A/70/PV.7 General Assembly

At the outset, allow me to express my sincerest congratulations to Mr. Mogens Lykketoft on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventieth session. We are meeting at the summit level to adopt an important, historic document on sustainable development in its three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) is a people-centred plan of action. We are basing ourselves today on the outcome document of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled “The future we want,” and on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) initiated in 2000. However, this Agenda is larger and more comprehensive in terms of the number of Goals and targets and even broader in terms of areas and concerns. To transform words into action and plans into achievements, we must ensure, in general, the following elements. First, the Agenda for Sustainable Development will not be implemented without effective mechanisms for implementation, in particular the necessary funding, which includes the commitments made by developed countries in the framework of official development assistance. This will involve the creation of genuine partnerships, the stimulation of the private sector and other mechanisms, as underscored in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, issued in July. It will also be necessary to emphasize the right of peoples to development, the transfer of technology, capacity- building, coordination and international cooperation. Respect for the sovereignty of peoples, their religions and cultures and national priorities, and the non-imposition of any non-universally agreed concepts, regardless of nomenclature, should be kept in mind during the process of the development of the special indicators for measuring achievement in 2016. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals emphasize that no one will be left behind. However, the Palestinian people are still suffering under the yoke of foreign occupation, the blockade and denial of their rights. How can we then aspire to sustainable development for the Palestinian people living under such conditions? To implement the 2030 Development Agenda, we must face many challenges, especially the challenge of security. There can be no development without security, and there can be no security without development. That is why it is incumbent upon us as an international community to cooperate to address the threat of rampant terrorism in all parts of the world and to deal with its root causes. Our approach to terrorism must be multifaceted, including through economic, political, cultural, social and security measures. Libya made great efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and tried to integrate them into its development plans. Nonetheless, they could not be fully implemented because of political instability and threats to security. Libyan authorities aspire to restore peace, security and stability to the country so that the Government can resume its work from the capital, Tripoli, and develop a long-term national plan consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the framework of our specific religious and cultural history and our national priorities. We also hope to receive assistance from friendly sister countries in support of Libya’s efforts to restore stability in its march to democracy and to further support the Government in rebuilding and activating national institutions, including the security and military institutions. We must emphasize the reservations that my country expressed with regard to some of the Goals and targets as well as to interpretations of some concepts in the outcome document. We hope that those reservations will be considered as an integral part of Libya’s position with regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In conclusion, allow me to appeal to the Member States to which Libyan assets were smuggled during the period of the former regime to assist in finding and recovering those assets. They belong solely and rightfully to the Libyan people. Libya could greatly benefit from those resources to finance its development plans and rehabilitate its infrastructures.

It is indeed an honour for me to join this gathering of world leaders to adopt the post-2015 development agenda. I wish to express my highest tribute to the inclusive process of formulating the post-2015 development agenda, and we commend the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly for their able stewardship throughout the process. This year we stand witness to a historic juncture in development. The post-2015 development agenda represents our oath to our future generations that we will strive together to leave them a legacy of a more prosperous world through sustainable development. In this light, allow me to underline three main points. First is the lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Fifteen years ago, the MDGs were set. Some targets have been met and important progress was achieved across all Goals. Globally, extreme poverty was reduced by half; 3.3 million deaths from malaria were averted; and 2.3 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water and sanitation. Nevertheless, inequality among and within countries, as well as poverty, remain the main global challenges. Besides that, new global challenges have also arisen, such as energy inequality, infrastructure gaps, unsustainable consumption, limitations in production, and climate change. Rising conflicts have also set many countries back in their development achievements, fragmenting communities and diverting scarce resources away from productive enterprises. The agenda thus remains unfinished. Based on lessons learned and best practices in achieving the MDGs, we need to intensify our efforts and enhance shared responsibilities, in accordance with national capabilities, as a solid foundation for the new agenda. Here developed countries have to set the example for others to follow. Secondly, I would like to highlight Indonesia’s efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indonesia has surpassed the goal of halving the percentage of the population living in poverty. Indonesia is also on track to reduce the prevalence of underweight children, reduce the mortality of children under five and to increase enrolment in primary education. Drawing from the implementation of the MDGs, Indonesia has just mainstreamed the post-2015 development agenda into its national development planning. In this respect, Indonesia has, inter alia, reduced public spending on fuel subsidies and enhanced budget allocations for social development programmes such as the Indonesia Health Card and the Indonesia Smart Card to give poor households better access to health care and education. Thirdly, I wish to emphasize the need to strengthen global partnership. The agenda demands a strong and inclusive global partnership to support the means of implementation, while taking into account national circumstances and development priorities. It is critically important that international commitments be met, including the official development assistance target by developed countries and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, as agreed at the third International Conference on Financing for Development, despite lackluster global economic growth. The financing mechanism should be coupled with knowledge-sharing, technology transfer and wider access to markets for developing countries and least developed countries, including for the middle-income countries, which face many challenges, not least the impacts of the recent global economic turmoil. Contributions from non-State actors are also of great importance. The private sector and civil society play a tremendous role in job creation and community empowerment. Therefore, corporate social responsibility and philanthropic activities should be enhanced and widened. The political structure should be sufficiently open to incorporate the role of non-State actors. Development cannot take place in the absence of peace, within or between States. Therefore, preventing conflicts from occurring, resolving conflicts and ensuring appropriate post-conflict reconstruction to ensure sustainable peace should be a priority on the global agenda. Let me conclude by assuring members that Indonesia stands ready to work together in ensuring that our post-2015 development agenda will not merely be a pipe dream, but a reality for all. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia for his statement.

At the start of this new millennium, world leaders aspired to a shared commitment to a stronger global effort to overcome the grim ills that had robbed so many of the world’s people of the opportunity to live in dignity and freedom. This aspiration was captured in the Millennium Development Goals. The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) we adopted yesterday appropriately inspire great hope. Together, they provide a framework for balanced global development across the economic, social and environmental pillars. Samoa is proud to be part of this momentous event, a fitting way to mark the commemoration of the seventieth anniversary of our United Nations. “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (resolution 70/1) sets out the totality of our sustainable development priorities and represents an inclusive agenda initiated, led and driven by our United Nations Members. Our United Nations family can justifiably take satisfaction in the strong leadership and collective commitment that finalized the new Development Agenda and made this Summit a reality. Our attention must now squarely turn immediately to establishing required partnerships and mobilizing the needed resources if the new Development Agenda is to be successfully implemented and the Sustainable Development Goals achieved. Last September, at the closing of the International Conference on Small Island Developing States, which my country and our Pacific region were honoured to host, I ventured the hope that the United Nations community would not treat or view the outcome document of the Conference  — the small island developing States (SIDS) Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway  — as an end in itself. Therefore I am very grateful to the small island developing States and all their partners for ensuring that the SIDS challenges and priorities captured in the SAMOA Pathway are part of the SDGs, including the means of implementation. Integrating the SAMOA Pathway in our new Agenda ensures that we are faithful to our call of leaving no one behind. We welcome the reaffirmation in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the special case of SIDS as a recognized United Nations group with special needs and inherent vulnerabilities in the context of sustainable development, not by choice but due to factors outside their control. Recognizing these specificities, it is critically important to repeatedly recall that while the Agenda is universal, this does not equate to a one-size-fits-all approach to implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Recognizing the different national realities and challenges, capacities and levels of development of Member States and different groups will be crucial for the effective achievement of the SDGs across the board. Obviously, the availability of accurate data and statistics will be vital to their monitoring and evaluation at the national, regional and global levels. Work by the United Nations to find meaningful and relevant indicators is underway. During the SDGs process, it proved very difficult to apply the MDGs and their indicators to small island developing countries, and much tailoring was necessary before participation in these global targets was seen as meaningful and relevant for us. It is very important, therefore, that the indicators being developed take into account the realities and experiences of small island States like Samoa so as to be applicable to our situations. I alluded earlier to the monumental task ahead of us all. Samoa has always been and continues to be a firm believer in the worth of genuine and durable partnerships. We know from our own journey as a nation that with the right combination of different kinds of partnerships we can make our Development Agenda and its implementation truly transformational. The agenda we have endorsed speaks to the need to “mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people” (resolution 70/1, ninth preamblar paragraph.). The adoption of the new SDGs is timely for Samoa. Our new strategy for the development of Samoa for the next five years is scheduled to come out in 2016. This gives us space to integrate the SAMOA Pathway and the SDGs into the new strategic direction for the development of our country. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Independent State of Samoa for his statement.

One of the previous Secretary-Generals once said, “Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road”. These wise words by Dag Hammarskjöld have never been more fitting than they are today. Fifteen years ago, the international community fixed its gaze on the horizon. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) showed an unprecedented level of ambition. Were the Goals really achievable? We now know the answer. The MDGs have been a big success, even though there are major regional differences and not every Goal was reached precisely as intended. So what has the world achieved in the past 15 years? Extreme poverty has been halved; maternal mortality has been halved; child mortality has almost been halved; 90 per cent of children in developing countries now receive primary education and 2.3 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water. But in the Assembly, on the eve of the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2016 to 2030, the success of the MDGs should give us confidence in the next leap forward. The MDGs have taught us many lessons, and today I would like to mention three. First, by working together we can make a difference. Secondly, Goals like eradicating poverty, achieving gender equality and giving the poor better health care and sanitation should go hand in hand with multi-stakeholder involvement, sound economic principles and sustainable development. Thirdly, we must have more private sector involvement in long-term financing, in public-private partnerships and in projects on the ground. Last year, more than 60 partners signed the Post- 2015 Charter, a corporate initiative that brings together Dutch businesses, universities and other organizations committed to the agenda we are discussing at this Summit. So what does private sector involvement look like in practice? It could look like the ambition Heineken has formulated for its breweries in Africa and the Middle East to source 60 per cent of all its ingredients locally. The Netherlands is supporting this effort by offering training for farmers. In Burundi, this partnership has already enabled 18,000 farmers to make a steady income by supplying this world-famous Dutch brewer. It could also look like the Health Insurance Fund, a public-private initiative supported by some of the largest Dutch insurance companies. In 2014 alone, the Fund provided health and agricultural insurance for 460,000 people in sub-Saharan countries, 60 per cent of whom were women. But it could also look like the Amsterdam Initiative against Malnutrition (AIM), which was launched in 2009. AIM brings together many partners: the Dutch Government and non-governmental organizations; multinationals in food and chemicals, like Unilever, DSM and AkzoNobel; and agricultural knowledge institutions like the Wageningen University and Research Centre. AIM’s project portfolio now provides 26 million people with better access to nutritious foods. Within the framework of the SDGs and corporate social responsibility, many individual firms, large and small, are expressing a growing desire for more effective public-private partnerships. They believe that the “S” in SDGs offers opportunities for investment and innovation. It is up to Governments and the United Nations to make sure that the legal and economic frameworks are in good working order. I am confident that in doing so we can unleash far more trade and investment in poor countries, moving the needle further from charitable to profitable in the years ahead. Our commitment to jointly promoting development in the framework of the United Nations is one of the main reasons why the Kingdom of the Netherlands is seeking a seat on the Security Council for the 2017- 2018 term. The Kingdom of the Netherlands is fully committed to making the next leap forward. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister and Minister for General Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for his statement.

