On 26 October the Secretariat of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) successfully launched the Gradjet LDC graduation website (www.gradjet.org) attended by Government officials from 10 LDCs, international agencies and other interested stakeholders.

On October 30, the Secretariat of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) briefed the LDC Sub-committee of the WTO on recent developments in the graduation of least developed countries (LDCs). Information was provided on the role of the CDP in regard to LDCs, the graduation process and timeline and recent developments and the situation of the countries currently approaching graduation.

The Development Research Branch (DRB) organized a High-level Briefing on Frontier Technologies for Sustainable Development on 1 November 2018 at UN Headquarters in New York, moderated by Mr. Elliott Harris, United Nations Chief Economist and Assistant-Secretary-General for Economic Development.

From 23 to 26 October the Secretariat of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) conducted the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) of the CDP Subgroup on least developed countries (LDCs) in Geneva, Switzerland to (i) discuss issues related to the review of the LDC criteria, a new programme of action for the LDCs and improved graduation support for LDCs, (ii) officially launch the Gradjet LDC graduation website and, (iii) conduct an interactive training workshop on Gradjet for attending LDCs.

The Development Research Branch (DRB) organized a Development Policy Seminar to present the key findings of the World Economic and Social Survey 2018 to a group of Columbia University PhD candidates. The presentation by the DRB team was followed by a Q&A session during which the participants exchanged views on the process of preparing the Survey, including the identification of the topic, compilation of research data, collaboration with other United Nations entities and outreach.

The Secretariat of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) participated in the Workshop for the 2019 Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the High-Level Political Forum, organized by the Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the UN from 15 to 16 October in Geneva, Switzerland. It presented the results of the analysis of VNRs by the CDP and assisted in facilitating working group sessions.

On 26 October 2018 a new website for least developed countries (LDCs) will officially launch at UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Gradjet, developed by the UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP) Secretariat, will help government officials in LDCs understand what it means to leave the LDC category and to plot a course for future action. It is also aimed at the wider development community and anyone else interested in LDC graduation.

Senior Economic Affairs Officer Mariangela Parra-Lancourt presented a brief on the World Economic and Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies for Sustainable Development at the Informal Meeting of the General Assembly Plenary entitled “Impact of Rapid Technological Change on the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals” today in New York.

From 1 to 5 October the Secretariat of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) visited Dhaka, Chittagong and Cox´s Bazaar in Bangladesh to assess the possible impact of the countries’ graduation from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) category. During the visit members of government, the UN system, international financial institutions, bilateral development partners, think- tanks and other organizations were interviewed and consultations with three garment manufacturing companies, an IT firm and a pharmaceuticals manufacturer were held.

Senior Economic Affairs Officer Mariangela Parra-Lancourt in EAPD’s Development Research Branch discussed the key findings of the upcoming flagship publication, World Economic and Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies for Sustainable Development at +Cartagena, the Latin American Summit on Communication + Creativity + Innovation + Marketing held in Cartagena, Colombia from 3-5 October 2018. Iván Duque Márquez, President of Colombia, opened the Summit with a presentation on the “Orange Economy”, a vision for a Creative Economy.