Madame Chair,
Israel would like to congratulate the Chair, Her Excellency, Minister Verburg, and the
Commission on Sustainable Development Bureau on their election and would like to
thank them for their work during the preparatory process for the seventeenth session of
the CSD. Israel is committed to contributing to the commission as stated in our
intervention earlier this morning.
The thematic issues related to agriculture, drought and desertification, land, and rural
development and Africa are of great importance to Israel. Any significant progress on
these issues will require dedication and collaboration by all countries. In this spirit, Israel
is looking forward to working together to achieve positive developments in these areas.
The aforementioned issues cannot be addressed in an individual manner. Rather, we must
examine these themes also in a global context by acknowledging the impact that the
economic crisis, food shortages, and climate change will have on sustainable
development. These challenges require urgent action on our part and call upon us to work
together to achieve constructive and effective outcomes. Israel is eager to partner together
toward this end.
Israel thanks Minister Verburg and the Bureau for their thorough and valuable work in
preparing the Chairperson?s draft negotiating document from which we will build our
negotiations for the outcome of this Commission. Israel finds this document to be a good
basis for negotiations and finds it to be a satisfactory foundation for discussions. Israel
will contribute additional specific points and comments during the meetings of the
working groups.
Madame Chair,
The themes being addressed during this session are of utmost importance. Therefore,
Israel calls upon all members of the CSD to resolve to strengthen our effectiveness by
focusing on the themes of this Commission. Let us focus on commonalities that bring us
together. By maintaining a professional and non-political approach, we will be able to
achieve effective and beneficial outcomes.
Thank you.