At the turn of the new millennium, we gathered in this very Assembly Hall to adopt the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Through the MDGs, we created a blueprint for ending extreme poverty and indeed offered new hope to the world’s poorest that their well-being would be significantly improved by the year 2015. As we lament our failure to meet the MDGs in full, we ought to acknowledge that in most countries significant progress was recorded in accelerating MDG indicators such as free primary education and the empowerment of women. Lesotho is no exception in this regard. We ought to further acknowledge that the hurdles we faced provided a great learning experience as we focus on the way forward. As we mark the end of the MDGs cycle, we do so with a renewed sense of hope because, through the outcome document (resolution 70/1) that we have just adopted, we clearly articulate our unwavering commitment to addressing the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals. The post-2015 development agenda provides a fresh impetus to our common strategies for addressing the key challenges on the path to a better life for all. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development signifies the growth agenda for the twenty-first century. It is a plan of action for ending poverty in all its forms irreversibly, everywhere and leaving no one behind. It seeks to ensure peace and prosperity, and places people at the centre. The 17 integrated, interlinked and indivisible Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the people’s Goals and demonstrate the scale, universality and ambition of this new Agenda. The relevance of this new Agenda lies in its emphasis on poverty eradication as an overarching Goal of the envisaged sustainable development, which seeks integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions. There is no doubt that the SDGs are more ambitious than the MDGs. Their attainment will therefore be all the more challenging. It is gratifying to note that the means of implementation outlined in the outcome document match these ambitious Goals by focusing on finance, technology and capacity development. It is also a cause for celebration that in addition to a stand- alone Goal on the means of implementation, specific means are tailored for each of the SDGs. Lesotho could not agree more with the clarion call for departure from “business as usual”, as well as intensified international cooperation on all fronts. The new Agenda puts emphasis on increased capacity- building and better data and statistics to measure sustainable development. It would therefore be remiss of me not to underscore the importance of an effective follow-up and review regime to support the effective implementation of this new Agenda. In conclusion, allow me to reiterate the need to translate the ambitious Agenda that we have just adopted into pragmatic, sustainable national development plans. Furthermore, we need to ensure that adequate institutional, human and financial capacities are in place at the national level in order for us to achieve these Goals. We need to engage the private sector and other stakeholders so that we can be the first generation to end extreme poverty and the last generation to face climate change as an existential threat. Sustainable development ought to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We need to bequeath to future generations a solid foundation that they can build on. Without the full political commitment of all world leaders, the attainment of the SDGs will remain a distant mirage. The attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals is not an option but an imperative of our time. We owe it to humankind to achieve these Goals at all costs. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho for his statement.

This autumn has already produced a truly impressive harvest. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda alone amount to a bumper crop, and I am optimistic that we will see an excellent result from the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Indeed, Iceland recently pledged a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030. The 2030 Agenda that we adopted at this Summit is a remarkable achievement. It testifies to the power of the multilateral system. All of the Goals have equal weight, and success in one area helps us to succeed in the others. Ending poverty and hunger is obviously fundamental to the ability of human beings to fulfil their potential, and improving infrastructure helps to alleviate poverty and hunger. The Agenda also correctly identifies the sustainable management of natural resources as key to these aims. In the end, we have only two sources of food: the ocean and the land. We must manage both with great care and responsibility. Utilizing marine resources in a responsible manner based on scientific evidence plays a vital role in ensuring food security and prosperity. We must also seriously address land and soil degradation and aim at least for a land-degradation-neutral world. Iceland will continue to contribute to the sustainable management of both oceans and land at home and abroad. The lack of access to sustainable and affordable energy is a major contributing factor to poverty. Here I would like to pay tribute to the Secretary-General and his Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, which has given important impetus to establishing measurable goals and targets in this area. Iceland is aiming to become a carbon-neutral economy. Already almost all of our stationary energy comes from renewables, and Iceland will continue to support a number of developing countries in harnessing geothermal energy so as to improve living standards and our climates at the same time. Through the tragic experiences of many seeking a better life or safety from conflict, we have become keenly aware in recent months of the nexus between security, development and human rights. It is important that the Agenda addresses specifically the multidimensional reality of migration and the need for international cooperation to ensure that it is safe and orderly. It is also important that the particular burden borne by communities hosting refugees be recognized. The Sustainable Development Goals are a major challenge and will require the commitment and energy of all countries and all people. Therefore, Iceland is particularly gratified that we were all able to agree on an approach to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in order to attain the Goals that we have set ourselves. We also recognize the role that men and boys must play in eliminating discrimination and violence against women and girls. One campaign in support of this idea has already proven effective — UN-Women’s HeForShe campaign — which I am proud to say Icelandic men have supported in large numbers. I urge all men and boys to join the battle for equality. At this Summit, we are collectively committing to a number of reforms for women and girls in order to achieve equality by 2030. Iceland will continue to provide much-needed funding for the issue of gender equality. The Icelandic parliament has agreed to a large increase in funding for issues of equality for the next five years. At least half of those funds will go to supporting equality measures internationally. I am also particularly pleased that our Agenda includes a reference the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders. Progress in that field can improve the lives of millions. Today we mark a major achievement, but we all know the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Effective implementation of the Agenda will be challenging. The Government of Iceland will join others in tackling these challenges at the national, regional and global level. Iceland is committed to taking action. Let us make history together. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister of the Republic of Iceland for his statement.

I was a foster child. At the age of 10 months, I arrived by train to my new parents in the northern part of Sweden. I had the good fortune to be taken into a loving home and to be brought up in a society where the legacy of the past does not prevent a good future, and in a society where people take responsibility, not only for themselves but also for others. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) carries that same sense of shared responsibility. It is grounded in the firm belief that poverty can and should be eradicated, that climate change can and must be stopped, and that equal societies are better societies — and the foundation for a better future for all of us. We now have a new road map. It is universal. No country can shirk its responsibility, but Governments’ efforts alone will not be enough. Efforts are needed at all levels, across all sectors, and by all stakeholders. That is why Sweden has launched an initiative with nine world leaders in a high-level support group designed to bolster momentum for the implementation of the Agenda. The mission ahead of us as a global community is not only morally right but is also economically smart, because equality and development are two sides of the same coin. When we promote gender equality, talent and strength are released. Gross domestic product grows when more women work. Skills are unlocked when girls and boys go to school. We cannot afford to hold half of our population back. All legal, social and economic barriers to women’s and girls’ empowerment must therefore be removed. When we promote decent work for all, competitiveness will increase. Some say that this is a contradiction in terms. I say it is a win-win-win situation. It is a win for employees. It is a win for employers. And it is a win for our societies. With decent work that respects fundamental labour rights, we can increase both productivity and inclusive growth. When we develop new solutions to reduce emissions, we will stop climate change and in doing so also create new jobs. My goal is for Sweden to be among the first fossil-fuel-free welfare nations, and I want Swedish companies to develop the climate-smart innovations that the world is asking for. Our development cooperation will help to break the link between development and fossil-fuel dependence. We remain the key donor to the Green Climate Fund. We stay true to the goal of 1 per cent of our gross national income for official development assistance. What we all need now is determination, and to start fulfilling our common Goals. In doing so, we will gain something more. We return to the true purpose of society: to grant all girls and boys the simple things that I was once granted, namely, a fair chance, an equal education, a decent job — and a life of freedom. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister of Sweden for his statement.

