Globalisation benefited LDCs least: UN

The world's poorest nations have benefitted the least from globalisation and yet suffered the most from the phenomenal downsides, United Nations General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa said.

"Mahatma Gandhi once said that in poor places, people see God in a piece of bread. This still holds true after many decades," she told a ministerial conference of the world's 50 least developed countries in Istanbul on Monday.

LDCs have found themselves in an unfortunate situation. They have benefitted least

from globalisation, and have been affected most by its negative impact, she said.

"The paradox is evident when some in the world are waiting in line to buy new consumer technologies at a cost almost equal to the annual per capita income of hundreds of millions of people."

Speaking on the occasion, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul announced that a $20 million fund has been set up to support development projects in the LDCs, the landlocked developing countries and the small island developing states.