22 September 2017: High-level UN officials welcomed the establishment of the Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which is expected to broaden the application of science, technology and innovation (STI) in the world’s poorest countries. The Bank marks the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 17.8, which calls for fully operationalizing the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017. The bank will be headquartered in Gebze, Turkey.

Across 47 countries, the LDCs comprise 12% of the world population (about 880 million), but account for less than 2% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and about 1% of global trade in goods. The decision for the establishment of the Technology Bank was included in the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) in 2011, and then reiterated in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) on financing for development (FfD) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015.

Signing the host country and contribution agreements, the Turkish Government committed to provide the Bank with US$2 million annually for five years, personnel and premises in Gebze. The government also announced plans to implement joint projects with the Bank.

The Bank will improve technology-related policies, facilitate technology transfer and enhance the integration of the LDCs into the global knowledge-based economy. It will further: serve as a knowledge hub, connecting needs, resources and actors; facilitate the access of LDCs to existing technology-related projects; and foster partnerships with relevant organizations and the private sector.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu expressed his strong belief that the Bank will accelerate structural transformation in LDCs.

At the launch conference at the UN Headquarters in New York, US on 22 September, Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) stressed the need to ensure that the LDCs “are not yet again left behind.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu expressed his strong belief that the Bank will help fill the technology gap and accelerate the structural transformation in the LDCs.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed commended Turkey for its financial and in-kind support to the Bank. Calling out the collective responsibility to turn the Bank into an effective mechanism for strengthening the STI capacities of LDCs, she appealed to Member States and stakeholders, including the private sector and foundations, to contribute generously its financing. [UN Press Release][UN Deputy Secretary-General Remarks] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on the Technology Bank Establishment] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on the High-level Panel Study on Technology Bank]