Dear friends,

I am pleased to be with you to discuss the indispensable role of the private sector in achieving a sustainable and prosperous future for all.

The 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, endorsed unanimously by 193 United Nations Member States in 2015, are our roadmap for a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient world.

Over the past six years, there has been considerable engagement around the Goals, yet these efforts have not yet translated into the transformative changes we need.

In fact, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, progress towards the Goals was already off track.

With widespread disruption to economies, livelihoods, and public finances, it is clear that a monumental effort is now needed to rescue the SDGs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed -- from board rooms to the woman and man in the street -- our shared interconnectedness and vulnerability.

It has deepened preexisting fragilities and inequalities in our societies.

And it has amplified disenchantment with institutions and political leadership.

It is evident that the existing social contract underpinning our global community is not fit for purpose.

The world is still investing capital, enacting public policy, and building businesses that are ultimately detrimental to people and a healthy planet.

Financial metrics must go beyond Gross Domestic Product, to encompass vulnerability and and the value of global common assets such as nature and a stable climate.

Tax systems must be fair and revenues shared more broadly.

And countries’ credit ratings that inform investments should be based on comparable fundamentals and evidence, rather than harmful preconceptions.

We have seen the wide gaps in fiscal space, unevenness of investments, and the resulting unevenness in recovery from the pandemic.

The divergence between developed and developing countries is becoming systemic – a recipe for instability, crisis and forced migration.

In response, the UN Secretary-General has called for a renewal of the social contract between Governments and their people to rebuild trust in a more inclusive, sustainable and peaceful world.

He calls on us to all come together and give a booster shot to the SDGs to make up for lost time as the world recovers from the pandemic.

The 2030 Agenda and the SDGs give practical expression to a renewed social contract through the commitment to leave no one behind and provide the opportunity for all people to live decent and peaceful lives.

Delivering on the 2030 Agenda and Africa’s Agenda 2063 will require a massive mobilization.

Governments cannot do this alone.  The private sector has a critical role to play.

The Edelman Trust Barometer 2022 finds that more people want business to play a bigger role on societal issues, such as climate action, workforce reskilling, and addressing inequalities.

We need the private sector to help turbocharge progress on the SDGs, and the UN Global Compact provides a platform for your participation.

As Sanda will elaborate later, the UN Global Compact is stepping up its engagement in Africa, including here in Kenya, and advancing the establishment of the African Business Leaders Coalition as a vehicle for the private sector to partner with the United Nations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063.

I invite all of you to join the UN Global Compact and participate actively in this ambitious and necessary work.

COVID-19 may pale in comparison to future challenges if we do not learn from our challenges and failures.

As the Secretary-General has said, it’s about breakthrough or breakdown.

Let us all work together for breakthrough and deliver for people and the planet.

Thank you.