President of ECOSOC Amb. Oh,
President of the General Assembly Amb. Lykketoft,
Vice-President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh,
Prime Minister Erna Solberg,
Ministers, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates and Guests,
I am pleased to greet you, on behalf of the Secretary General, at this Ministerial Segment of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
I want to congratulate Ambassador Oh on the success of the High Level Political Forum as a catalyst of political will, ideas and action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
When we met at this same Forum last year, we were just weeks away from the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This was the moment for a reflection on how our successors, meeting in 2030, would assess the achievements of the Agenda.
The commitments we have made are ambitious and transformative. We now have 15 years to deliver.
We have 15 years to end extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition, preventable deaths of newborns and children under five, as well as to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases.
We have 15 years to achieve universal health care coverage and free primary and secondary education, as well as to end discrimination against women and girls.
We have 15 years to transition to a low-carbon economy and change unsustainable patterns of consumption and production.
Yes we have a long list of far-reaching goals and targets. You, Member States, rightly did not during the negotiations reduce the level of ambitions. It did not turn into the lowest common denominator. The probing questions listed by the President of ECOSOC in his opening statement are truly relevant.
We will have to deliver on the 2030 Agenda regardless of persistent challenges, new obstacles and unforeseen setbacks during the years to come. We already see them today.
It is reassuring that so many countries have already started a serious process of implementation.
They are building on the lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals and their own experiences. But they are also starting to integrate the new goals into their national economic and social planning.
Others are constructively and creatively setting the stage for implementation.
Let us realize that every country needs to accelerate the pace of implementation.
The shift from the MDGs to the SDGs is huge.
The Sustainable Development Goals are universal, integrated, indivisible and mutually re-enforcing.
We need new and dynamic ways of thinking, new ways of acting and new ways of organizing.
We need new ways of communicating and working as a community both on the national, regional and international levels.
And we need clear and credible ways of measuring and reporting progress.
The role of this Forum in following up and reviewing implementation of the 2030 Agenda is unique and crucial. It is now starting to deliver.
The Forum is still young. The complexity of its tasks will require progressive adjustments, particularly with regard to national voluntary reviews.
We must take advantage of the energy and potential of the Forum. In this pursuit, we must draw lessons from the past to make sure that follow-up and review processes will feed back into international, regional, national and local implementation.
We must all help keep up the momentum of our transformative agenda and make sure that lessons are shared and that best practices are replicated. The UN Development Group is ensuring that the UN system at the country level supports implementation on the ground. The recent ECOSOC dialogue and the inputs of the Independent Team of Advisors (ITA) are also contributions in moving forward in an effective and coherent manner.
Let us be under no illusion – the implementation path will not be an easy one.
There will be difficulties with resource mobilization; obstacles in coordination, both horizontally and vertically; there will be uncertainties arising from climate change; we are likely to see fluctuations in the world economy and increased severity and frequency of disasters.
To make the 2030 Agenda truly transformative, we will need transformative leadership.
I commend the 22 countries from all regions of the world who have come forward to present what steps their governments and societies are undertaking to implement the 2030 Agenda.
Distinguished Delegates,
Achieving the SDGs is a monumental task.
There is no country in the world where all people have equal opportunities to fulfill their aspirations. Every country has poverty and inequalities to address. Every country has environmental problems to remedy.
Different countries have different challenges. But we know we will all need to change our mind-sets and how we act to effectively implement this ambitious new agenda.
That is why the sharing of lessons, experiences and challenges is invaluable for us all --for you, as Governments and representatives of civil society, the private sector and the scientific community. It is equally invaluable for us at the United Nations.
We, as One UN System, will continue to support you and we will do our utmost to help you make a difference for people and the planet in the coming years living up to the new Agenda.
We will work with you, side by side, to progressively improve the channels for participation of multiple stakeholders. And we will help you produce and analyze the data we need to make the right decisions for action that will reach all people especially the vulnerable and the marginalized.
It is essential that no one is left behind, which is a key unifying concept of the 2030 Agenda – a message of solidarity – and is the commanding theme of this year’s Forum.
The challenges are great. We live in turbulent world with growing uncertainties about the road ahead. There are polarizing, inward-looking trends.
At the same time, the world is a world of promises and opportunity with many, many working to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of our peoples.
If we work together, both inside and between nations mobilizing all good forces we can achieve a better world of peace, opportunity and dignity for all.
Thank you.