Expert Group Meeting for Major Groups and Other Stakeholders

Ambassador Oh Joon, President of ECOSOC,Distinguished Colleagues,Ladies and gentlemen,

I am particularly pleased to be here with you today at this expert group meeting for Major Groups and Other Stakeholders.

For almost four years my Department - DESA - worked closely with Member States, the UN system and you – the major groups and other stakeholders – to support the elaboration of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

You have provided crucial contributions to this visionary agenda.

Indeed, our collective journey started at the 2012 Rio +20 Conference, where Member States agreed to launch the global process for elaborating a set of new and transformative Sustainable Development Goals.

Member States also established a high-level political forum on sustainable development, now simply known as the HLPF.

You contributed at every step of this collective journey.

First, during the deliberations of the General Assembly Open Working Group on SDGs and the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing;

Next, throughout the intergovernmental negotiations on the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development, leading to a central role for review and follow-up to the HLPF;

And lastly, putting into place a new solid framework of indicators to monitor progress, inform policy and ensure accountability of all stakeholders.

Throughout these processes your voices including from the grass-roots levels were heard from the get-go.

You provided extensive inputs and position papers on issues that were of concern to you.

You submitted countless concrete language suggestions for the texts that were being negotiated.

You were in the negotiating rooms during the late hours of negotiations when the language was being fine-tuned.

You, and in fact, all of us, should be proud of what you have accomplished.

As we embark on the implementation of the SDGs, our journey enters into a new phase.

How can Major Groups and other stakeholders support implementation?

I hope today’s meeting will come up with a number of concrete recommendations and suggestions, including on how you could most effectively engage and contribute to the work of the HLPF in reviewing and following-up on the 2030 Agenda.

Today’s expert group gathering is particularly timely and relevant as we are gearing towards implementing this transformative new Agenda.

Its ambition requires swift action and dedication by all of us.

We all need to translate these far-reaching international commitments into specific policies and actions on the ground.

For the first time, stakeholders, including business and civil society, are also called upon to report on their implementation before the HLPF.

I look forward to hearing your views and ideas on how my department could best support you in engaging in the HLPF, in line with General Assembly resolution 67/290.

I also look forward to receiving your suggestions on how you feel your reports on your implementation could be best shared – including by creating a dedicated online platform where such reports could be made available.

I am pleased that, again with the support of the European Commission, we have been able to support the travel of 30 colleagues from around the world to be present at this meeting today.

I hope many of you will be able to capitalize on your presence in New York and also take part in the ongoing meetings of the first ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development, and the upcoming high-level thematic debate of the General Assembly on achieving the SDGs on Thursday.

To conclude, I would like to assure you of my department’s unwavering commitments to continue to actively engage you in the different intergovernmental processes that are supported by us.

Let’s work together.

Thank you.