Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the 2021 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
I'm especially grateful to His Excellency, Mr. Macky Sall, President of Senegal, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organization, and Mr. Michael Kremer, professor of economics and Nobel laureate of 2019 for joining us today as keynote speakers, says a press release received here today from New York.
It is also encouraging to see that there are so many participants joining the forum, virtually from all over the world.
This is indeed a testament to the importance we all attach to the work of the United Nations in promoting sustainable development.
Excellencies, The COVID 19 pandemic has had a devastating impact everywhere with health systems, stretched and shattered, and lives and livelihoods devastated in so many countries.
In addition to the millions of lives lost, the economic and social consequences have been severe, especially for the poorest countries, and the poorest people.
This pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing systemic inequalities. It has rolled back decades of development progress.
It has, in additional 100 million people were pushed back into extreme poverty. The equivalent of 255 million full time jobs were lost, and additional 101 million children and youth fell below the minimum reading proficiency level. Millions of people have experienced social exclusion. Discrimination in violence against women, has sharply escalated and the economic impacts have been particularly harsh for the developing countries, where revenues have been eviscerated debt liabilities have become unpayable, and there is little fiscal space to recover from the pandemic and keep economies afloat.
Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
It was not long ago in 2015 that we adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and agreed on the Addis Ababa action agenda as a global framework for financing implementation of the SDGs. We must continue to be guided by the goals, values and commitments of these international agreements as we face our current challenges of COVID, the SDG achievement, and the realization of the climate, environmental goals. The United Nations High Level political forum is the central platform for follow up in review of the 2030 agenda, and its 17 goals.
The 2021 high level, political forum provides us an indispensable opportunity to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the achievement of the 2030 agenda. Despite the obstacles and challenges posed by the pandemic.
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
It is in this context that we will, over the next several days take stock of the impact of the pandemic on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and reflect on policies that can achieve a sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic and build an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 agenda during the decade of action in delivery for sustainable development.
We will undertake systematic and thorough thematic reviews, relating to sustainable development, including in depth reviews of several SDGs and their inter linkages. We will also learn from the 43 countries who will present their voluntary national reviews of how they were impacted by the pandemic and what measures they are undertaking to achieve a more rapid and equitable development path in harmony with nature. Their response will constitute an essential basis for the collective global response.
It is important that we draw the appropriate conclusions from these thematic reviews and national experiences, and build on them to formulate the way forward to implement the 2030 agenda, which is the blueprint for the world's sustainable future.
Dear colleagues,
Our deliberations at this 2021 HLPF can provide a basis for a concerted multilateral effort to recover, rebuild resumed and accelerate progress towards the SDGs and ultimately realize the vision of the 2030 agenda, our deliberations and conclusions can form a strong impetus to the international solidarity and cooperation, which is so vital today.
Let us use this opportunity, of the HLPF to succeed in this historic endeavor,
I thank you.
