Adoption of Political Declaration on Strengthening Cooperation with Regional and Sub-regional Organizations

New York – 5 May 2015

Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I welcome the adoption today of the Political Declaration on Strengthening Cooperation between the United Nations and Regional and Sub-regional Organizations.

I thank Member States for their constructive engagement and contributions during the negotiations on the declaration.

This Declaration is an important step in advancing and strengthening the strategic cooperation between the United Nations and Regional and Sub-regional Organizations.

It underscores the important role that Regional and Sub-regional Organizations play in the areas of peace and security, development and human rights. It also underscores that strengthening these partnerships is strategic for promoting the principles of comparative advantage and complementarity.

The Declaration is timely given our ongoing work on the formulation of the post-2015 development agenda. It reaffirms our commitment to strengthening international cooperation to address persistent challenges related to sustainable development.

I am pleased by the unanimous support for this Declaration on an issue that is one of my key priorities for this General Assembly session.

Thank you for your kind attention.