H.E. Mr. Munir Akram, President of the Economic and Social Council, United Nations; Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations convened the sixth annual Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum) today, says a press release today from New York.
The theme for the STI Forum 2021 is: “Science, technology and innovation for a sustainable and resilient COVID-19 recovery, and effective pathways of inclusive action towards the Sustainable Development Goals”.
In his opening remarks, while acknowledging the fact that the world economy has significantly contracted, and “there is still a little sign of recovery in the developing countries, and they will find it difficult to recover unless and until the COVID-19 vaccines are urgently and equitably made available to everyone, everywhere”, Ambassador Munir Akram expressed the hope that “it is only science, technology and innovations that have provided a ray of hope in the form of the vaccine development and the continuity of business through digital technology”.
“This (Covid19) is a reminder of how vital, science and technology and innovation are to the survival, and the progress of mankind” he added.
“This is a moment to recognize and applaud the innovative spirit, and the entrepreneurship, that are central to advancing the achievement of the 2030 agenda, and the Sustainable Development Goals” he said further.
Appreciating the role of technological innovations, Ambassador reiterated that “We see today the real-life impacts of innovations in accelerating, sustainable solutions to our challenges of ending poverty of expanding prosperity”. He said that: states “have leveraged the power of science, technology, and innovation to fight the devastation of the pandemic through new ways of coping, working, learning, accessing, services and maintaining social connectivity”.
He mentioned that “Each innovator, featured here today has developed or adapted a cutting-edge innovation to sustain and accelerate SDG progress despite the COVID-19 disruption”. “This will remain relevant beyond the pandemic, to help accelerate progress towards one or more of the SDGs” He hoped.
“The exhibit itself represents the multi stakeholder spirit of collaboration, which is at the heart of the UN technology facilitation mechanism” he said further.
For this event, the President of ECOSOC His Excellency Mr. Munir Akram had appointed two co-chairs - H.E. Mr. Andrejs Pildegovi?s, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations, and H.E. Ambassador Mohammad Koba, Charge d’Affaires of the Indonesia Mission to the United Nations. As per its mandate, the Forum is organized by the UN interagency task team on STI for the SDGs (IATT), convened by UN-DESA and UNCTAD, and the 10-Member Group of high-level representatives appointed by the Secretary General.
Ambassador Munir Akram, appreciated the teamwork, by UN DESA, the Global Innovation exchange, and the Secretary General's ten-member group that has made this exhibit possible. He also congratulated innovators presented here, not just for their success in this global competition, but also for demonstrating that thinking local is vital for impacting growth.
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