taking place soon after the eighteenth special session of the General Assembly, which was devoted to international economic co-operation, in particular to the revitalization of economic growth of developing countries. He said that the international community indicated its commitment to address the special development problems and needs of IDCs. He therefore hoped that A/CONF.147/5 TD/B/AC.46/4 page 8 the Meeting would recommend concrete measures for the short-, medium— and long-term in accordance with broad policy statments of that special session. In reference to GNP as a measure for the pace of development and growth, he noted that although that was a useful economic indicator, it said little about the distribution of costs and benefits of economic performance. There was, therefore, a need for complementing that concept with other criteria which were more embracing and multi-dimensional and which reflected a true picture of development. He said that in that connection although some IDCs might be middle-income in conventional terms, they face a relatively high per capita expenditure in health, education, housing, social welfare, and basic infrastructure. He added that because of their limited resource base, obstacles to trade are particularly harmful to IDCs and access to markets and an increased flow of financial resources, including on concessional terms, are crucial for their development. He also called for IDCs and development partners to meet biannually to review progress in implementing specific action proposed while UNCTAD, or the focal point, should take into account certain specific areas in its work programme. 19. The representative of the Philippines said that the problems facing the IDCs, which by no means were limited to that category, related to such areas as transport and communications, environmental fragility, limited industrialization, heavy reliance on imports, dependence on foreign capital and outflow of human resources. In reference to the particular problems 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the development challenges faced by the least developed countries (IDCs) and the need for concrete measures to address their special needs. It highlights the limitations of using GNP as a measure of development and the importance of considering other criteria that reflect a true picture of development. The text also touches on issues such as access to markets, financial resources, and the importance of meeting biannually to review progress in implementing specific actions.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade