Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus A.Dapkiunas meets the UN Chief Economist and Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development

15-02-2019

On February 14, 2019 in New York the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus A.Dapkiunas met with the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Chief Economist and a focal point for cooperation of UN system with middle-income countries, Elliott Harris.

The focus of the meeting was on activities of the UN development system in middle-income countries (MICs). The interlocutors discussed outcomes of the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on MICs (New York, December 4, 2018), that had been initiated by Belarus. A.Dapkiunas, in particular, focused the interlocutor’s attention on dissatisfaction of MICs with the level of support from the UN development system.

The Belarusian diplomat underlined the need to develop a long-term UN strategy in support of sustainable development of MICs and a more nuanced country classification that would go beyond the narrow frame of per capita income criteria.

E.Harris reaffirmed the importance of middle-level countries for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the need to provide them with targeted support.

The interlocutors outlined joint steps to further promote interests of middle-income countries within the UN.

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