-based delegations working on Afghanistan. They discussed implications of the Taliban's destabilizing actions in Afghanistan - in particular its devastating rollback of women's rights which is deepening Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis.
