Statement by H.E. Mr Peter Thomson, President of the 71st Session of the General Assembly, at the 2017 ECOSOC Special Meeting on “Innovations for Infrastructure Development and Sustainable Industrialization”
26 March 2017, Dakar
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, H.E. Mr. Frederick Shava, for organizing today’s meeting on ‘Innovations for Infrastructure Development and Sustainable Industrialization’.
It is a topic of particular importance for both Africa, and the international community, as Governments and partners look to scale-up implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and, of course, the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
With the Sustainable Development Goals serving as a universal masterplan for building a safer, more prosperous, and more sustainable future for all, the need for catalytic action could not be clearer.
The question, of course, is how Governments and partners can work together to achieve sustainable development, and to ensure that the transformative potential of the SDGs reaches all people.
It is a question that is not a new one for the Continent.
Africa has experienced strong economic growth over recent years, which has led to important development progress. However, these economic gains have differed greatly between African nations, and within nations economic advances have often failed to reach those most in need.
This question of ‘how’ to achieve sustainable development is made even more difficult when the compounding challenges facing African nations are considered.
With many African economies largely reliant on natural resource exports, economic prospects are highly susceptible to external shocks, including price volatility and falling global demand.
Broader global challenges add to this economic vulnerability, including peace and security threats, humanitarian crises, rising terrorism and violent extremism, the large-scale movements of people, population growth, expanding inequality, environmental degradation, extreme weather events, and the destructive impacts of climate change.
Indeed, one only need look to the catastrophic drought and famine currently affecting so many nations in Africa – including Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan – to see how quickly hard-won development gains can be reversed.
Excellencies,
In the volatile global environment, in which we live, driving an economic transformation to secure the sustainable growth needed to eradicate poverty, build infrastructure, and support industrialization, requires a smart, innovative and integrated approach.
To this end, the rapid pace of advances in innovation and disruptive technology taking place across our world provides an opportunity for these tools to be harnessed in Africa towards advancing sustainable industrialization, development, and growth. Importantly these advances present opportunities to leapfrog high-carbon models, spur green economic growth, and build resilient economies.
Examples of the transformative potential of innovation and technology can already be seen across Africa.
In Uganda, for example, solar energy is now being used to power flood early-warning systems that alert residents of rapidly-rising water levels.
In Kenya, a mobile payment service has helped to transform the banking sector by making financial services more accessible to farmers and others in remote locations.
In western Rwanda, to overcome limited transportation networks, drones are being used to deliver transfusion blood to rural clinics.
And here in Senegal, the Government is using mobile phone technology to raise awareness of diabetes risks, to help improve health outcomes.
While innovation and technology stand to revolutionise sustainable development, and drive economic growth, capitalising on this opportunity and turning the potential into outcomes requires the creation of enabling environments, at both national and international levels, to mobilise the financing, investment, and innovation needed.
To this end, a number of key steps should be pursued.
Firstly, sustaining peace must be prioritised as an economic imperative, and pursued as part of integrated efforts to prevent conflict, address its root causes, achieve sustainable development, and guard development gains from reversing.
Secondly, policy and regulatory frameworks should be implemented to help build resilient institutions, strengthen governance, promote gender equality, ensure economic inclusivity, increase access to markets, diversify the economy, drive enterprise development, and create the decent jobs needed to ensure that Africa’s demographic dividend benefits the economy.
Initiatives such as the African Peer Review Mechanism, which aim to improve governance, transparency and accountability, are important steps in this regard.
Thirdly, strategic partnerships need to be established that bring together key stakeholders from across Government at all levels, civil society, the private sector, and grassroots organisations, to drive inclusive and coordinated sustainable development efforts.
And finally, sustained support is needed from the international community for African-led efforts, including through capacity-building, investment, and technology transfer. The UN General Assembly’s decision in December to establish a technology bank for Least Developed Countries was an important step in building Science, Technology and Innovation capacity on the continent and next steps are now required.
Efforts to strengthen the partnerships between the UN, the African Union, and sub-regional organizations, are also critical, including the Partnership on Africa’s Integration and Development Agenda (2017-2027), and the ‘New Partnership for Africa’s Development’ which – among other priorities – is promoting policies, projects and capacity-building initiatives in Industrialization, Science, Technology and Innovation.
For my part, I am committed to doing what I can to drive momentum on each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, including by bringing global attention to key enablers and means of implementation of sustainable development.
To this end, on 18 April I will be convening a High-Level SDG Financing Lab at the UN in New York, which will bring together Finance Ministers and other senior Government representatives with leaders from the financial and private sectors, civil society, and academia, to examine ways to leverage private and public financing for the SDGs.
On 17 May, I will also be convening a ‘High-Level Event on Innovation and Connectivity’ that will bring together leading innovators from around the world with Member States, the UN, and civil society leaders, to explore ways to harness the power of technology to overcome critical challenges in support of SDG implementation.
I should also highlight the Ocean Conference to be held at the United Nations in New York, from 5 to 9 June. The Conference will be a historic coming together of stakeholders from across the world in support of SDG14, to drive global action to reverse the cycle of decline in which the Ocean is currently caught.
Given the importance of the health of the Ocean to Africa, including for food security, livelihoods, and economic growth, I encourage you all to attend the Conference, and to register in advance your bold voluntary commitments for action.
Details on how to participate at each of these events – including how to register your voluntary commitments in support of SDG 14 – can be found online.
Excellencies,
Innovation and technology are the coming force for driving advances for sustainable development, infrastructure, and industrialization.
But harnessing this potential requires effective leadership to champion the necessary reforms. I congratulate you all for what has been achieved to date, and wish you the best for the hard work that lies ahead. The United Nations will be at your side throughout.
We are all committed to the development of peace and prosperity in Africa. With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union 2063 Agenda as our guides, let us turn their inspiring principles and purposes into reality for the people of this great continent.
I thank you.