It is a privilege to address the Assembly at this historic moment as we launch the transformative agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Today we are embarking on an ambitious journey that will require bold steps from all of us in response to the tremendous challenges that humankind is facing in today’s world. The 17 Sustainable Development Goalsthat have been agreed, with their 169 associated targets, are there to guide us in this complex journey. A smooth transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals of the post-2015 agenda is crucial. In 2000, the MDGs were truly revolutionary in providing a common language for addressing global challenges. In my country, they became a tool for national stakeholders to discuss, prioritize and advocate for development, in collaboration with civil society and international stakeholders. The launch of the SDGs gives new impetus to these efforts. In this process, we should ensure that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) enjoys the widest possible public support and engagement. While acknowledging the importance and urgency of all 17 agreed Goals, I would like to focus on some of the specific SDGs that are of particular importance to Georgia. Goal 3, on ensuring healthy lives at all ages, is one of Georgia’s key priorities. I would like to name some of the steps we are taking to this end. Together with international partners, the Government is carrying out an unprecedented hepatitis C elimination programme. Patients are provided with the necessary tests for the purposes of prediagnosis and treatment monitoring, and they receive the latest drugs for the treatment of the disease. Increased Government funding for maternal and child health and ease of access to quality health-care services are vital for reducing the mortality rate of mothers and children. Georgia met MDG 4, with the infant mortality rate dropping to 10 per 1,000 live births and that of children under the age of 5 dropping to 12 per 1,000 live births. Goal 7 stresses the importance of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Over the past decade, Georgia’s electricity sector has undergone major changes with a view to creating an open, liberal and commercially viable energy sector that is resistant to market fluctuations. Due to our intensive reforms, our power sector has been a net electricity exporter since 2007. With its unique location, Georgia creates many opportunities for energy transit. I wish to highlight the Association Agreement signed with the European Union, which paves the way for Georgia to become a full-fledged member of the Energy Community. We attach utmost importance to Goal 9, on building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation. Supporting small and medium-size businesses in agriculture and other industries is one of our key priorities. We have implemented projects aimed at creating new jobs in rural areas, improving land use and land consolidation efficiency, and enhancing the export potential of agricultural products. Goal 16, on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, access to justice and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions, is one of the core SDGs, since progress in all areas depends on effective governance. Transparency, access to public information, and the integrity of public institutions are the most important principles required for our Government to function effectively. In Georgia, we are consolidating legislation introducing new standards for freedom of information, based on the principle of openness. Of course, these Goals must also apply to the people living in conflict-affected areas. With two Georgian regions under foreign occupation and a substantial part of our population forcefully displaced, we know all too well how urgent it is to address their needs. Sustainable development is the pathway to the future that we want for everyone. It offers a framework for economic growth, social justice, environmental stewardship and strong governance. Achieving such a world is possible, but only if we work together. It is not just an ethical imperative; it is the right and smart thing to do. Our globalized world will not work if millions are excluded. Georgia will continue to work hand in hand with its partners to make this happen through an ambitious and comprehensive post-2015 development framework. Co-Chair Rasmussen: I thank the Prime Minister of Georgia for his statement.

Today, I have the great honour to attend the United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. On the seventieth anniversary of the creation of the United Nations, we are opening a new chapter in humankind’s history book, which is marked by stronger global development cooperation. The theme of this Summit, “Transforming the world: realizing the post-2015 development agenda”, highlights our globally shared undertakings and responsibilities in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the next 15 years and building on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which we jointly adopted 15 years ago. In this spirit, I am pleased to inform the meeting that, over the past two decades, Cambodia has undergone tremendous change, especially in securing full peace, strong political stability and improved public security, with high economic growth averaging 7.7 per cent per annum. The poverty rate declined significantly from 53 per cent in 2004 to 16 per cent in 2013, ensuring that Cambodia achieved the MDG targets for poverty reduction and other social sectors ahead of 2015. The remaining Goals are expected to be reached by the end of 2015. Cambodia is now transitioning into the next stage of its development to become a lower-middle income country by 2016. In this connection, the Royal Government of Cambodia deems the 17 SDGs, which were based on the MDGs, to be very relevant to Cambodia’s situation, especially in building on the achievements made over the past 15 years. But they are even more important in supporting Cambodia’s transition into middle-income country status, especially during the early stages of this transition. However, Cambodia will incorporate the clearance of landmines and unexploded ordnance as an additional SDG to fully reflect the current situation and needs on the ground. With regard to SDG financing, the Royal Government of Cambodia fully endorses the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, which focuses on domestic resource mobilization to meet development needs. Nonetheless, Cambodia would like to request that additional support be extended to those least developed countries that are successfully graduating to the next stage of development until they can stand on their feet and compete internationally. That additional support should take the form of official development assistance either through grants and/or concessional loans to address basic needs such as infrastructure gaps and human resource and institutional development. Forging consensus on the post-2015 development agenda is a major achievement by our global leaders. However, ensuring the success of that agenda as we planned remains a major challenge for us all. For this reason, I believe that we all should resolve to jointly address key issues as follows. First, we must ensure the fulfilment of the donor commitments to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for official development assistance to developing countries and 0.15 per cent to 0.20 per cent of gross national income for official development assistance to the least developed countries. Secondly, we need to further enhance trade policies and trade facilitation, including the provision of preferential treatment to developing countries, in accord with the spirit of equitably and efficiently sharing the benefits reaped from globalization. Thirdly, we should further strengthen stability and promote diversification of the financial sector, encourage innovation and promote the role and dynamism of the private sector to meet the financial needs in realizing the SDGs. Fourthly, we need to further strengthen country ownership through building partnerships among all stakeholders in development, including bilateral and multilateral development partners, the private sector and other development actors. Fifthly, we must ensure policy coherence with transparency and accountability, aligning the policies of bilateral and multilateral development partners with national policy priorities and the SDGs. Finally, I believe that the post-2015 development agenda will become an important tool to help all countries to adhere to an appropriate development path and to ensure that the next generations will live in a harmonious and prosperous society.

We, the Member States, are at the cusp of another remarkable opportunity to transform the human landscape in ways that could redefine the future for so many of our peoples. I am therefore delighted to participate in this historic Summit to adopt the post-2015 development agenda and with it, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have come a long way since the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 15 years ago. Although success has sometimes been scarce, we can take comfort in knowing that millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. Millions more now have improved access to education, and the prevalence of the dreaded HIV/AIDS pandemic has diminished. As many here have intimated, this is a significant moment for the United Nations. It is refreshing to see that even at 70 years old, the General Assembly can take youthful strides of optimism towards the future. As we begin the post-2015 period and the Sustainable Development Goals, please allow me a brief moment to reflect on the very origins of the period now coming to a close. For most of us, the MDGs process was a watershed, a period of unprecedented scope and promise, which, I am pleased to say, did deliver on many targets but, regrettably, fell short on others. As the post-2015 period begins, the new Team Unity Government in Saint Kitts and Nevis is committed to working internationally to bring about transformational changes in programmes and policies that benefit all our peoples. We fully support the outcome document of this Summit, “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (resolution 70/1), and we will remain focused on the fulfilment of the Goals and targets. The pursuit of the post-2015 development agenda and the SDGs for 2030 is an organic process for us, simply because in Saint Kitts and Nevis we have a people-centred Government. It is a Government focused on and working for the sustainable development of all of our people. We continue to increase access for all to high-quality health care and to upgrade the delivery, rigor and relevance of primary and secondary education, which is compulsory for all children from ages 5 to 16. In addition, we are reforming our laws to attract the right investments in priority areas to stimulate economic growth and diversification, which will give our young people better access to reliable and decent work. We are determined to preserve the dignity and human rights of our people. We will champion policies for good governance, transparency, social equity, justice, security and prosperity for all. Our Government is fully committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, which simply, philosophically and fundamentally embody the genuine aspirations of our people. We welcome the 2030 Agenda and are glad to see the Goals prioritized during this Summit. I must say that as a vulnerable small island State, elements such as Goal 13, on climate change, and Goal 14, on oceans and seas, are especially pleasing. Climate change is an existential threat to our islands. Our reality is that our coastlines are wearing away. Our pristine beaches, essential to our tourism industry and hence to our economic survival, are slowly disappearing, year after year. Droughts are now more prolonged, severe and frequent. This year, for example, we in Saint Kitts and Nevis suffered one of the most prolonged and severe drought spells. The consequence has been water rationing for the consuming public. We are witnessing the destruction of our livelihood by natural disasters and sea-level rise. We do not know from one year to the next which island will be devastated or set back decades in development. That is why forums such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations are so important to us, given the imperative of making sure that we adopt a realistic and comprehensive agreement in Paris at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, later this year. The response to climate change requires input from all nations, large and small. Taiwan, with its advanced renewable-energy technologies, should be allowed to participate in relevant international meetings and mechanisms, such as the UNFCCC and the United Nations Environment Assembly. Regrettably, our oceans and seas have been neglected, and as a result they are suffering from increasing pollution, coral degradation and over- exploitation. It is important to note that Saint Kitts and Nevis, a small island State with a landmass of roughly 105 square miles, has a territorial maritime space in excess of 12,427 square miles. Therefore, our future lies not only on land but most importantly in the sea. We will move to delineate our boundaries with our neighbours so that we may better utilize this unexploited frontier in our efforts to enhance our development. Oceans and seas impact our economic, social, and environmental well-being, and they are critical to the future livelihood of the islands and coastal communities. The sea is key to our national survival, to our food security and to the creation of more decent jobs and potentially holds untapped resources. As a small island developing country, we understand the relationship between renewable energy, food security and sustainable development. Hence we are making investments in renewables, including geothermal, wind and solar energy, and are developing programmes to optimize the synergies. We want our people to succeed and prosper, and we promise our people a fair share for all. Our Government will therefore continue to create legislative frameworks that cement our democracy and institutions. We will design more programmes to promote healthier lives and lifestyles, eradicate poverty, enhance quality education and ensure gender equality and human rights for all. That said, notwithstanding our bilateral partnerships for effective and inclusive development and the work we are doing locally, none of our countries can do it alone. We need real support to implement the 2030 Agenda. Therefore, international financing for sustainable development has to be an overarching priority. Better South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation is therefore an imperative. Serious consideration should be given to the proposals advanced by the Commonwealth finance ministers, who have repeatedly stressed the importance of finding innovative strategies for helping small developing States gain access to international sources of funding. Dominica’s devastation by Tropical Storm Erika highlights the vulnerability of small island developing States (SIDS) and why development cannot be taken for granted. It also makes the cogent point that the graduation of SIDS on the basis of per capita income is imprudent in the context of our vulnerability. Finally, over the last 15 years, we have learned valuable lessons. We have observed that success requires continuing commitment, institutional backing, adequate financing and effective implementation. Today we have an opportunity to build on the gains of the MDG process. How we proceed will determine whether future generations look back at this, the seventieth year, as a genuine watershed or simply another missed opportunity. The United Nations has proved its mettle in the past and it can rise again to the challenge. I am optimistic. The world has cause for optimism. Saint Kitts and Nevis supports this process, these Goals and the ideals of our United Nations. We will therefore play an active role in creating a sustainable future for all. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis for his statement.

