DOHA-UN leader 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. Guterres told a summit of the most deprived states on the planet that wealthy nations should provide $500 billion a year to help others “trapped in vicious cycles” that block their efforts to boost economies and improve health and education.
The summit of the 46 Least Developed Countries (LDC) is normally held every 10 years but has twice been delayed since 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Afghanistan and Myanmar, two of the poorest countries, are not present at the meeting in Doha because their governments are not recognised by UN members.