Lawrence Olaoye 
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged developed and developing countries to grant dutyfree and quota-free market access for products originating from the world’s 46 least-developed countries (LCDs). According to him, this will ensure their integration into regional and global value chains Speaking at the UN Conference of Least Developed Countries in Doha Monday, Buhari criticized the current structure of the global financial system, which places an unsustainable external debt burden on the most vulnerable countries.
In a statement by his spokesman Garba Shehu, he warned that such debt burdens would make it extremely difficult for LDCs to meet the 2030 Agenda for Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Buhari said: ‘‘In 2015, the world came together to endorse the 2030 Agenda for Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. “There was no doubt that it was highly ambitious and would require leaders around the world to be fully committed to crethe SDGs to be achieved within the projected timeframe. ‘‘Eight years on, the possibility of achieving the SDGs remains bleak for many countries, particularly, the least developed countries. “The difficulties in achieving the SDGs are numerous and were further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, the continued threat of climate change, and recently the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
