Development, Millennium Dev. Goals

Thank you your Excellencies
Excellency Mr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,
Excellency CEO Abdullah Abdullah of Afghanistan
Excellencies President.Donald Tusk and Madame Federica Mogherini of the European Union
Excellencies, honourable ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

We are here to reaffirm our long-term partnership with the people of Afghanistan for peace, inclusive growth and sustainable development. ;

Bonsoir,

Je suis très heureux d’être parmi vous ce soir.

Merci de votre accueil très chaleureux.

Je tiens tout d’abord à remercier les organisateurs de cette manifestation: le Club diplomatique, le Forum suisse et l’Institut de hautes études. C’est la quarante-deuxième fois que je me rends en Suisse en dix ans, soit une fois toutes les quatorze semaines en moyenne. Cela fait de Genève ma destination la plus fréquente, de loin, et ce pour de bonnes raisons.

Good evening.  I am happy to be with you.

I thank the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Future Forest, the Korea Foundation and the World Federation of United Nations Associations for supporting this exhibition.

To achieve sustainable development we must, indeed, “Save the Earth”.

And to do that, we must address the causes and consequences of drought, desertification and land degradation. 

These environmental ills force people to migrate from marginal land.

Let me begin by thanking Dominica, the current Chair of CARICOM.  

I am very proud of the strong partnership we have nurtured with Caricom over the last ten years.  
I was honoured to be the first UN Secretary-General to attend a CARICOM Summit – first in Jamaica in 2010 and again last year in Barbados.

We are bolstering our cooperation across a wide range of activities.  

Of course, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement represent the heart of the work of the United Nations and our partnership.  

President Christian, thank you very much for convening this annual meeting and for your able leadership as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum. I also congratulate you and all leaders for the successful Pacific Islands Forum summit.

Thank you also Secretary-General Dame Meg Taylor.

I appreciate the heads of State, heads of government and ministers here today.

We are here to boost our strong partnership.

We live in an era of unprecedented opportunity.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a vision and a roadmap for a future of peace, dignity and prosperity for all on a healthy planet.

But we cannot ignore that we also live in a time of unprecedented global challenge. 

The impacts of climate change are increasing daily.

The number of major violent conflicts has tripled since 2008. 

More people have been forced from their homes than at any time since the end of the United Nations was founded. 

I am happy to join you today.

The United Nations and the G-77 have an invaluable partnership.

Together, we have made enormous progress for human rights and human dignity.

Just yesterday, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development.

The G-77 and China was also a driving force behind the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – our truly transformative plan for the planet and all people.

I am pleased to be with you.

I would like to thank Heads of State and Government who have [given] their very valuable time today.

In 2012 I launched the Zero Hunger Challenge at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro.

I invited world leaders and development partners to share my vision of a world free from hunger and malnutrition within a generation.