Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
As we close this year¡¯s SDG Moment, let me thank all Member States and partners for bringing your commitment, experience and vision to this important conversation.
Our theme this year is ¡°Together, We Can Do It.¡± It reminds us of the urgency of the moment and what we can achieve by working together.
Our world is facing multiple, intersecting crises: from geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty to the climate crisis, rapid technological change, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, debt distress and widening inequalities.
While staying mindful of the challenges ahead, we must also recognize the significant progress achieved over the past decade.
Access to electricity has reached 92 per cent of the world¡¯s population. Internet connectivity has increased from 40 per cent in 2015 to 74 per cent today. Nearly one billion people have gained access to safely managed drinking water since 2015.
These are not just statistics. They represent profound, tangible improvements in the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
They prove that progress is entirely possible when political will, investment, and partnerships align.
However, the progress is not happening at the speed or scale we need. Today, only 36 per cent of measurable SDG targets are on track or advancing moderately.
The remaining years to 2030 must be a delivery cycle, not another reporting cycle. Our challenge now is to implement proven solutions at scale.
Despite the challenging political context, Member States have engaged constructively in several multilateral processes producing key outcomes, including the Sevilla Commitment on Financing for Development, the Doha Political Declaration from the World Social Summit, and the 2025 UN Ocean Conference outcome.
The Agreement on the Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction is another important example. Member States demonstrated that political will can produce new, legally binding agreements to address challenges that no country can tackle alone.
We need that spirit of cooperation now more than ever.
We are also living through an era of extraordinary change. Technology, demographics, climate and geopolitics are transforming our societies at a remarkable pace.
But we can decide what kind of world we want to build and to set the path towards it.
Sustainable development is that path.
And collaboration across borders is the only effective vehicle to get us there.
This is why the road to the 2027 SDG Summit is so critical.
The Summit represents an opportunity to champion practical, high-impact actions that can still change trajectories before 2030.
We must use the Summit to take stock, strengthen ambition and, above all, accelerate delivery.
We must look beyond 2030. Ultimately, the enduring legacy of the SDGs may well be the stronger culture of cooperation, accountability, evidence-based policymaking, and whole-of-society engagement that the 2030 Agenda has helped institutionalize.
The SDGs have a 2030 deadline. Sustainable development does not.
Excellencies,
The experience of the past decade gives us cause for both urgency and confidence.
We know that progress is possible. We know that solutions exist. And we know that when countries, institutions, businesses, communities and people join forces, change happens at scale.
Let us make 2027 a moment of true acceleration, serving as a bridge to our longer-term future.
And let us continue to work together, across borders and across generations, to build the future we all want.
Together, we can do it.
Thank you.