<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday slammed the world's rich countries and energy giants for throttling poor nations with "predatory" interest rates and crippling fuel prices.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Speaking in the Qatari capital, Doha, Guterres told leaders of more than 40 of the most deprived states that wealthy nations should provide $500 billion a year to help others "trapped in vicious cycles" that block efforts to boost economies and vital services.</div><div><br></div><div>The summit of Least Developed Countries (LDC) is normally held every 10 years but has twice been delayed since 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.</div><div><br></div><div>Afghanistan and Myanmar, two of the poorest countries, are not present at the Doha meeting of 46 LDC states because their governments are not recognised by UN members.</div><div><br></div><div>No leader from any of the world's major economies attended.</div><div><br></div><div>At a leaders' summit ahead of the start of the general LDC conference on Sunday, Guterres hit out straight away at the way poor nations are treated by the more powerful.</div><div><br></div><div>"Economic development is challenging when countries are starved for resources, drowning in debt, and still struggling with the historic injustice of an unequal COVID-19 response," he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The LDCs have complained that they did not get a fair share of the Covid vaccines that went mainly to Europe and North America.</div><div><br></div><div>"Combatting climate catastrophe that you did nothing to cause is challenging when the cost of capital is sky-high" and the financial help received "is a drop in the bucket", said Guterres.</div><div><br></div><div>"Fossil fuel giants are raking in huge profits, while millions in your countries cannot put food on the table."</div><div><br></div><div>Guterres said the poorest nations were being left behind in the "digital revolution" and the Ukraine war had fuelled their food and fuel prices.</div><div><br></div><div>- Broken promises -</div><div><br></div><div>"Our global financial system was designed by wealthy countries, largely to their benefit," he said.</div><div><br></div><div>"Deprived of liquidity, many of you are locked out of capital markets by predatory interest rates," the UN leader said.</div><div><br></div><div>A host of presidents and ministers hit out at financing conditions for LDCs, whose debt has more than quadrupled in a decade to an estimated $50 billion in 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta called interest rates "rapacious" and "insensitive".</div><div><br></div><div>Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera, the summit chairman, highlighted "broken promises" and said that aid was not "an act of charity" but a "moral responsibility".</div><div><br></div><div>Wealthy nations had failed to keep a promise to give 0.15-0.20 percent of their Gross National Income to LDCs, the UN chief said.</div><div><br></div><div>With poorer states trapped in a "perfect storm for perpetuating poverty and injustice", Guterres said LDCs required a "minimum" $500 billion a year to overcome their problems, build up job creating industries and repay debts.</div><div><br></div><div>He added that the United Nations would also "keep pushing" richer countries to hand over hundreds of billions of dollars promised separately to help poorer states battle climate change.</div><div><br></div><div>Under proposals a so-called Doha Programme of Action, a food stockholding system, will be set up to help countries facing hunger crises through drought and high prices.</div><div><br></div><div>It also calls for new efforts to help LDCs attract foreign funding and lower interest rates to ease the impact of their debts.</div><div><br></div><div>Bhutan will this year become one of seven countries -- along with Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Angola, Sao Tome and Principe and the Solomon Islands to "graduate" out of LDC status by 2026.</div><div><br></div><div>But they will gradually lose trade and aid privileges. Guterres said they risk becoming "victims of the cruelest sleight-of-hand trick -- support systems vanishing before their eyes" and would need help after they move up the wealth scale. ‍Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>