This Summit, at which we have adopted resolution 70/1, entitled “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, is inspiring. Our world does indeed need to be transformed. The Goals listed in the Agenda constitute an adequate canvas for any coherent national strategy for sustainable development. But it is in their implementation that our countries encounter difficulties, especially when it comes to the integration of sustained economic growth, inclusive social development and the protection of the environment. These three pillars are equally determining inasmuch as they cross-fertilize one another other to cement sustainability. The challenges are numerous. In the case of Lebanon, it is the humanitarian issues caused by the Syrian refugee crisis that constitute one of the greatest challenges to development. Lebanon, a country of 4 million inhabitants — the smallest in the region — has borne the brunt of the mass forced displacement of people out of Syria. My country today hosts more than 1.2 million registered Syrians, representing almost a third of its population. This has had a devastating impact on development, economic activity, social progress and the environment, overstretching the capacity of our national institutions in the areas of health care, education, energy, water, sanitation and security. It has set back development and even threatened to reverse it and has weighed dramatically on our economy, generating a cost of about one third of our gross domestic product (GDP). The international response has been inadequate to address a crisis of this magnitude and duration. Limited resources were concentrated on humanitarian funding, while development assistance and burden-sharing in terms of finance and resettlement were needed. The refugee crisis facing Europe today is a direct consequence of that insufficient response. In this regard, we welcome the recognition in the 2030 Agenda of the forced displacement of people as a result of spiralling conflict, violent extremism and terrorism, and the recognition of the need to strengthen the resilience of host communities, particularly in developing countries. This should be done through a systematic assessment of the costs of hosting refugees, reliably predicting long-term financing needs and implementing equitable resettlement arrangements based on burden-sharing principles. In Lebanon, resilience is essentially articulated on the efforts of the private sector. One major component of this potential is the Lebanese diaspora, through remittances. In this connection, it is essential to review the unnecessary restrictions imposed on remittances. They result in a disproportionate increase of transfer costs, thus penalizing those at the receiving end and producing direct negative effects on consumption and schooling, the areas to which they are essentially directed. In that way, these constraints are affecting vital elements of development and stability, because consumption is a major component of GDP in developing nations. Education is key in this process, as it is also a rampart against extremism and a factor of moderation. We invest a great deal in the education of our children, only to see them leave the country when they reach working age. This is seriously impacting our productivity, and the surest way to counter this trend is through sustainable and balanced development. Indeed, it is essential to avoid the pitfalls of favouring development poles, for it is only through promoting inclusive growth that we can avoid creating pockets of underdevelopment, even within urban centres, in which all kinds of fanatic ideologies can fester. Respect for human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, democracy, promotion of good governance and the rule of law, and universal access to justice are all elements that favour development. Hence, reforms in those areas are indispensable for sustainable development. Development fuels them, and without them growth is bound to falter. Without them no society can enjoy stability, security, fairness and equity. As regards international aid, which is an essential factor in triggering development in less advanced countries, it is crucial to review the notion of middle-income countries, because that label can penalize many nations that lose their access to aid while they may be in more urgent need of aid than others not so classified. Accordingly, the approach to global aid should be revamped to take into account specificities, and, most importantly, it should include targeted contributions that can shore up development, ensuring that it is sustainable. Maybe one of the most important Goals is to enhance global partnership. It is time that more advanced societies recognize that by helping less developed ones through the transfer of knowledge and technologies, they are also sustainably helping themselves. Respecting our environment, reducing pollution and correcting past damage should be seen as goals in themselves, as well as the criteria for progress in achieving sustainability. They help to effectively monitor the process in a comprehensive way. We also believe in upholding the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and look forward to the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Paris later this year. In conclusion, we commend the recognition of development as a right for every human being, for it is the bedrock of well-being. But we equally need to recognize the primordial importance of putting an end to armed conflicts, terrorism, sectarian violence and hatred, so that we can ensure the security, stability and peace that constitute the indispensable conditions for development and the primary duty of leadership and Governments everywhere. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the President of the Council of Ministers of the Lebanese Republic for his statement.

The 70-year history of this great institution has been marked by a shared quest for peace and development. Today, we have before us a momentous opportunity to approach the goal of this arduous journey. We have agreed on a united means to finally realize our common goals, namely, to end extreme poverty, to fight inequality and injustice and fix climate change. With the new global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), we can do this and more as we chart a fresh course for all countries and all peoples. This Summit marks the culmination of our collegial endeavour to define a new, ambitious sustainable development agenda. What we have achieved over the course of the past two years is remarkable. I commend all who have worked so tirelessly throughout the process that has brought us to the Hall this week, together with the unprecedented participation of civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders. But we cannot seek applause just for putting in place a new suite of goals and targets. Our individual and collective success or failure will be judged on how well we continue to work together, as national Governments and the international community, to execute this new Agenda. As we boldly step onto the path towards sustainability, we are reminded by the current state of the world that it will be a difficult, even perilous, journey. We are also very aware that all issues of principle have not been settled. The Agenda just adopted by the Assembly, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, provides a means to bridge our ideological differences by reaching agreement on a set of practical actions that we can advance together. It provides a framework for navigating existing, looming and as yet unforeseen challenges. It shifts us away from an aid-centric approach to development. For the first time, we have a global Agenda that speaks to all people and is to be applied by all countries. It recognizes that development is a continuing spectrum. It cannot be achieved by merely copying the practices of others, and history has shown that imposed solutions rarely gain traction. Therefore, we welcome the fact that the new Agenda is founded on country-stewardship and on adapting international learning to our national and cultural contexts. The best way we can equip ourselves for success will be by ensuring that our institutions have the capacity to undertake the tasks with which they are charged. No country is immune from the challenge of institutional capacity-building, nor is our international or regional architecture. Without fit-for-purpose, effective and accountable institutions we cannot make the leap from the setting of lofty goals to the delivery of the services, infrastructure and programmes that our people deserve and demand. In an era of meteoric change and an increasingly turbulent world, we can no longer simply set goals and forget them. We need the means to deal with the rapid transfer of technologies and ideas, the increasing movement of people and the flight of capital. We need to establish and sustain appropriate systems of governance. They empower us to generate and manage the resources required to tackle poverty and inequality and to live in harmony with our natural environment. Our Governments will be the primary custodians of the Agenda, and domestic revenue mobilization will be the principal means of implementation. But we cannot operate in isolation from our national, regional and international partners. We are mindful that, as we seek to improve domestic resource collection and management, such efforts are often thwarted through tax avoidance and corruption. Then, as we set out to strengthen national institutions, we must also improve global governance around these and other issues as well. We also remain aware of the importance of improving the delivery of international development assistance, focusing on predictability and on strengthening the use of country systems. If we are serious about eradicating extreme poverty, then we cannot shy away from our national and international commitments to properly resource the implementation of this Agenda. Together we share a moral obligation to realize the long-overdue aspirations set out in the new Goals. Globally, we have the resources, the technology and the know-how. Those elements can be harnessed only if we also commit to and sustain broad political engagement for the duration of this Agenda. We have before us a comprehensive plan of action. The test now is our willingness to act and transform our ambition into reality. Timor-Leste is proud of its participation in defining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Goal 16, and pledges today to fulfil our role in its enactment. I am pleased to announce that our Council of Ministers has already endorsed the new global Goals, paving the way for their operationalization within the context of our strategic development plan and our internal budget processes. Our vision is to transition from a low-income to an upper-middle-income country, with a healthy, well-educated and safe population by 2030. We will get there only if we continue to focus on addressing the immediate needs of our people, while consolidating peace and stability and building the institutions of the State. With that foundation, we can and will continue to expand our economy to create more decent jobs for our people. We can and will invest in essential infrastructure and improve our social services. We can and will tackle rising inequality. We can and will be good global citizens. If we all step beyond our national affiliations and come together for the common good, we can defeat the scourge of climate change, protect our oceans and improve life on land. I urge all countries to join us today in taking ownership of this Agenda, not only to adopt it, but to redouble our efforts and commitments towards its implementation. Accomplishing the Goals that we have collectively set will require a renewed sense of international cooperation and collaboration. Shared learning and dialogue can guide us through the challenges of the next 15 years. Timor-Leste is proud to work with other Member States on the implementation of the SDGs. Together, we can unlock opportunities not yet envisaged. We can deliver a world of peace and prosperity for our children to inherit. Let that be our legacy this week. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste for his statement.

