At the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries in Istanbul, Member States agreed on the Istanbul Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011–2020 (A/CONF.219/3/Rev.1) during formal negotiations on 11 May 2011 in the Committee of the Whole, and agreed on the political declaration on 13 May 2011. The overarching goal of the Istanbul Programme of Action is to overcome the structural challenges faced by the least developed countries, to eradicate poverty, achieve internationally agreed development goals, and enable half of the 48 least developed countries to graduate out of this category by 2020.
