Statement by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Norberto Moretti, at the Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Least Developed Countries: "Building momentum for accelerated implementation of the Doha Programme of Action in an era of multiple crises: Road to the 2027 Doha Mid-term Review" - September 26th, 2025

Statement by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Norberto Moretti, at the Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the  Least Developed Countries: "Building momentum for accelerated implementation of the  Doha Programme of Action in an era of multiple crises: Road to  the 2027 Doha Mid-term Review"
September 26th, 2025

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,

Brazil is honored to take the floor at this meeting. I express my government’s satisfaction with the progress and outcomes achieved since the Fifth UN Conference on the LDCs and through the Doha Programme of Action. In the face of multiple crises, LDCs have demonstrated unity and resolve in advancing sustainable development and resilience. These efforts deserve full acknowlegment and support.

As President Lula recalled in his address to the General Assembly this week, poverty and hunger are enemies of peace and stability. A war humanity can truly win is the war against hunger and poverty. This conviction inspired the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, launched under Brazil’s G20 presidency and already supported by 103 countries. For LDCs, this initiative opens new opportunities to mobilize resources, strengthen food security, and foster inclusive and sustainable development.

Yet we cannot overlook current asymmetries. Developing countries spend 1.4 trillion dollars annually to service their debts—seven times the amount received in official development assistance. This negative net flow from South to North is ethically unjust and economically unsustainable, and weighs disproportionately on LDCs. Reform of the international financial architecture is therefore imperative, to enable financing for sustainable development on fair and equitable terms, with due regard to the special circumstances of LDCs. Real progress against inequalities between and within countries will require progressive fiscal systems, as well as more effective international tax cooperation to ensure fair allocation of taxing rights and minimum global taxation standards. The super-rich must contribute more than workers and must not evade or avoid their obligations.

Equally, reform of the United Nations is essential. On its 80th Anniversary, the Organization must be equipped to face 21st-century challenges and ensure greater participation of developing countries -including LDCs - in decision-making bodies.

Brazil also underscores the centrality of the multilateral trading system. Few areas have regressed as much as trade, where unilateral and arbitrary measures have emptied of meaning principles and provisions  such as Most-Favored Nation and special and differential treatment. Developing countries, including LDCs, are being asked to concede more while facing unjustifiably high barriers on their exports. Such practices are unacceptable. It is urgent to refound the WTO on modern and flexible bases so that trade once again becomes an engine for inclusive growth and sustainable development. Brazil categorically rejects unilateral coercive measures, which deepen inequalities and undermine multilateralism.

Looking ahead, COP30 in Belém will be a decisive moment - the COP of truth. Developing countries, and LDCs in particular, confront climate change alongside multiple other burdens. Ambition in commitments must, therefore, be matched by concrete access to resources and technologies by developing countries. This is not charity—it is justice. In Belém, the world will witness the Amazon’s reality, and Brazil will launch the Tropical Forests Forever Fund to reward countries that preserve their standing forests.

Excellencies, Brazil reaffirms its solidarity with the LDCs. We will continue to work together to implement the Doha Programme of Action, mobilize resources for the SDGs, strengthen the voice and participation of developing countries in global governance, and defend a multilateral system based on international law that delivers for all. You may count on Brazil’s unwavering partnership.

I thank you.