Fifteen years ago we adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). That huge undertaking was a response to the absolute need for us to eradicate poverty throughout the world. It called for synergies between national action and international generosity aimed at promoting equal access for all people to basic services in order to ensure their well-being. It is true, of course, that undeniable progress has been achieved in many areas, which has allowed more than a billion people to emerge from extreme poverty. Illiteracy has been reduced. The supply of drinking water, electricity and medical services has improved. Technological knowledge is becoming increasingly accessible. However, beyond such reasons for satisfaction, there are still challenges on the path to prosperity for all. For that reason, we welcome the adoption of a new post-2015 development agenda, which covers the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. It is clear that the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) just adopted, are more ambitious than those of the MDGs. Their fulfilment will require the mobilization of adequate resources. It is up to us to take ownership by including them in national development programmes based on the inclusive participation of all segments of society. It goes without saying that our efforts should be guided by coordination and monitoring mechanisms for the implementation of the 17 Goals set by the new Agenda. In that dynamic, Guinea has been working to make the empowerment of women and jobs for young people a catalyst for national development. Significant budgetary resources have been invested to allow women to gain access to microcredit and to allow young people to receive training and obtain decent jobs. Success depends on sustained growth based on the development of infrastructure, industrialization and innovation. Naturally, health services, whose fragility was demonstrated in the management of the Ebola health crisis, will now receive greater attention in order to increase their capacity to respond to pandemics and provide health coverage for the population. Sustainable development is synonymous with environmental protection. Our determination to ensure the survival of our planet is unwavering. It will be confirmed in Paris in December during the twenty- first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will bring States together to agree on binding measures to ensure a bright future for future generations. Peace and security are clearly the keys conditions for achieving our ambitions. They will be even more sustainable if the rule of law prevails, which will generate good governance at the political and economic levels. I would like to make a strong appeal to the international community to maintain the spirit of generosity and solidarity, which was lacking with the MDGs but must be present with the SDGs, so that by 2030 the terrible threat of poverty and all that goes with it will not hang over the heads of our societies. The path is already marked by the unfaltering commitment of our Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and the self-sacrificing service of the Co-Chairs. They merit our sincere recognition. Co-Chair Museveni: The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Vice-President of the Republic of Angola.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Angola, allow me to congratulate Mr. Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, for his role in the drafting of resolution 70/1, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. We welcome the efforts of the co-facilitators of the intergovernmental process in the preparation of that document. We also extend our gratitude to Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon for his efforts in achieving this goal. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development was a symbolic moment and a starting point for the current intergovernmental processes that have contributed to the eradication of poverty and the creation of coherent structures of social, economic and environmental inclusion with a view to achieving comprehensive sustainable development. The intergovernmental process for the preparation of the new agenda required a significant effort to arrive at an ambitious and structured document, based on a shared vision of the future that we want to build and an action plan that complements the Millennium Development Goals. Angola believes that the post-2015 development agenda, adopted in the form of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in resolution 70/1, is a key policy tool that aims to reduce the existing gap among countries, both developed and developing. In adopting the 2030 Agenda, Member States have reaffirmed Goals relating to the eradication of poverty and hunger, the protection and promotion of all rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women and special attention to all vulnerable groups as absolute priorities. In that context, we reaffirm the Government of Angola’s political will to continue all efforts that contribute to increasing women’s representation at all levels of decision-making, especially bearing in mind the Planet 50-50 by 2030 campaign. Likewise, the Agenda seeks to preserve the legacy of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, so that the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals will be geared towards the pursuit of prosperity, based on the respect for human dignity, the protection of the planet and the principles of shared responsibility. With regard to funding, we insist on the adoption of concrete commitments so that the Sustainable Development Goals can serve as an effective catalyst for good public policies and practices that respect the unique reality of each country. Therefore, Angola wishes to reiterate that it will implement and interpret the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in full accordance with its national laws and development priorities, as well as the values and ethnic, cultural and religious beliefs of Angolan society and in line with internationally recognized human rights standards. Despite the success in drafting the Agenda, it is important to note that there is still much work ahead. Several million people still live in extreme poverty or in conflict situations and are forced to migrate to other destinations. We also witness the daily growth of inequality and blatant human rights violations and the environmental degradation of our planet. The discussions on financing for development in the context of the third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa earlier this year, were marked by the North- South divide, opposing donors and beneficiaries of international cooperation. It was possible, however, to reach a comprehensive policy framework for financing sustainable development, but the specific commitments for the effective implementation of the Agenda still lack concrete definition. The global AIDS partnership will enable significant progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals and implementing the post-2015 development agenda. Despite the substantial differences that still persist, 193 countries have managed to reach an ambitious agreement on a new Agenda that includes the three dimensions of sustainable development in a balanced manner. Let me conclude by stressing that the new Agenda implies a shared responsibility to build a better world economically, politically, socially and environmentally. For that reason, the Republic of Angola calls on the United Nations to play a central role in leading the global development policy. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Vice-President of the Republic of Angola for his statement.

We are meeting on the occasion of a vitally important event, which is the culmination of three years of hard work and which will guide humankind to 2030 along a path of shared goals. We seek to achieve sustainable development while, above all, overcoming the major scourge of poverty and hunger. We have agreed to do this, thereby simultaneously addressing the right to a good quality of life for future generations and respecting the conditions imposed upon us by nature. We are a small country. We cannot achieve much alone. Our reality is clearly marked by the larger forces of the market with its development models that we will never be able to achieve and that our own country cannot sustain. We must, therefore, change the direction of development. We must forge new, more humane and fairer models, which will undoubtedly be diverse, reflecting the diversity of the cultures and history that have shaped us as individual nations. To achieve all of that, we turn to and place our trust in the United Nations. It is for that reason that we have all reached agreement under its auspices on the post- 2015 development goals, so that the development that we seek to generate in every corner of the world will be sustainable and respectful of our cultures and of the best traditions of peace and coexistence. The Sustainable Development Goals (resolution 70/1) are cross-cutting, universal, comprehensive and multidimensional. They offer a unique opportunity to the international community to make progress towards more just and inclusive societies that uphold the rights of individuals, with special attention paid to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable. That involves meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. We are facing a paradigm shift in agreeing on common objectives and goals, which, although they belong to each individual country, are nonetheless the responsibility of all. The eradication of poverty, universal access to health care, the prevention of disease, access to medicine, gender equality, universal access to education and the protection of the environment are crucial and require greater efforts and new commitments from all of us. Uruguay is convinced that we can do a great deal to prevent the deaths of thousands of women and children. We consider it essential, therefore, to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health. It is unacceptable that hunger still exists in the world, while tons of food are thrown away. That situation requires immediate action to change the patterns of production, consumption and trade. The Agenda that we have adopted provides an appropriate framework for that. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the environmental challenges that extend beyond the borders of all of our countries. We welcome the inclusion of that issue in the post-2015 agenda. Without a healthy environment, there can be no viable effort for development. Uruguay has already been affected by climate change. We have shared our concern and willingness to address that concern within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We feel that we must implement global actions in order to mitigate the effects of climate change, and we are already doing so in our own efforts to provide for the most affected, vulnerable and excluded sectors of society. Nonetheless, it is our unwavering conviction that those who have contributed the most to climate change hold the greatest responsibility for remediating its effects and helping those suffering from those effects to adapt to the consequences. Furthermore, access to renewable energy, the conservation of biodiversity, the reversal of land degradation, the sustainable management of chemicals and related waste products, which mainly affect the most vulnerable populations, are also key issues that must be dealt with in order for sustainable development to be possible. Uruguay has been a pioneer in recognizing the right to safe drinking water, which is enshrined in its Constitution, as well as the right to sanitation as a human right. We have vigorously defended those human rights, and we are pleased to see that universal and fair access to safe drinking water is a core Goal of the new post-2015 agenda. Efforts to improve water quality and the efficient and integrated use of water resources must be an essential component. We cannot envision progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and targets without the active participation of the whole of society. The implementation of the post-2015 agenda requires us to work hard and as one, in order to overcome the challenges that face us. The task of changing existing models of development, which are driven by profit and consumerism, is the only way of reaching the goal that we have set out to achieve together. We would therefore like to share our contention that the post-2015 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals can be fulfilled if we take them on as a whole, while recognizing the diversity of ways to achieve them. In short, we believe that we must dream big and set sail on the right course in order to achieve the happiness of all. At this juncture, I would like to recall the words of our former President, José Pepe Mujica, who called upon us at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to remember that the fight for the environment is synonymous with the fight for human happiness. I would also like to share the words of our current President, Mr. Tabaré Vázquez, who, upon taking office, stated that, “Development must be sustainable, or it is not worthy of the name of development”. It is that commitment that inspires us in Uruguay; that is the example that we, as a society, seek to forge. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Sudan.

I am pleased to convey the greetings of the President of the Sudan, Omer Hassan A. Al-Bashir. I would also like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Mr. Sam Kutesa, the President of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly. I would also like to thank the Secretary-General and co-facilitators Ambassador Macharia Kamau and Ambassador David Donoghue for their wise leadership and tireless and sincere efforts during the negotiation process. Their stewardship has led us to this historic moment, when the entire world adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). I would also like to thank the delegations of all Member States, the representatives of civil society and of international organizations, who participated in the negotiations process in a commendable spirit of solidarity and responsibility. Yesterday, at the advent of the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations, we took an important step with the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. While having wholeheartedly welcomed the adoption of this document and participated in all stages of the negotiations that led us there, we stress that my country, the Sudan, has already taken practical steps towards implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Different structural frameworks have already been put in place and integrated into national economic plans at both the federal and State levels. We will implement those plans through constructive partnerships with public and private sector agencies and all sectors of civil society organizations. We look forward to the constructive role to be played by the United Nations and international community in supporting the implementation of those efforts. We would also stress that the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda must be carried out in full compliance with and respect for our national laws and avoid running counter to our religious, cultural and social values. In that regard, I would like to underline some important points, relating to the implementation of the Agenda. First, the Sudan has made notable advances in achieving peace in all parts of the country. We continue and will continue to make positive efforts to that end, with the support of our friends, especially of those brothers and friends from the African Union and Qatar and Ethiopia. The call of the President of the Sudan for a fully inclusive and transparent national dialogue, without leaving anyone on the sidelines, was the culminating point of that process, as was his announcement of a pardon for militants willing to participate in that dialogue. We hope that the rebel movements will listen to the voice of reason and agree to participate in the call for dialogue. Secondly, the unilateral sanctions and coercive measures, as well as the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on some developing countries, including the Sudan, constituted a high hurdle and a serious obstacle to any progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals such as the eradication of poverty, the provision of basic services to citizens, the increase of products and productivity, the opening of markets and the creation of new jobs. Those sanctions have adversely affected the fundamental rights of citizens, especially the poorest. In that regard, I am thinking, in particular, of the right to education, medical services and development. The consequences of those sanctions run counter to international law and the principles and purposes of the Charter of United Nations Charter. In collaboration with other developing countries, our delegation has worked for the inclusion of those principles in paragraph 30 of the Agenda. Thirdly, the Sudan has met all the technical requirements, most notably those of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and those of the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. Nevertheless, no progress has been seen as a result of the fulfilment of those obligations. Fourthly, we stress the importance of building a global partnership on the means of implementation set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, especially for the least developed countries. That entails financial and non-financial resources, capacity building, the transfer of technology, creating a favourable international environment for the growth of national economies, facilitating the accession of developing countries and least developed countries to the World Trade Organization without obstacles or political preconditions, fulfilling official development assistance obligations, and giving special attention to the least developed countries through the promotion of international cooperation, tripartite cooperation and South-South cooperation. Having the means necessary for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will remain a challenge and a standard for all of us. Fifthly, today our world faces unprecedented disparities, owing in part to inequality among and within nations, as well as global, economic and financial crises, the increasing demands for energy, the fluctuating price of energy, food insecurity, armed conflicts, migration, human trafficking, refugee issues, and the challenges caused by climate change. We therefore hope that the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Paris, will reach a comprehensive agreement that will take into account both the challenges and commitments related to the adaptation to and the mitigation and reduction of the adverse impacts of climate change and will result in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to a commitment by developed countries to contribute $100 billion to the Green Fund and to developing countries by 2020. We hope that this Summit and the adoption of the Agenda will be a first step on the road to which we have committed ourselves towards justice, equality and prosperity. I would like to recall a saying of our ancestors: Poverty anywhere threatens prosperity everywhere. It is high time that the international community address those huge challenges and start where we left off in implementing the Millennium Development Goals. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and African Integration of Chad.

