HLPF Ministerial Dialogue “International cooperation for sustainable development” | Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Background
Documentation

Background

• What new commitments are countries willing to undertake for cooperation to truly spur sustainable development progress? How do they plan to reach existing commitments?

• How can all countries harness new and transformative technologies to support sustainable development?

Biographies

H.E. Mr. Saber Chowdhury

Member of Parliament, Bangladesh

H.E. Mr. Saber Chowdhury

Member of Parliament, Bangladesh

Mr. Chowdhury holds Bachelor degree of Political Science and Economics from London University and LL.B in Westminister University, London. He served as Deputy Minister of Shipping from December 1996 to March 1998 and thereafter as Deputy Minister of Local Government & Rural Development (LGRD) till July 2001. He was also a Member of the Parliamentary Committee for the Ministry of Sports and Cultural Affairs for the term of 1996-2001. Duringhis tenure as the Member of the Parliament and also as the Deputy Minister. He is also the Managing Director of Karnaphuli Group of Companies.

H.E. Mr. Fulbert Macaire Amoussouga Gero

Minister of MDGs policies and Sustainable Development, Benin

H.E. Mr. Fulbert Macaire Amoussouga Gero

Minister of MDGs policies and Sustainable Development, Benin

Amoussouga heads the Economic Analysis Unit of the President of the Republic of Benin and is current chair of the African Union. He is also the Director of the Graduate School of the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Abomey, where he specializes in research on African economic development.

H.E. Mr. Borge Brende

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway

H.E. Mr. Borge Brende

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway

Børge Brende graduated with a BA in economics, law and history, NTNU, Trondheim. He began his career as a political adviser in 1985. He was Minister of the Environment from 2001 to 2004 and Minister of Trade and Industry from 2004 to 2005. He was a Member of the China Council for International Environment and Development (advisory body to the State Council) (2005–2013) and a Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment (Norwegian Parliament / the Storting) (2005–2009). He was also a Managing Director of the World Economic Forum in Geneva, a Member of the Board, Statoil and a Chair of the Board, Mesta.

H.E. Mr. Han Seung-Soo

UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Disaster Risk Reduction and Water

H.E. Mr. Han Seung-Soo

UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Disaster Risk Reduction and Water

UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Disaster Risk Reduction and Water (2014-)
Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (2008-2009)
President of the 56th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (2001-02)
UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Climate Change (2007-08)

Mr. Han was President of the fifty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly from 2001 to 2002, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea from 2008 to 2009. He served as Chairperson of the Global Green Growth Institute Governing Board and, from 2011 to 2012, was a member of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability before the Rio+20 Summit. Mr. Han is currently Chair of the High-Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters and a member of the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. The recipient of an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2004, he is a current member of the Club of Madrid.

Mr. Jeffrey Sachs

Professor and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University

Mr. Jeffrey Sachs

Professor and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University

Professor Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. He is the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. Professor Sachs served as the Director of the Earth Institute from 2002 to 2016. He was appointed University Professor at Columbia University in 2016, and also serves as Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Sustainable Development Goals, and previously advised both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals. He is Director of both the Center for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

H.E. Mr. Pekha Haavisto,

Minister, International Development, Finland

H.E. Mr. Pekha Haavisto,

Minister, International Development, Finland

He was the Chair of the Parliamentary Human Rights Groups from 1990 to 1995 and of the European Green Party from 2000 to 2006. He has been a Special Representative to the Minister for Foreign affairs in African crises from 2009 to 2013. He worked in Helsinki City Council (1988–1992, 2005–2008). He has been Member of Parliament, (1987-1995, 2007 to present). He also served as Minister of the Environment, Minister at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Lipponen I), 13 April 1995–14 April 1999.

H.E. Mr. Federico Ramos de Armas

Vice Minister for Environment, Spain

H.E. Mr. Federico Ramos de Armas

Vice Minister for Environment, Spain

H.E. Ms. Emilia Pires

Minister of Finance, Timor-Leste

H.E. Ms. Emilia Pires

Minister of Finance, Timor-Leste

Ms. Pires is the Minister of Finance of Timor-Leste. Ms. Pires has a background in development, and senior experience in planning, public finance management, development and aid policies. Ms. Pires also Co-Chairs the International Dialogue of Peacebuilding and Statebuilding with the Netherlands, which has recently taken over from the United Kingdom. Ms. Pires began her professional career as a junior public servant in the Victorian Government in her early 20s. She then rose to senior management level. Before becoming Minister of Finance, Ms. Pires held senior positions with the World Bank, Senior Aid Management Specialist in West Bank and Gaza, where she advised both the Ministries of Finance and Planning of the Palestinian Authority and donors on aid coordination to the economic sector. She worked as UNMISET’s Senior Advisor to the Timor-Leste Ministry of Planning and Finance, United Nations. She was also UNTAET’s Head of the Planning Commission Secretariat as well as the Chief of the National Development and Planning Agency (NPDA), and Chief of the National Development and Planning Agency (NPDA).

Mr. Hiroshi Imanaga

Deputy Mayor of Kitakyushu, Japan

Mr. Hiroshi Imanaga

Deputy Mayor of Kitakyushu, Japan

Mr. Imanaga Graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Hiroshima University in 1978. He began his professional career as Technical Staff of the City of Kitakyushu in April 1978 (for nine years). From April 1989 to October 2004, he was Manager and later Director of several different Bureaus (General affairs, Seaport, City Planning, and Construction). He became Executive Director of the Environment Bureau in October 2004, and then Director of the Buildings and City Planning Bureau in 2007. He worked in different Bureaus as Chief Executive from 2009, until his current position (since April 2014).

Technical Support Team (TST) Issues Briefs

TST Issues Brief: Means of Implementation; Global