Special Representative of the ICC Attended the SDGs Seminar Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Resident Coordinator Office in China
On June 19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office in China held a seminar on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations compound in Beijing. Assistant Foreign Minister Miao Deyu attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Guy Ryder, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Policy , delivered a video speech. Zhang Zhixiang, member of the Strategic Advisory Committee of the International Cooperation Center (ICC) andthe former Executive Director of the IMF for China, made a keynote speech representing the ICC. The United Nations Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee presided over the meeting.
Miao Deyu attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech
Miao Deyu said that the profound changes unseen in a century are accelerating and various risks are intertwined, posing challenges to global development. The Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping are all aimed at promoting the world to move toward a bright future of peace, security, prosperity, and progress. China is willing to work with the United Nations development agencies and other parties to jointly promote the Summit of the Future to focus on development issues, take more actions and measures to revitalize global development, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Video message from Guy Ryder
Guy Ryder, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Policy, said in his speech that in the face of today's global challenges - from the increase in conflicts and humanitarian crisis to the escalation of geopolitical tensions, the intensifying climate emergency, rapid technological change and growing inequality and mistrust – we need greater international cooperation and solidarity at all levels for our survival and that of the planet.
Siddharth Chatterjee presided over the meeting
Siddharth Chatterjee, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, said at the seminar that today’s event reveals real opportunities for us to accelerate the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals and global sustainable development. If we want to save the 2030 Agenda, we must put these ideas into action immediately.
Zhang Zhixiang delivered a keynote speech
Zhang Zhixiang, a member of the Strategic Advisory Committee of the ICC and the former Executive Director of the IMF for China, pointed out in his keynote speech the UN Summit of the Future can serve as a platform for all stakeholders to strengthen international cooperation. The convening role of the UN Resident Coordinator is critical to accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. We witnessed the critical role played by the UN Resident Coordinator in China, Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, in convening, connecting and catalyzing action to maintain focus on the SDGs. We hereby call on all UN member states to support the reform of the development system initiated by the UN Secretary-General to make the UN development system fit for purpose.
Zhang Zhixiang said that the UN Resident Coordinator in China, Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee and the UN Resident Coordinator Office in China are important bridges and links connecting China and the United Nations system. We believe that with the strong support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the United Nations, the deepening cooperative relationship between the International Cooperation Center Joint Council and the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office in China will continue to play a constructive role in accelerating the process of global sustainable development.
Dialogue between Chinese and Foreign Representatives
This seminar is a Pre-Summit of the Future, with the theme on "Accelerating Progress Towards Global Sustainable Development." Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Development and Reform Commission, China International Development Cooperation Agency, Center for International Knowledge on Development, International Poverty Reduction Center in China, the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office in China, various United Nations agencies in China, diplomatic envoys of various countries in China, and multilateral Development Bank and other representatives attended the meeting. Zhang Yu, Deputy Director of the Steering Committee of the International Cooperation Center, Cheng Yu, Executive Secretary-General of the International Cooperation Center and other representatives of the International Cooperation Center were invited and communicate with Chinese and foreign guests.
The United Nations Summit of the Future
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations in June 2020, UN Member States issued a declaration containing 12 overarching commitments and asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to make recommendations to address current and future challenges. In September 2021, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded with his report, Our Common Agenda, which sounded the alarm to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and advance the commitments contained in the Declaration to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, and made recommendations to close strategic gaps in global governance arrangements. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the ministerial preparatory meeting for the Summit of the Future in September 2023 that a multipolar world is emerging. The international community generally believes that the right direction at present is to give play to the role of the United Nations, improve the global governance system and elevate the status of developing countries.
The Common Agenda calls for the Summit of the Future to forge a new global consensus on multilateral solutions to current and future problems. Some of the proposals relate to gaps that have emerged since 2015, for which new intergovernmental agreements are needed. That is why the report calls for a new global consensus to prepare for a future full of risks but also opportunities. The General Assembly welcomed the "rich and pragmatic" report and agreed to hold the United Nations Summit of the Future (Summit of Heads of States and Government) at the United Nations on 22-23 September 2024, preceded by a ministerial meeting in 2023. United Nations member states are expected to agree, through intergovernmental negotiations, on an action-oriented Pact for the Future on the issues decided to advance.
The UN Summit of the Future is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen solidarity and cooperation to address major challenges, close gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments, including to the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Charter, and revitalize the multilateral system so that it is more capable of making a positive impact on people's lives. Building on the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Summit, UN member states will consider how to lay the foundation for more effective global cooperation to address today's challenges and the new threats of tomorrow. The UN Summit of the Future is committed to promoting the common development of all countries and regions in the world, safeguarding the common security of the international community and building a common future for all mankind.