Statement delivered by Shri Mansukh L Mandaviya, Hon'ble Member of Parliament in General Assembly Joint Debate on Agenda Item 9: Report of the Economic and Social Council; and Item 15: Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields at the United Nations General Assembly
on October 19, 2015
Mr. President,
I am honored to address the General Assembly at the historic 70th anniversary of the United Nations.
This organization embodies humankind's faith in dialogue over war and in collective progress over individual gains.
As it celebrates its 70th anniversary, it's founding creed of maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights for all is more relevant than ever.
Mr. President,
India attaches great importance to the work of the Economic and Social Council.
The Council plays an important role as a principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on issues of economic and social development.
As we transition into a new '2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development' - which is a path-breaking new template of action across the three dimensions of economic growth, social inclsion and environmental protection - the ECOSOC's effective discharge of its functions will be of even greater importance.
Of equal importance will be for ECOSOC to rejuvenate itself, making it more action-oriented, policy relevant and responsive to the new development agenda.
Mr. President,
We are grateful for the Report of the Economic and Social Council for the year 2015.
The report usefully enumerates the activities of the Council during this period. We commend the outgoing President and the Bureau for their stewardship of its activities.
I would like to extend our congratulations to the Permanent Representative of Republic of Korea on his assumption of the current Presidency of ECOSOC and would like to assure him of our steadfast support to him and the new Bureau in their work.
Among the important discussions organized by the ECOSOC in the past session was the dialogue on the longer term positioning of the United Nations Development System, a discussion made all the more topical by the new development agenda.
We commend the efforts of the Permanent Representative of Colombia for her stewardship of these dialogues and welcome the Permanent Representative of Argentina as the incoming Chair of these Dialogues this year.
Mr. President,
As the Prime Minister of India His Excellency Mr. Narendra Modi emphasized in his address to the UN General Assembly this year, the '2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development' is lofty and its goals are comprehensive. It gives priority to the problems that have endured through the past decades even while reflecting our evolving understanding of the social, economic and environmental linkages that define our lives.
India was a key and active participant in the process that led to the adoption of the new agenda with the set of SDGs at its core.
India's voice in the negotiations was that of all developing countries.
We now look forward to working closely with all delegations to ensure that the 2030 Agenda is implemented in its letter and spirit.
In this objective the ECOSOC and the High Level Political Forum will play a central role.
It is our expectation that the ECOSOC will address sustainable development challenges from the prism of poverty eradication as our central and overarching objective.
Ending poverty by 2030, which subsumes the provision of essential amenities for a dignified existence such as food, clean water, sanitation, electricity, good health, literacy, transportation and a roof over the head, is rightly at the core of the 2030 Agenda.
It is our expectation that the ECOSOC will prioritize the attainment of robust inclusive economic growth in developing countries and for this it will strengthen the partnership between developed and developing countries to make it more meaningful.
It is also our expectation that the ECOSOC will address the issue of environmental degradation and climate change with a sense of urgency, focusing on reforming the unsustainable consumption patterns in the developed countries and affording enhanced financial and technological support to developing countries in transitioning their economies to progressively more sustainable pathways.
Mr. President,
India's success in sustaining robust economic growth to eradicate poverty will contribute in no small measure to the global achievement of the SDGs. The process of doing so will bring forth technologies and pathways to progress that can be shared with other developing countries to enable them to also achieve sustainable development.
Mr. President,
India is fully committed to ensuring a life of dignity to all it's people.
To this end, the Government of Prime Minister Modi has renewed its efforts to return India to a high growth trajectory, promote job rich industrial development including through rapid skill development of our young populace, promote financial inclusion, protection and welfare of the girl child, agricultural renovation, and a massive drive for improved sanitation.
At the same time, we in India realize that the pursuit of economic growth and development cannot be business as usual. Even though we did not create the problem, India has every intention of being a part of the solution when it comes to climate change.
The solution lies in pursuing policies that, rather than blindly aping the development model that has brought humanity into a clash with nature, promote a more holistic relationship between growth and environment.
Prime Minister Modi has sought to do this by harkening back to our civilizational ethos of harmony with nature, or treating nature as a partner, not as an adversary.
Prime Minister Modi has spoken of achieving the same level of development, prosperity and well being without going down the path of reckless consumption and his belief is that by doing so, it doesn't necessarily mean that our economies will suffer, but rather that they will take on a different character.
India's planned objectives of adding 175 GW of clean and renewable energy to our energy mix; reducing the energy intensity of our GDP by 33-35% by 2030; achieving 40% of electricity generation from non-fossil fuel sources, and to create an additional forest sink of 2.5-3 billion tons of CO2 equivalent are evidence of our seriousness for addressing the environmental sustainability of our growth.
In conclusion Mr. President, allow me to reiterate India's commitment to the work of the ECOSOC and its active and constructive engagement in its work in the coming months.
I thank you.
.jpeg)
.png)
