Speech at the closing session of the Summit after the approval of the groundbreaking Pact for the Future On Sunday, Philemon Yang, President of the 79th session of the General Assembly, expressed the hope that the ideas exchanged would inspire further initiatives at national, regional and global levels.
“While we the Top of the future, I call on all Member States to continue to push for decisive action and to make meaningful progress.“, he said.
He reminded delegates that they must not lose sight of the ongoing global challenges, such as poverty, hunger and the suffering of people facing conflict, violence and deprivation.
“We must never lose sight of future generations to whom we owe our best efforts to create a world that uplifts and empowers all of humanity, leaving no one behind,” he added.
‘Continuum of efforts’
Mr Yang welcomed the Pact for the Future and its annexes, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations, which were adopted by consensus at the Opening of the summit on Sunday.
“Together, they outline commitments to accelerate progress on all fronts. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and usher in a more peaceful, just and resilient future,” he said.
He stressed that the summit marked an important step in “our ongoing efforts to deliver faster and smarter” in the area of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement about climate change.
“It must boost our collective ability to perform well into the future“, he added.
Interactive dialogues
During the two-day summit, a series of interactive dialogues with heads of government, top UN officials and civil society representatives were held alongside plenary sessions. These discussions further explored the commitments set out in the Pact.
Topics included modernizing outdated intergovernmental organizations, such as large multilateral development banks and the UN itself, reforming the Security Councilmaximizing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies while mitigating their risks, and above all, revitalizing global efforts to eradicate poverty and inequality.
The interconnected challenges facing developing countries were powerfully highlighted by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, who noted: “the reality is that we will either drown in debt or be drowned by the sea.”
This highlighted the urgent need for global cooperation on ocean conservation and debt reduction.