Your Excellency Ambassador Rohan Perera, Vice -President of the General Assembly,Your Excellency Ambassador Pedro Delgado, Argentine Sherpa for the Group of 20,Excellencies,Distinguished Delegates,Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me start by extending my thanks to Ambassador Delgado for his briefing to the Member States of the United Nations.
I am honoured to address this informal plenary of the General Assembly, both in my capacity as Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and as the UN Sherpa to the G20, respectively in 2016 and 2017. As the UN Sherpa to the G20, I participated in the first Sherpa meeting convened by Argentina last December. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Ambassador Delgado and the Argentine Government for their support to the participation of the UN in the G20 process.
As you know, the agendas of the United Nations and the G20 have progressively become more aligned. During the Chinese and German Presidencies of the G20, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change were introduced into the work of the G20. The 2017 G20 Leaders’ Declaration contains explicit references to these historic agreements. And now, under the Argentinian Presidency, the theme of “Building consensus for fair and sustainable development” cuts across all G20 work streams, in both the Sherpa and the Finance tracks.
Distinguished Delegates,
The G20 is a member state-driven process that sets its own agenda. The role of the United Nations and other International Organizations is to contribute expertise, analysis and policy options based on our ongoing work. The UN’s active engagement helps ensure consistency in global efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
The United Nations system carries out significant work in all the three priority areas of the Argentinian Presidency.
First. With regard to employment issues, the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched a Future of Work Initiative, and established a high-level Global Commission on the topic, which will report in 2019. Last year, my Department, UN DESA, prepared a working paper on the impact of the technological revolution on labour markets and income distribution, working with the ILO, UNDP and UN Women.
Second. As for the Argentine priority on infrastructure development, UN-DESA serves as the convener and coordinator of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF). This Task Force brings together more than 50 UN agencies in a single platform to follow-up on the Addis Agenda. Through this Task Force, we conduct joint analyses on public, private and blended finance for infrastructure, as well as systemic issues. This year’s IATF report will present a framework for investing in infrastructure, including capital structures for different sectors, highlighting water, energy and ecosystems.
Third. The quest for a sustainable food future is shared by several UN funds and programmes as well as specialized agencies. WFP, FAO and IFAD have long been active in the fight against hunger and their work continues towards improving food security and rural livelihoods in developing countries. All of them have been actively contributing to related G20 work streams in the past and will continue to do so under the Argentinian Presidency.
For the G20 Development Working Group, we welcome the decision of the Argentinian presidency to focus on three areas: (i) “Early childhood investment” to ensure access to healthy nutrition and quality, affordable child-care services; (ii) “Sustainable Habitat” to improve living conditions and sustainable territorial planning; and (iii) “Inclusive business” to provide goods and services to the poorest segments of the population in a commercially viable way.
We also welcome the objective of the Argentinian presidency to develop a Buenos Aires Update to the G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda, taking forward the commitments adopted at the Hangzhou Summit and the Hamburg Summit of the G20.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Following the proposal and guidance by the Secretary-General, the United Nations recently established a G20 working group, comprised of more than 15 UN entities, to strengthen the contribution of the UN system to the work of the G20.
In my capacity as the UN Sherpa to the G20, I am the convener of this working group. The working group will serve to coordinate contributions of specialized expertise from UN entities to all G20 work streams and develop common messages in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
I look forward to strengthening the UN system’s support to the G20 under the Argentinian presidency, in its endeavour to “building consensus for fair and sustainable development” for all.
Thank you
Let me start by extending my thanks to Ambassador Delgado for his briefing to the Member States of the United Nations.
I am honoured to address this informal plenary of the General Assembly, both in my capacity as Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and as the UN Sherpa to the G20, respectively in 2016 and 2017. As the UN Sherpa to the G20, I participated in the first Sherpa meeting convened by Argentina last December. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Ambassador Delgado and the Argentine Government for their support to the participation of the UN in the G20 process.
As you know, the agendas of the United Nations and the G20 have progressively become more aligned. During the Chinese and German Presidencies of the G20, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change were introduced into the work of the G20. The 2017 G20 Leaders’ Declaration contains explicit references to these historic agreements. And now, under the Argentinian Presidency, the theme of “Building consensus for fair and sustainable development” cuts across all G20 work streams, in both the Sherpa and the Finance tracks.
Distinguished Delegates,
The G20 is a member state-driven process that sets its own agenda. The role of the United Nations and other International Organizations is to contribute expertise, analysis and policy options based on our ongoing work. The UN’s active engagement helps ensure consistency in global efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
The United Nations system carries out significant work in all the three priority areas of the Argentinian Presidency.
First. With regard to employment issues, the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched a Future of Work Initiative, and established a high-level Global Commission on the topic, which will report in 2019. Last year, my Department, UN DESA, prepared a working paper on the impact of the technological revolution on labour markets and income distribution, working with the ILO, UNDP and UN Women.
Second. As for the Argentine priority on infrastructure development, UN-DESA serves as the convener and coordinator of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF). This Task Force brings together more than 50 UN agencies in a single platform to follow-up on the Addis Agenda. Through this Task Force, we conduct joint analyses on public, private and blended finance for infrastructure, as well as systemic issues. This year’s IATF report will present a framework for investing in infrastructure, including capital structures for different sectors, highlighting water, energy and ecosystems.
Third. The quest for a sustainable food future is shared by several UN funds and programmes as well as specialized agencies. WFP, FAO and IFAD have long been active in the fight against hunger and their work continues towards improving food security and rural livelihoods in developing countries. All of them have been actively contributing to related G20 work streams in the past and will continue to do so under the Argentinian Presidency.
For the G20 Development Working Group, we welcome the decision of the Argentinian presidency to focus on three areas: (i) “Early childhood investment” to ensure access to healthy nutrition and quality, affordable child-care services; (ii) “Sustainable Habitat” to improve living conditions and sustainable territorial planning; and (iii) “Inclusive business” to provide goods and services to the poorest segments of the population in a commercially viable way.
We also welcome the objective of the Argentinian presidency to develop a Buenos Aires Update to the G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda, taking forward the commitments adopted at the Hangzhou Summit and the Hamburg Summit of the G20.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Following the proposal and guidance by the Secretary-General, the United Nations recently established a G20 working group, comprised of more than 15 UN entities, to strengthen the contribution of the UN system to the work of the G20.
In my capacity as the UN Sherpa to the G20, I am the convener of this working group. The working group will serve to coordinate contributions of specialized expertise from UN entities to all G20 work streams and develop common messages in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
I look forward to strengthening the UN system’s support to the G20 under the Argentinian presidency, in its endeavour to “building consensus for fair and sustainable development” for all.
Thank you
File date:
Monday, February 5, 2018