Opening Statement by Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
1
Opening Statement by Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General
for Economic and Social Affairs to
The UN side event on “Role of Science, Technology and Innovation
for achieving sustainable development”
Presented by Mr. Nikhil Seth, Director, Division for Sustainable
Development, DESA
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, 13th July 2015
ECA Press Briefing Room, 13:15 – 14: 45 p.m.
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the Secretary-General for the 3rd International Conference on
Financing for Development, my hope, more than anything else, is for
FfD3 to come up with proposals and commitments for concrete actions to
advance implementation of the sustainable development goals and the
ambitious agenda they represent. The focus of this side-event, designed to
map a coordinated way forward for the UN system and other
stakeholders to support implementation of the Science Technology
Innovation-related decisions contained in the Addis Ababa Action
Agenda, is very much in line with this expectation.
It is therefore my pleasure, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be
here with you today.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Reaching agreement after very intensive negotiations is an important
achievement for the Finance for Development Conference. Our Ministers
2
will endorse an Action Agenda whose level of ambition should match
that of the SDGs.
The next milestone will be the adoption of the SDGs and the post-2015
development agenda by Heads of State and Government in September.
The outcome of this Conference will form an integral part of the
September Summit outcome.
Then the real work begins – that of implementation. For developing
countries, technology facilitation, science and capacity building are major
pillars of the means of implementation of the post-2015 development
agenda. They are key for achievement of concrete results on the ground.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The SDG agenda is hugely ambitious, and “business as usual” will not
get us where we need to be by 2030. Extraordinary efforts will be needed
– also in terms of harnessing the full potential of human ingenuity
embodied in technologies. Against this background, the Secretary-
General proposed to establish an online technology facilitation platform
to support the development, transfer and dissemination of technologies
for achieving the SDGs.
In response to the SG’s proposal, DESA together with UNEP initiated an
Inter-agency Working Group. The Group comprises DESA, UNEP,
UNIDO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, ITU, WIPO, and the World Bank Group.
Many UN Member States have expressed appreciation for the formation
and the work of the Inter-agency Working Group on a Technology
Facilitation Mechanism.
3
In the current Addis Ababa Action Agenda text, they have requested to
engage all interested actors – governments and other stakeholders,
including the business sector, academia, national labs and
scientific/engineering academies as well as the UN system – in
establishing a technology facilitation mechanism which is to include: a
global online knowledge and information-sharing platform, an interagency
task force to achieve greater coherence and cooperation on
technology initiatives, and an annual global forum on science, technology
and innovation for the SDGs.
As a founding member of the Inter-agency Working Group, my
Department stands ready to work with all of you to support Member
States’ ambition.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We know how central technological innovation is to addressing the
challenges we face in the 21st century. We know how technology has
benefited humanity in the past and we must remain determined that its
benefits will continue to be available to all in the years ahead, beginning
with the poor and those most in need. We also recognized how critical it
is that we support all countries’ efforts to strengthen their domestic
scientific and technological capabilities to support their own
development.
We need to move from negotiations to actions – a coordinated way
forward to support implementation of the Science Technology
Innovation-related decisions contained in the Addis Ababa Action
4
Agenda. In this regard, as the Secretariat General for the Conference, I
congratulate members of the Interagency Working Group, the organizer
for this side event, for already setting your sights – and ours – on the
future we want.
I wish you all a fruitful discussion. Thank you.
Opening Statement by Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General
for Economic and Social Affairs to
The UN side event on “Role of Science, Technology and Innovation
for achieving sustainable development”
Presented by Mr. Nikhil Seth, Director, Division for Sustainable
Development, DESA
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, 13th July 2015
ECA Press Briefing Room, 13:15 – 14: 45 p.m.
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the Secretary-General for the 3rd International Conference on
Financing for Development, my hope, more than anything else, is for
FfD3 to come up with proposals and commitments for concrete actions to
advance implementation of the sustainable development goals and the
ambitious agenda they represent. The focus of this side-event, designed to
map a coordinated way forward for the UN system and other
stakeholders to support implementation of the Science Technology
Innovation-related decisions contained in the Addis Ababa Action
Agenda, is very much in line with this expectation.
It is therefore my pleasure, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be
here with you today.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Reaching agreement after very intensive negotiations is an important
achievement for the Finance for Development Conference. Our Ministers
2
will endorse an Action Agenda whose level of ambition should match
that of the SDGs.
The next milestone will be the adoption of the SDGs and the post-2015
development agenda by Heads of State and Government in September.
The outcome of this Conference will form an integral part of the
September Summit outcome.
Then the real work begins – that of implementation. For developing
countries, technology facilitation, science and capacity building are major
pillars of the means of implementation of the post-2015 development
agenda. They are key for achievement of concrete results on the ground.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The SDG agenda is hugely ambitious, and “business as usual” will not
get us where we need to be by 2030. Extraordinary efforts will be needed
– also in terms of harnessing the full potential of human ingenuity
embodied in technologies. Against this background, the Secretary-
General proposed to establish an online technology facilitation platform
to support the development, transfer and dissemination of technologies
for achieving the SDGs.
In response to the SG’s proposal, DESA together with UNEP initiated an
Inter-agency Working Group. The Group comprises DESA, UNEP,
UNIDO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, ITU, WIPO, and the World Bank Group.
Many UN Member States have expressed appreciation for the formation
and the work of the Inter-agency Working Group on a Technology
Facilitation Mechanism.
3
In the current Addis Ababa Action Agenda text, they have requested to
engage all interested actors – governments and other stakeholders,
including the business sector, academia, national labs and
scientific/engineering academies as well as the UN system – in
establishing a technology facilitation mechanism which is to include: a
global online knowledge and information-sharing platform, an interagency
task force to achieve greater coherence and cooperation on
technology initiatives, and an annual global forum on science, technology
and innovation for the SDGs.
As a founding member of the Inter-agency Working Group, my
Department stands ready to work with all of you to support Member
States’ ambition.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We know how central technological innovation is to addressing the
challenges we face in the 21st century. We know how technology has
benefited humanity in the past and we must remain determined that its
benefits will continue to be available to all in the years ahead, beginning
with the poor and those most in need. We also recognized how critical it
is that we support all countries’ efforts to strengthen their domestic
scientific and technological capabilities to support their own
development.
We need to move from negotiations to actions – a coordinated way
forward to support implementation of the Science Technology
Innovation-related decisions contained in the Addis Ababa Action
4
Agenda. In this regard, as the Secretariat General for the Conference, I
congratulate members of the Interagency Working Group, the organizer
for this side event, for already setting your sights – and ours – on the
future we want.
I wish you all a fruitful discussion. Thank you.