ON Saturday, President David Granger left the shores of Guyana for Ethiopia as chief of the Guyana delegation to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, the centre of Ethiopia’s economic and political life. “This Third International Conference on Financing for Development… must make a fundamental contribution to the thrust towards greater global cooperation,” President Granger told the opening plenary of conference in his address yesterday, “as we embark on an ambitious and transformative post-2015 development agenda that will seek to ensure that no country or no community is left behind.”
The President addressed a gathering, which included United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon; Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, and other distinguished guests and foreign heads of mission.
“We must renew global solidarity and our collective will to resolve global problems in a timely and effective manner,” President Granger noted. “If we are serious about sustainable development, then we must be serious in our quest for mitigating the effects of climate change.”
The President called on stakeholders to realise the goal of their efforts in delivering a desirable future for the world. “The enterprise of development must count on the contribution of all segments of the society. It must empower local communities and harness the talents of the people, especially women and youth,” President Granger said, noting that governments cannot act alone in executing actions and investments.
The 2015 mark for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has passed, and the global agenda has shifted to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are the universal goals that UN member states will pursue for the next 15 years in framing their agendas and policies.
While commending countries that have successfully undertaken the millennium goals, President Granger cautioned, “The achievement of the sustainable development goals will place heavy demands upon all countries.” Mr Granger noted this as a reflection on the global effort to achieve the MDGs, adding, “Significant progress is possible when the international community works together.”
“We must be ready to respond to the demands of our times,” Mr Granger said, reasoning, “This requires making the investments to incentivise an irreversible paradigm shift in favour of sustainable development. It requires, also, a commitment to complete the unfinished work of the MDGs, including education, health, water and sanitation and food security.”
“Guyana is a small state that is committed to sustainable development,” President Granger said in his address, “Ours has been a long and arduous quest to secure a good life for all our people. Our experiences have reinforced our resolve to build a more resilient economy, a more inclusionary democracy and a more cohesive society.”
While denouncing what he called “the common enemies of our people, including crime, disease, ignorance and poverty,” President Granger took the opportunity to “resent, reject and resist the threat or use of force or any unilateral coercive attempt by one state against another in order to frustrate the legitimate aspirations of our people to enjoy a good life.”
The President noted the correlation of security and stability to the sustainable development of a nation, for which, “the tenets of international law must be guaranteed to all states and peoples in the quest for secure livelihoods and sustainable development.”
President Granger extended solidarity to the African continent and all countries in the quest for sustainable development, and called for the commitment of states in searching for solutions to global challenges.
The Head of State lauded the commitment of the international community for establishing a dedicated forum “within the United Nations to deliberate on the follow-up of issues for financing and development.”
He noted this as particularly important to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which account for Guyana, Suriname, and most of the Caribbean. “For our Region, the issue of debt is of particular concern, as are the terms of trade which often work against the interests of small states.”
The Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will conclude on Friday, and President Granger noted the importance of the forum is three-fold: expressing global confidence in multilateralism; recognising the collective exercise of political will of member states in citizenry development; and shaping the future for coming generations to inherit.
By Derwayne Wills
Originally published in the Guyana Chronicle
