26 May 2016: Progress is being made towards operationalizing the Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), with the UN Secretary-General’s appointment of members to a Governing Council and the establishment of a dedicated Trust Fund, aimed at supporting the preparatory phase of the Technology Bank in the lead-up to its establishment by the UN General Assembly (UNGA). UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the Governing Council members’ appointment and the Trust Fund’s establishment on 26 May 2016, ahead of the Midterm Review (MTR) Conference for the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which convened in Antalya, Turkey, from 27-29 May 2016.

The Governing Council will support the UN Secretary-General in steps towards the Bank’s operationalization, including formulating the principles and policies governing the operations of the Technology Bank, and preparing its Charter for consideration and adoption by the UNGA. The Council will be chaired by Mohamed H.A. Hassan (Sudan), President of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP). Gyan Chandra Acharya (Nepal), Under Secretary-General and High Representative of the LDCs, Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), will serve as vice-chair.

The Council is also comprised of high-level representatives of governments, private sector, civil society and academia including: Abdoulaye Yero Balde (Guinea); Zakri Abdul Hamid (Malaysia); Ann Aerts (Belgium); Aggrey Ambali (Malawi); Sonia Bashir Kabir (Bangladesh); Bitrina Diyamett (Tanzania); Xiaolan Fu (UK); Rosibel Ochoa (Honduras); Frank Rijsberman (Netherlands); Alfred Watkins (US); and Orkun Hasekioðlu (Turkey).

The Trust Fund is open to contributions from Member States and other stakeholders, including the private sector and foundations.

The IPoA established the Technology Bank and a Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Supporting Mechanism dedicated to LDCs in 2011. The importance of the Bank was reiterated by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) and in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17. The Government of Turkey has offered to host the Technology Bank in Gebze, Turkey. [Note to Correspondents] [UN Press Release] [IISD RS Story on IPoA MTR] [Feasibility Study on LDCs Technology Bank]