At the outset, I would like to commend the tireless efforts of Member States, which facilitated the drafting of the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development just adopted (resolution 70/1). The new Agenda builds on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals. I also welcome the significant commitment on the part of the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General and his team, as well as the commendable contributions of specialized institutions, the private sector and civil society. I especially commend the commitment on the part of the international community, which has, through this Agenda, made the eradication of poverty its principal objective. We must put global development back on track to serve people through reinforced international solidarity. In that light, we would like to highlight the commitments undertaken in the Agenda with respect to Africa. As both a landlocked country and a member of the group of least developed countries, Chad calls for particular emphasis to be placed on implementing the priorities of those groups of States. My country, Chad — which like many others has been much affected by the volatility of the price of raw materials — underscores the importance of processing our own resources locally. We therefore call for greater investments and, above all, greater commitment so that we can exploit our resources on the basis of fairer contracts for producer countries and in conformity with national legislation. In that light, we call for the establishment of transportation, energy, water, sanitary, health and agricultural infrastructure. In the field of sustainable energy, we welcome the commendable multilateral and bilateral initiatives, particularly those of the Secretary- General, on sustainable development for all. They include broadening the national component and enabling some of our countries to have our own renewable energy. That will contribute to reducing the effects of climate change and to adapting better to it. We also look forward with great interest to the implementation of the technology facilitation mechanism to be launched during this session. It is necessary, especially for the least developed countries, that support be provided through an innovation fund that would allow us to establish the groundwork for technologies adapted to development. We must also ensure capacity-building so that we can resist external and climatic shocks. That will require supporting initiatives that we have agreed upon, particularly the completion of the Great Green Wall in the Sahel and the Sahara Initiative. That programme will promote reforestation and the reduction of soil erosion, as well as improving land management and combating desertification and pollution. Such measures require protecting our natural heritage, such as Lake Chad, which is in danger of drying up. It is a vital water source for over 30 million people for agriculture, fishing and related activities. All the aforementioned initiatives and others will contribute to inclusive growth, job creation, the empowerment of the population — especially the most vulnerable, including women and children — and provide answers to the current migration crisis. They will also contribute to the implementation of the social compact, so that no one remains under the poverty line. My country emphasizes the correlation between peace, security and development. We cannot consider development without bearing in mind the components of peace and security. Without them, the implementation of the new Agenda will be difficult, if not impossible. My delegation therefore reiterates that the universality of the 2030 Agenda cannot be realized without a commitment to the efficient implementation of all of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets. We believe that this Agenda represents one of the most complete of its kind; its special nature lies in the dual reference to the means of implementations in Goal 17 and the intrinsic link established with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for funding development. Of course, mobilizing national resources is important in order to ensure countries’ ownership of their own development. However, that will not be sufficient, and the international community must mobilize adequate financial and non-financial resources. Chad will make every effort possible to make the Agenda part of our national development strategy, and we have taken steps to align our national programme, Chad Vision 2030, with the five-year plan for 2016 to 2020 and the 2030 Agenda. That will enable us to implement the appropriate follow-up and evaluation mechanisms. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cameroon.

I am taking the floor on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon, who would very much have liked to have participated in this special meeting, in which we have adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), but national obligations have required him to remain in Cameroon. He has asked me to deliver the following statement: “The Assembly at this session has just adopted the post-2015 development agenda as a follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). One year ago, Cameroon spoke categorically in support of a transformative agenda (see A/69/PV.11) that gives priority to the eradication of poverty and hunger, as well as to sustained and inclusive economic growth. We have cause for hope that the new Agenda, adopted during this session of the Assembly, is inspired by those priorities and will deliver on all of its promises. “We must nonetheless ask ourselves why the outcomes and results of the activities undertaken in the previous development framework fell short of the Millennium Development Goals. Were we perhaps overly ambitious? Were the circumstances that we were facing perhaps adverse? Or did we perhaps lack the political will? “Whatever the reasons, we must acknowledge that the hopes raised initially by the MDGs have been dashed to a certain extent. We should not let that rather unpleasant observation discourage us. On the contrary, it should motivate us to gather our energies and enthusiastically embrace the catchphrase of the 2030 Agenda 2030, namely, ‘Transforming our world’. It is clear that through sustainable development that noble cause can be achieved. For it to succeed, the Agenda will have to fully embody the needs and hopes of the peoples concerned. To that end, Cameroon has worked tirelessly to implement a policy of social inclusion that aims to ensure that no one is left behind. “On the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations, at a time when the general feeling is that the Organization has carried out its mission well, it seems fitting to ask whether the time has come for the Organization to open a new chapter on action and activities on behalf of the international community. If the 2030 Agenda is, as I believe, ‘an opportunity to usher in a new commitment to peace, security and human rights’, I do not doubt for a instant that this new commitment will receive the support of almost all the Members of our Organization. “A quick overview of the international situation would, in fact, show that the changes that have occurred in the world over the past several years, including power struggles as well as the great challenges of our time, actually require a new commitment on the part of the international community. We can, of course, take great pleasure from the nuclear agreement reached between the major Powers and Iran, the detente reached between the United States and Cuba, the new awareness of the dangers of global warming, and the better understanding of the demands of sustainable development. Nevertheless, we still have every reason to remain concerned about the spread of terrorism, the inability to control migratory flows, and the ongoing instability of the global economy, which stems from the crisis of 2007-2008. “Cameroon is a country that for decades was accustomed to peace and stability but has in recent years been confronted by insecurity caused by the unrest in the Central African Republic and the attacks by Boko Haram in the far north. Those attacks have disrupted our economic and social life and have created a climate of insecurity in the region, while provoking the flight of hundreds of thousands of refugees. “It should be very clear that my country is only too willing to endorse a renewed commitment on the part of the United Nations to peace, security and human rights, which constitute, fortunately, the backbone of the new Sustainable Development Agenda. To its credit, the Agenda clearly and categorically states that it aims to ensure that no one will be left behind. “In conclusion, I would say that in order to effectively achieve the Goals of the new Agenda, the United Nations must rise to the challenge of responding to and respecting ethical values. I made that same point here on 7 September 2000 (see A/55/PV.5). If globalization does not go hand in hand with a new moral order and if it lacks that spiritual element of solidarity among nations and peoples, it risks endangering peace, which is so dear to our people and era. Our world needs moral and ethical guidance, a set of moral values, which is essential to the human community in general. Only such an ethical approach will enable us to ensure that the individual remains at the crux of all our policies and actions. “I would like to renew, here and now, Cameroon’s proposal that we establish an international body on ethics, in the form of a committee or an observatory, responsible for promoting fundamental and universal human values among and within nations”. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on the Minister of International Development and Minister for la Francophonie of Canada.

I thank you, Sir, for the opportunity to offer Canada’s perspective on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, just adopted (resolution 70/1). We congratulate the United Nations and the international community for their achievement. For the first time in human history, we have set ourselves the goal of not only reducing poverty, but eliminating it on a global scale. (spoke in French) To that end, we can lean on the considerable progress that we made in our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Today, the question is how we can implement the 2030 Agenda. In 2010, Canada drew the world’s attention to that important issue of maternal, newborn and child health by launching the Muskoka Initiative, in the framework of the Group of Eight Summit. (spoke in English) That effort met with overwhelming support, and we have seen significant progress in women’s and children’s health. Despite that progress, far too many women and children continue to die from preventable causes, and maternal, newborn and child health remains a vital piece of unfinished business left over from Millennium Development Goals. Canada welcomes the inclusion of maternal, newborn and child health as a pillar of the 2030 Agenda, as a means for ensuring that the world follow through on the commitments made in the Muskoka Initiative. (spoke in French) In and of itself, that represents an important challenge and can serve as a catalyst for other components of the 2030 Agenda. Clearly, maternal, newborn and child health is truly the basis of economic and social progress in many areas. For that reason, we welcome the publication this week of the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, which reflects the international community’s ongoing commitment. Official development assistance (ODA) is the central element of the global strategy to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. (spoke in English) However, it is abundantly clear that ODA alone cannot finance the 2030 development agenda. Clearly, the international community must find new ways to blend financing from donors, foundations and the private sector. That is why Canada has been working with the World Economic Forum, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other partners in redesigning the development finance initiative. (spoke in French) I was the chairman of the committee on that initiative, and I worked with our partners to find innovative solutions to finance the world’s development needs. In the context of that initiative, Canada has supported the creation of new platforms that will enable us to share our knowledge, facilitate twinning and create partnerships in blended finance. (spoke in English) And in Addis Ababa, we launched the Global Financing Facility in Support of Every Woman, Every Child. That new approach to financing will bring in the private sector as we identify and promote innovative initiatives in maternal, newborn and child health. The additional investment generated through the Facility and other innovative financing mechanisms will set the course for moving from the current billions of dollars in development finance to the trillions required in the post-2015 agenda. (spoke in French) The constructive participation of civil society organizations in drawing up the 2030 Agenda was a fundamental contribution. Those entities will continue to play a major role in implementing the Agenda by working with Governments and local municipalities. (spoke in English) Finally, Canada’s work in maternal, newborn and child health has taught us the importance of accountability. The Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health, co-chaired by Tanzania and Canada, has demonstrated that good data and regular follow-up lead to more impactful results. Our results are best when we set clearer indicators, monitor progress, identify gaps and adjust our approach. Achieving the development Goals that lie before us will be challenging, but if we pursue innovative approaches such as blended finance; if we partner with all actors, including the private sector and civil society organizations; and if we establish constructive accountability mechanisms, we can deliver the ambitious and far-reaching Goals set out in the 2030 Agenda. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on the Minister for Planning and International Cooperation of Jordan.

