OPENING
REMARKS BY
H.E. DR. HASSAN WIRAJUDA
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
AT THE "REGIONAL MINISTERIAL MEETING
OF
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: THE WAY
FORWARD 2015"
JAKARTA, AUGUST 3RD 2005
Your
Excellency Dr. Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
President of the Republic of Indonesia,
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies
and Gentlemen
I
am pleased and honored to welcome all of you
to this "Regional Ministerial Meeting
of the MDGs: The Way Forward 2015". And
we are all privileged to have H.E. Dr. Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic
of Indonesia, grace this occasion with his
presence. He has also kindly agreed to deliver
the keynote address for this meeting and official
open its proceedings.
I
should also like to thank the United Nations
Special Ambassador for the MDGs in the Asia
Pacific, the UNDP-Regional Branch of Asia
Pacific, the UN Economic Social Commission
for Asia Pacific, and the Asian Development
Bank for their support, which made the convening
of this meeting a reality. We will be calling
on their support again when it is time to
implement the outcomes of this meeting.
This
meeting represents an important milestone
for us in the Asia and the Pacific in our
common effort to achieve our targets in relation
to the Millennium Development Goals. This
is the first meeting in the region involving
all relevant stakeholders with the aim of
fostering and enhancing regional partnership
and cooperation toward the achievement of
these targets by 2015.
As
elaborated in a number of reports on the status
of the MDGs, as a region, Asia and the Pacific
are generally considered on track toward achieving
these goals, although in some parts of the
region, a great deal of extra effort must
be exerted in order to reach these goals.
In
view of that reality, this meeting has been
intended to provide a unique opportunity to
devise a concrete strategy and map out measures
to improve the lives of the millions of people
who live in poverty in the region, and in
the process reach all the targets in relation
to the Millennium Development Goals.
This
meeting is also timely. We are only a few
weeks away from the convening of the High
Level Plenary Meeting of the United Nations
General Assembly in New York on 14-16 September
2005. On that occasion, the world's leaders
will gather to undertake a comprehensive review
of the progress made toward the fulfillment
of all commitments in the United Nations Millennium
Declaration.
These
commitments include the attainment of the
Millennium Development Goals and the formation
of the global partnership that will make the
achievement of these Goals possible.
The
General Assembly's Resolution No. 59/145 of
2004 urges all member states to take positive
interest in the process of formal and informal
consultations leading to that High Level Plenary
Meeting. This regional ministerial meeting
is therefore our region's constructive response
to that call.
Therefore,
we should seize this opportunity to develop
regional strategies to achieve the MDGs and
to raise awareness of the international community
of the unique characteristics of our region
in terms of MDG implementation.
It
will be no easy task to devise these necessary
strategies. The vast geography of the region
and the immense variety of the economic and
sociopolitical systems in the region will
make that a complex undertaking.
Moreover,
two-thirds of the world's poor live in this
region, while a number of regional countries
are experiencing the world's highest economic
growth. There are some highly developed and
middle-income countries. There are also countries
that fall into the categories of Least Developed
Countries (LDC), Land-locked Developing Countries
(LLDC), Countries with Economies in Transition,
and Small Islands Developing States (SIDS).
The
countries in each of these categories have
their own unique set of challenges and capabilities
with regard to the achievement of the MDGs.
As
a whole, therefore, the region's performance
with regard to the Millennium Development
Goals is a mixed picture of significant progress
and missed opportunities. There are some countries
in the region that are well on their way to
achieving the MDGs on time. Others are still
off track and lagging behind.
This
regional meeting should therefore be utilized
to the maximum extent as a forum for the exchange
of best practices and lessons learned in the
common drive toward the achievement of the
MDGs. Moreover, we should be able to forge
a solid partnership involving all stakeholders
and develop common strategy on the way toward
2015.
The
architecture of that partnership and that
common strategy will be our contribution to
the High-level Plenary Meeting in New York.
The
task before us may be complex and challenging.
I do believe, however, that we have the capability,
the resources and the will to form that partnership
and devise that strategy so necessary for
the attainment of the Millennium Development
Goals in our region.
So
much is at stake in the accomplishment of
that task. The fruitfulness of this meeting
and the attainment of the Millennium Development
Goals in the region will determine to a considerable
extent whether we can sustain the relative
peace and stability that we are now enjoying.
It will also determine the quality of life
of our future generations.
On
that note, I should now like to invite Your
Excellency Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President
of the Republic of Indonesia, to share with
us your unique perspective on the Asia-Pacific
region's endeavors to attain the Millennium
Development Goals and thereby extend the "rope
of hope" to the teeming millions who
live in abject poverty in our region.
Your
Excellency--
.
