Mr. Co-chair,
At the outset, let me commend your hard work and excellent leadership in finally
launching the first formal meeting of the Open Worldng Group on Sustainable
Development Goals. I sincerely hope that today's meeting will kick-start our long
overdue work, expediting the process of producing very useful inputs for establishing the
SDGs. As we begin this journey to uncharted territory, I am confident that you will
continue to lead us in our noble endeavor.
Mr. Co-Chair,
In light of the monumental tasks ahead of us, my delegation would like to now highlight
the following points regarding the process as well as the substance.
First of all, on the process, we concur that the process of our deliberations should be open,
inclusive, transparent, and effective. It is essential that the work of the Open Working
Group be informed by research-based evidence and expert analysis. Diverse multistakeholders
should be consulted as widely as possible throughout the process of our
deliberations. On-line platforms and round tables need to be more actively utilized to this
end.
Secondly, many delegations have raised concerns about parallel work currently under way,
seemingly without a clear division of labour or coordination. As known to us, so far we
have multiple tracks of deliberations, taking place almost in parallel. These include the
discussions on the High-Level Political Forum and the committee on development
financing strategy, as well as the Secretary-General's High-level Panel discussion on the
post-2015 development agenda. Diversity will certainly enrich our discussion. However,
at the end of the day, we should be able to come up with one coherent and wellcoordinated
set of development goals for the post-2015 period. In this regard, my
delegation believes that the leadership of the UN Secretary-General and the role of the
UN Secretariat will be critical for moving our endeavor forward in a coherent and
coordinated manner.
Now, turning to the substantive aspect of our work, my delegation would like to make the
following comments.
First of all, we are of the view that Rio's outcome document should serve as the guiding
principle in our efforts to develop the SDGs. In order to ensure that the SDGs are
universally applicable, the Goal's priority areas should be wide in scope and relevant to
all countries. We consider the SDGs as one of the most valuable outcomes of Rio+20.
However, it will be a tremendous challenge that we sort out all of the different views and
priorities and come to an agreement on a set of coherent goals and targets. As such, we
believe it is paramount to maintain our openness and flexibility in the process of our
discussions to chart out the SDGs. While my delegation has its own priorities and
preferences for the SDGs, we would like to stress that we will remain open and flexible in
exploring diverse ideas and possibilities in our deliberations.
Secondly, when we agree to set certain goals and targets for sustainable development, we
are collectively committing ourselves to achieving these goals through an on-going joint
effort. As numerous delegations have pointed out, the SDGs can have different
implications for different countries, depending on their national realities, capacities, and
levels of development. This underscores that targeted attention needs to be given to those
countries in special circumstances like the LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS, and those in the African
continent as well. Furthermore, it highlights that the means of implementation will be of
critical importance to the success of the SDGs. Given the magnitude of the financing
needs that accompany sustainable development, we believe we need to be very innovative
in mobilizing significant resources from a variety of sources, as well as to ensure
effective use of such resources.
Thirdly, we would like to recall that the Rio+20 outcome document recognized "green
economy" as one of the most important tools for achieving sustainable development. In
this respect, we are of the view that the Open Working Group should duly address this
issue of green economy in the diverse aspects in our deliberations.
Finally, we stress that the development of the SDGs should not divert our focus or our
efforts from achieving the MDGs. Indeed, we must stay focused on meeting the MDGs as
their target date approaches. Full realization of the MDGs will foster confidence and
mobilize critical global support for drawing up and implementing the ambitious SDGs
and the larger post-2015 Development Agenda.
Mr. Co-Chair,
Let me conclude by reiterating our strong commitment to the work of the Open Working
Group. We will continue our best efforts to c
ontribute to our joint work.
Thank you.