We are gathered here today to start a new global development phase, while reiterating our commitment to a renewed and more ambitious framework for development — the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at its core — charting a new course for development for the next 15 years. I am pleased to note that Jordan actively participated in all stages to reach the consensus on the post-2015 development agenda. And, today, as we declare our endorsement of the SDGs and our strong commitment to achieving them through an enhanced global partnership, we look forward to the new Agenda’s building and expanding on the achievements and strengths of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The world today is a very different place than it was at the turn of the millennium. While prosperity is greater and more widespread, poverty remains a great challenge, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and while there has been growth, inequality has been rising, as have pressures on planetary resources. At the same time, hard-won development gains continue to be threatened by the effects of climate change and more frequent conflicts, as well as humanitarian and economic crises. The SDGs are global, yet the challenges to achieving them are country-specific. Jordan’s resilience and transformation and the role that it plays grew deliberately out of its strong commitment to sustainable development and comprehensive reform. Our reform approach has been based on an inclusive, sustainable and home-grown evolutionary process that is based on moderation, openness, stronger stakeholding and active citizenship, while empowering our citizens — especially women and young persons — and creating new opportunities in order to raise the standard of living throughout the country. It is our constitutional monarchy, our awareness of the importance of investing in our citizens, and our commitment to comprehensive reform and to the development of the country’s and people’s future that have enabled Jordan to become a unique safe haven in a turbulent region and to remain resilient, strong and able to transform challenges into opportunities. I am pleased to report that as part of our continued commitment to comprehensive and home-grown reforms, Jordan is working on pursuing a path of sustainable development and on integrating the SDGs into its national development plans, while maximizing resource mobilization to meet its development agenda. The strong partnership between the public and private sectors and civil society has been a key factor in the success of the ongoing development efforts. This year, we launched a new 10-year socioeconomic blueprint for the country — Jordan 2025, a national vision and strategy aimed at achieving a prosperous, resilient and inclusive economy while deepening reform and inclusion. On the political reform front, a new wave of laws that aim to further increase citizens’ participation in decision-making covering political parties, municipal elections and decentralization has been endorsed by the parliament. Discussions on the new parliamentary elections law will start at the next ordinary session of Parliament. Additionally, as part of our efforts to enhance transparency, good governance and the fight against corruption, a royal national commission has adopted a national integrity charter and its action plan, which is being undertaken and tracked by this independent commission. Parliament is deliberating the creation of a new post of integrity ombudsman and an anti-corruption law, one of the key recommendations of that commission. All of those reforms build on recent efforts that have seen the amendment of one third of our Constitution, the establishment of new democratic institutions — such as the Constitutional Court and the Independent Elections Commission — and the strengthening of our judiciary. On the economic reform side, Jordan adopted a new generation of economic laws to enhance investments, the business environment and competitiveness, such as the new public-private partnership law, the new tax law, the electronic transactions law and a new investment regulatory law. Parliament is also deliberating on a new secured- lending law, and work is under way on a new bankruptcy and insolvency law. This year has also witnessed Jordan’s successful completion of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Stand-by Arrangement programme, and our country elected to start a new IMF Extended Fund Facility programme to continue structural reforms in 2016 and beyond. On the development planning side, the Government of Jordan will use its national three-year executive development programmes, developed through a participatory approach, to implement the Jordan 2025 blueprint, whereby phase one will be part of the 2016-2018 programme. Our three-year national development framework includes development programmes for each governorate as part of our decentralization drive, based on a participatory bottom- up consultative approach to address the needs and regional disparities among governorates, depending on their competitive features, while targeting poverty and unemployment challenges. The Government has internalized the SDGs as part of its Jordan 2025 plan and will build the yet-to- be developed indicators for tracking the progress of the SDGs into its development planning framework through the executive development programmes (EDPs). A delivery unit has been established in the Prime Minister’s Office to monitor the implementation of Jordan 2025 and successive executive development programmes in order to further strengthen transparency and accountability. Moreover, a new public investment management framework was introduced for the implementation of the EDPs to enhance the efficiency of capital spending, prioritize public investments and maximize the use of public-private partnerships. In pursuing our sustainable development model, Jordan is introducing green building codes, giving incentives for hybrid and electric vehicles — with cabinet members setting an example by using electric vehicles — and implementing a national energy diversification programme, led by a strong renewable energy component. Jordan also recently adopted national indicative climate-change targets ahead of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference. For the first time, we have also adopted a green-economy strategy and a strategy for solid waste management whose action plans will be implemented through successive development programmes. Furthermore, this year Jordan will embark on implementing one of the world’s most innovative sustainable development projects: the Red Sea-Dead Sea project, which will introduce water desalination for Jordan — the second poorest country in terms of water per capita availability — and will have regional beneficiaries and a water-swapping system, while using the resulting brine to save the Dead Sea. This unique venture is a critical sustainable development, environmental and peace project and is a humanitarian imperative, given the massive waves of refugees seeking a safe haven in Jordan. Allow me to shed light on some of the emerging challenges that my region is facing. Turbulence in the region has generated a number of humanitarian crises and has dramatically increased human suffering and vulnerability. Such crises will be with us for some time, and their negative impact will continue to affect our region’s sustainable development agenda for the next decade at a minimum. The solutions must be political and will have to be coupled with firm international commitments to mitigate and address the impact. The Syrian crisis, which is now in its fifth year, has resulted in the flight of 4 million Syrian refugees to neighbouring countries, in addition to 8 million internally displaced persons. This crisis is unprecedented. It is not just a refugee issue but also a serious national resiliency issue, particularly for neighbouring countries, which together have been absorbing Syrian refugees. There is also the spillover that has wrought havoc in the entire region and has also recently challenged the European continent in spite of the latter’s size and wealth. Jordan today is hosting over 1.4 million Syrians, only 8 per cent of whom are in refugee camps, making Jordan the world’s third-largest refugee recipient country in per capita terms. That has heavily impacted the country’s fiscal position since 2001. The overall estimated financial impact of the crisis, including direct and indirect costs, is estimated at about $6.6 billion. That figure excludes the cost of humanitarian and resiliency interventions and fails to account for the additional expenditures on education, health-care subsidies and income losses borne by the Government since the beginning of the crisis. Given the situation, the Government is spearheading a resiliency-based response that brings together humanitarian and development efforts in a single national framework to benefit both refugee and host communities, namely, the Jordan Response Plan 2015 to the Syria Crisis, which was developed in cooperation with the international community and the United Nations system. Most of the $3 billion required for the plan for 2015 has not been forthcoming, despite the appeal that Jordan issued at the Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, held in Kuwait last March. Only 35 per cent of the needed amount has been funded or pledged — the highest level so far — which indicates that for the fourth consecutive year at least two thirds of the needs remain unfunded. Jordan has reached saturation level. It has nevertheless started to coordinate with United Nations organizations and donor countries to prepare the response plan for 2016-2018, which is to be launched by the end of this year. The burdens faced by Jordan owing to regional turbulences have put great pressure on its limited resources and capabilities, affecting key sectors of the education, health and water systems, the municipal services and the infrastructure. In that regard, I would like to emphasize the significance of Jordan’s efforts to support Syrian refugees and host communities and the importance of sustaining and expanding investment in support of Jordan’s efforts. Doing so will contribute to the security and stability of our region, Europe and the world. We should emphasize here that the spread of the effects of the crisis beyond the region would lead to a quadrupling of its financial and social costs, at a minimum. That quadrupling can be avoided and the costs can be limited if the necessary funding and support for national institutions and host communities is forthcoming and Jordan is treated as the first line of defence, not only for the region but for the whole world. The flow of illegal immigrants that European countries, with their great economic and developmental capabilities, now face has demonstrated to everyone that Jordan has borne — and continues to bear for the fifth year running, despite the scarcity of its resources — an incredible burden, whose scale exceeds all expectations. This is testimony to Jordan’s pivotal role. Some countries talk of hosting a limited number of refugees per year, while Jordan received the same number every one or two days during the peak of the flow of Syrian asylum seekers to Jordan. The Syrian spillover that Jordan absorbed in just four years today constitutes 20 per cent of the Jordanian population. That is equivalent to the United States of America having to absorb 64 million immigrants; the European Union, 100 million; Germany, close to 17 million; Japan, 25 million; Russia, 54 million; China, 280 million; India, 254 million; Brazil, 40 million; or South Africa, around 11 million. For a country that imports 96 per cent of its energy and 87 per cent of its food, the scale of the influx has been devastating and has wreaked havoc with all the development gains that we have worked so hard to achieve. As Jordan proceeds along this charted path of comprehensive reforms to achieve its SDGs, every means of supporting the countries that host refugees on behalf of the international community needs to be employed. As Jordan has already emphasized, there is a critical need to improve the eligibility criteria for vulnerable middle-income countries. That would enable Jordan, for example, to access the development assistance and the highly concessional and innovative funding tools that would help it to cope with the current unique destabilizing circumstances and manage its development agenda, particularly at a time when Jordanians continue to carry out a critical public service and provide a public good on behalf of the region and the world. Donor countries should draw on their humanitarian and development resilience streams to ensure that the Jordan Response Plan 2015 for the Syria Crisis is fully funded, make increased commitments to resettle refugees in their countries, provide preferential concessional loans, debt swaps or debt relief ,and soften the terms and conditions for both existing and new loans by, for example, replacing short-term expensive debt with longer-term concessional debt. The gap in the development financing needed by the developing countries as they implement the SDGs over the next 15 years poses a real challenge. Official development assistance (ODA) remains critical for both the low- and the middle-income countries, particularly the vulnerable middle-income countries. ODA and other flows need to catalyse and leverage all available sources of financing, which are desperately needed by vulnerable middle-income countries or countries in transition that are severely impacted by regional crises if they are to stay resilient and not put at risk their development gains and future prospects of meeting the new SDGs. Jordan is such a country. In that regard, we emphasize the importance of continuing and increasing ODA to 1 per cent of gross national income by 2020 in order to finance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for least developed countries and middle-income countries alike. We should also explore additional sources of finance that could contribute to a new model of development financing to fulfil the ambitious promises of the SDGs. From this rostrum, I urge donors and international financial institutions to amend the qualification criteria of middle-income countries that are heavily impacted by regional crises, such as Jordan, so that they can gain access to innovative and easy financing tools. In that way, such countries could retain their flexibility and avoid putting at risk their development gains and medium-term prospects of meeting the SDGs. Once again I say that Jordan should not be penalized for becoming an upper-middle-income country while it is continuing to carry out a critical public service and provide a public good on behalf of the international community. The gap in development financing to meet the investment needs of implementing the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs will require a more coordinated partnership from national Governments, donors, multilateral institutions, the private sector and civil society organizations to collectively work to, first, tap into traditional and non-traditional sources of finance, including ODA, public-private partnerships, financing by public-private partnerships, and Islamic financing, as well as subnational, national and global finance, to support the long-term investments needed for the new sustainable development agenda. Second, such a partnership must leverage and catalyse private capital and expand the use of tools to mitigate risk and uncertainty in order to mobilize non-traditional private financing. Third, it should maximize available financial resources and use them to mobilize additional, lower- cost resources, mitigate risk, further reduce financing costs and attract co-financing from the private sector. Fourth, that more coordinated partnership must engage, and provide incentives to, private finance through a supportive business regulatory environment and sound macroeconomic frameworks. That would require an open trade policy, an efficient and effective tax system, ease of doing business, a competitive investment climate conducive to entrepreneurship and innovation, competition and well-functioning labour markets. Fifth, it must reinforce and strengthen domestic resource mobilization, which will increase available public funds, in addition to increasing the quality and efficiency of public expenditures in order to maximize the development impact. Sixth, it should strengthen project-preparation capacities and provide access to credit enhancement and risk mitigation tools, in addition to co-investment platforms and blended finance and public-private partnerships. Seventh, the partnership should support improvement of the business environment and further enhance access to finance and the promotion of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises;. Finally, it should combine financing for development with stronger policy guidance, more effective technical assistance and enhanced capacity-building to help countries build economic resilience and meet their individual responsibilities for financing their development needs with a view to achieving the SDGs. The current political, economic and social situation in the Middle East has brought about a number of sequential and cumulative humanitarian crises that have dramatically increased human suffering and fragility. Those crises will take time to be resolved, and their negative impact will continue to affect sustainable development programmes in the region for the next decade at least. Nevertheless, the Arab region is committed to the success of the region’s transition from the MDGs to the global objectives of the 2030 Agenda. As a region, we also confirm our strong commitment to contributing to the achievement and means of implementation, including financing, capacity-building and technology transfer of sustainable development, across the region, as well as future steps. Our development agenda is about shared prosperity. Hence the burden-sharing cannot continue to be disproportionate. This is a defining moment in human history. Jordan counts on the courage, wisdom, commitment and human fraternity of the international community not to let us down but rather to treat the achievement of the SDGs not as an investment or business as usual, but with the sense of urgency it warrants for the sake of leaving no one behind. That is especially the case for countries such as Jordan that, through no fault of their own, have become vulnerable for doing the right and moral thing. The world can continue to count on Jordan remaining a resilient safe haven, an oasis of stability and an indispensable global partner in peacemaking and peacekeeping, in interfaith and intrafaith dialogue and in the fight against extremism and terrorism, as well as on its providing a model of inclusive, sustainable, evolutionary and comprehensive reform and development. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar.

