Vuk Jeremić Speaks at the UN

CIRSD President Vuk Jeremić participated in a High-level Thematic debate at United Nations Headquarters in New York entitled “Strengthening Cooperation between the United National and Regional and Sub-regional organizations” on May 4th, 2015.

Opening remarks were made by the President of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly Sam Kutesa, followed by keynote addresses by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the President of Uganda, and the the Secretaries General of the Arab League, the OSCE, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as senior officials from the African Union, the Organization of American States, and the European External Action Service, amongst others.

Throughout the debate, emphasis was placed on the importance of the UN’s cooperation with regional partners to shape what both President Kutesa and Secretary-General Ban defined as a “bold new vision” for a post-2015 sustainable development agenda to tackle the world’s myriad pressing challenges.

Jeremić moderated the concluding panel entitled “Galvanizing support of regional and sub-regional organizations for the implementation of a transformative post-2015 development agenda.” This panel featured, among others, speeches by the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa Carlos Lopes.

In his introductory remarks, CIRSD President noted that as the SDGs have basically been agreed, the emphasis now must shift to implementation. “Implementing the SDGs requires not only concerted action at the international and national level, however, but the active engagement of regional and sub-regional organizations”, Jeremić stated. He concluded that implementing the post-2015 sustainable development agenda will serve as an ultimate test for the UN in the 21st century.

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