President David Granger: His Excellency, Hailemariam Desalegn President of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and Chair of Conference, His Excellency, Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly of the United Nations; His Excellency, Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations; His Excellency, Hu Hongbo, Secretary-General of the Conference; colleague Heads of State and Government; Honourable Ministers of the Government, Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Distinguished Heads of International Finance and Trade Institutions; Excellencies, Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen:
The Delegation of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana is honoured and heartened to participate in this Third International Conference on Financing for Development. We express our gratitude for the warm hospitality extended by the Ethiopian people and govnerment and for the execllent arrangements prepared for our deliberations here today. Addis Ababa is an internationally acclaimed iconic city of african liberation and unity. Meeting in this historic city offers us unique opportunities. We renerw guyana’s solidarity with Africa and all other countries in their quest for sustainable development and to provide a good lfie for their peoples. We renew our country’s commitment to co-oepration with other states in search for solutions to the challenges that beset us. We renew our asiprations for prosperity, for equality, for dignity and for security for all people everywhere.
Guyana ahs had the honour fo working with Norway and our host, Ethiopia, as well as with the entire international commuinity on the preparation for this momentous conference. The draft outocme document submitted for our consideration is the result of painstaking labour to build a forward-looking framework and a solid foundation for global development efforts. We support its early adoption by this conference. We meet in testing times for the international commuity overshadowed, by the lowering growth prospects by the Internaitonal Monetary Fund and the rising of political and humaitarian crises affecting millions of people across the globe. Our efforts here today are part of a contiuum. We are building on ealrier platforms, in Monterrey, in Doha, in Johannesburg, in Rio and in Samoa. We are, at the same time, projecting an ambitious agenda for sustinabale development in th epost 2015 era.
Mr. Chairman, this Third International Conference on Financing for Development is more than merely a meeting to mull over the modalities of financing. It is about strengtheing our confidence in the efficacy of multilateralism. It is about the collective exercise of our political will for the benfit of our peoples, for the benefit of our planet and for the benefit of posterity. It is about shaping the future we want for our peoples for generations to come. Guyana is a small state, but one that is committed to sustianable development. Ours has been a long and an arduous quest to secure a good life for our people. Our exeperinces have enforced our resolve to build a more resilient economy; a more inclsuionary democracy and a more cohesive and coherent society. We are committed to overcoming the common enemies of our people; crime, disease, ignorance and poverty. We share the objectives of this conference to sustainable development.
Mr. Chairman, secuirty and stability are indispensible to sustianable development and the pursuit of prosperity. We resent, we reject and we resist the threat of the use of force of any unilateral coerceive attempt by any one state against another in order to frustrate the legitimate aspirations of our people to enjoy a good life. The charter of the United Nations and the tenets of international law must guaratee all states and peoples the beenfits of secure livelihoods and sustainable development.
Guyana, on the strength of this commitment, therefore, emphasises the primacy of international cooperation, even as we embrace fully our primary responsibility for national development. This Third International Conference on Financing for Development therefore, must make a financial contribution to the thrust towards greater global cooperation as we embark on an ambitious and transformative post 2015 development agenda that will seek to ensure that no country or no community and no person is left behind.
We believe that there are some critical ways in which the contribution of this Conference should be maximised.
First, we must renew global solidarity and our collective will to resolve global problems in a timely and effective manner. If we are serious about sustainable development, then we must be serious in our quest for mitigating the effects of climate change. This Conference must inspire confidence in the collective commitment to implementing the post 2015 agenda- we will agree next September in New York and we will aim to reach, next December in Paris, in the once-in-a-generation agreement to ensure that global temperature rise is contained within two degrees centigrade.
Second, we must acknowledge that while governments must exercise leadership the requisite actions and investments cannot be executed by governments alone; other stakeholders must realise that their efforts will also be central to delivering the future we want. The enterprise of development must count on the contribution of all segments of society; it must empower local communities and harness the talents of all of the people, especially women and youth.
Third, it is clear that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals will place heavy demands upon all countries. Our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals taught us that significant progress is possible when the international community works together. Developed countries must continue to exercise real leadership in fostering international development cooperation. Eequally, developing countries must continue to intensify their efforts. We applaud those countries that have been unstinting in their support and we encourage other to do likewise.
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, we all must be ready to respond to the demands of our times. This requires making the investments to incentivise an irreversible paradigm shift in favour of sustainable development. It requires also, the commitment to complete the unfinished work of the Millennium Development Goals including; education, health, water and sanitation and food security.
Guyana welcomes the emphasis of the draft outcome on these areas as well as the intention given to bridging the infrastructure gap, fostering sustainable consumption and production patterns and promoting micro, small and medium sized enterprises. The establishment of a technology facilitation mechanism, the strengthening of the committee of experts on tax cooperation and the establishing of a dedicated forum within the United Nations to deliberate on the follow-up on issues for financing and development hold great potential to make the Addis Ababa action agenda transformational.
Guyana is pleased to note the provisions contained with respect to the issues of concern to countries such as the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS in special situations. The challenges faced by middle income countries, not least of all the large number of small states in the Caribbean also deserve the attention of the international community. For our Region the issue of debt is of particular concern as the terms of trade often work against the interests of small States.
Chairman, Excellencies, this Third International Conference for Financing for Development marks an important stage in our collective endeavour to secure a brighter and more sustainable future. Allow us to iterate our thanks for the opportunity which this Conference provides to renew ties of friendship and cooperation. We renew also, our common resolve to build a brighter, more secure and more sustainable future for ourselves, for our children and for generations to come.
I thank you.
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