It is a great honour and privilege to take part in this historic Summit. At this auspicious gathering, we are taking a bold step by embarking on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), after bringing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to a close. The important resolution 70/1, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, will guide us in our development efforts over the coming 15 years. Since it is a historic achievement of multilateralism, may I congratulate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mr. Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, on their leadership, as well as all Member States and all stakeholders for their contributions throughout the process. We all agree that significant progress in implementing the MDGs has been achieved in most countries in varying degrees, although many challenges remain to be addressed, especially for the least developed countries (LDCs). My own country, Myanmar, has made notable gains, particularly in poverty and hunger reduction, literacy and basic education, eliminating gender disparity in primary, secondary and tertiary education, reducing the child mortality rate, improving maternal health and developing a global partnership for development. In the area of combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, Myanmar is among the few countries in the world where the incidence rate of HIV infection among adults has decreased by over 50 per cent over the first decade, and we are making significant and durable progress in our fight against malaria. The Government wants to enhance the investments made in education, health, water and sanitation systems and in employment creation, among others. Accordingly, it has increased the annual budget allocations for those sectors. Like other developing countries, Myanmar attached priority to meeting the MDGs, and we therefore put our utmost efforts into overcoming the challenges to fulfilling the MDGs. We shall do the same when, in collaboration with the United Nations and other international partners, we address future challenges. In the implementation of the SDGs, it is important to recognize national circumstances, different levels of development and the needs of countries in special situations, including LDCs. One of the lessons learned from the implementation of the MDGs is that the means of implementation are crucial for the effective and timely implementation of the SDGs. Only with the full and effective implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda can the 2030 Agenda be achieved within the framework of a revitalized and strengthened global partnership. Over the past five years, Myanmar has been engaged in a series of reform measures in the political, economic, social and administrative spheres and in private-sector development. Currently we are implementing our 20-year National Comprehensive Development Plan (2011-2030). In line with the people-centred approach, Myanmar will redouble its efforts to achieve sustainable development by mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs in its national development agenda and will work closely with its development partners. In that regard, my delegation wishes to emphasize that the Agenda must be implemented in a manner consistent with its national policy, legislation and development priorities. Furthermore, my delegation would also like to highlight that financial and technical assistance for the developing countries is crucial in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in a timely manner. I am confident that a genuine partnership by all with their selective responsibilities will bring greater well-being, prosperity, peace and justice to a healthier planet by 2030. For its part, Myanmar pledges to join the international community’s efforts to bring peace and prosperity for the people and the planet through an enhanced partnership. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Madagascar.

It is a great pleasure to attend this historic meeting to celebrate the birth of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to speak on behalf of Mr. Hery Martial Rajaonarimampianina Rakotoarimanana, President of the Republic of Madagascar. By endorsing together all the major common challenges of the post- 2015 development agenda, we are giving humankind new cause for hope. Today is therefore a red-letter day, all the more so because it is imbued with the solemn nature of our deliberate choice. We, as the representatives of the peoples of the United Nations, have elected to make progress with dignity towards our common development goals without leaving anyone behind. Enshrining the principles of universality and solidarity, the SDGs and their outcomes, whatever they may be, will transcend the specific borders of our countries, bringing us genuinely together as nations. With the advent of the SDGs, we enter a new era rich with possibilities. Their achievement will translate to a qualitative advance towards greater well-being and development for our peoples. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to express my sincere congratulations and thanks to all those, near and far, who contributed to the drafting of the new, transformative agenda. I would like to pay particular tribute to those in the Open Working Group of the General Assembly on Sustainable Development Goals, to the Secretary-General and his team, to Ambassadors Macharia Kamau of Kenya and David Donoghue of Ireland and all other delegates for their highly relevant work. Yesterday, the Holy Father — whom I wish to thank for taking the time to address us (see A/70/ PV.3) — challenged us on the governance of this world, for which we are responsible. Let us look on the message he shared with us as a blessing that is capable of changing our policies, our habits and our mindsets over the next 15 years. The post-2015 agenda serves as a blueprint for development. Madagascar has chosen to view it as a multilateral contract. In that regard, rest assured that we will assume our commitments and responsibilities. The vision of peace, prosperity and partnership described in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) and renewed on behalf of all people and the planet, corresponds with the approach adopted by my country in its national development plan, which envisages a modern and prosperous Madagascar harnessing its human and natural capital. Despite that, achieving the Goals we have set for ourselves will require support measures. The recent third International Conference on Financing for Development points the way; we must use our own domestic resources and increase official development assistance. We need to strengthen our productive capacities in order to create added value for the products we produce. We also need to industrialize our economy. I am sure, therefore, that those present will agree with me that the design of a technology facilitation mechanism, as envisaged by the 2030 Agenda to support the work of achieving the SDGs, is extremely pertinent and timely. At present, the international context has seen major shifts and is in perpetual flux. The need for peace, development and security is more pressing than ever. The deep-rooted impacts of modern crises, the pockets and areas of international tension and the recurrent issues related to climate change and food, energy and maritime security are also major constraints that threaten stability and growth. But 2015 is a year of promise. This year will mark a clear turning point in the actions we engage in for development. With the adoption of the SDGs and with the outcome of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, new possibilities are opening up before us. We are putting in place anti-poverty mechanisms and measures to benefit men, women and children. We are responsible for ensuring a better tomorrow for our populations by providing them with access to education, health, justice and security. Those are fundamental needs, yet they cannot be satisfied because of war, conflicts and natural disasters. We must together work to transform the future of our peoples. Our solidarity will be strengthened by a global win-win partnership, because we have entered into shared commitments. With regard to contemporary challenges, by working together we should be able to do away with poverty and ensure that we have the means in place to provide adequate protection and security for our peoples. Given the challenge, Madagascar is working hard to mobilize all its own resources, whether financial, human or material, in readiness to set out along the path of development. As I am sure everyone is well aware, recurring climate threats, the ravages and depredations of locusts and sociopolitical crises have added to the vulnerability of Madagascar. Nonetheless, with the support of the international community, we are confident that we can overcome those challenges and stabilize the country in a sustainable way by encouraging institutions and people to assume their responsibilities. After all, democracy is the guarantor of sustainable economic growth. I would like to conclude by quoting from the Agenda we have just adopted an excerpt that I particularly value: “As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind”. I would add that nobody should be marginalized or thrown overboard during the journey. The countdown to the achievement of the SDGs has already begun. I therefore would like to express the hope that 2030 will be,  at the latest,  the year in which we deliver on those Goals. In that year, may our sons and daughters enjoy with pride the fruit of the transformation that we have spoken about today. We dare to hope that the international community can display yet greater political consensus, increase its investments and aid for development and undertake effective action that will facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.