Dennis Moses, Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, has reaffirmed T&T’s commitment to the United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda which focuses on enhanced international co-operation in economic, social, environmental and cultural spheres, while promoting respect for human rights.
He said the country’s implementation of the 2030 sustainable development agenda will be guided by its own national development strategy.
Moses participated in the UN Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda on Friday and Saturday in New York. The event was attended by Pope Francis, the UN Secretary General, and other world leaders including the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, the President of Colombia, the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, India and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica.
During the Summit, member states formally adopted an ambitious new sustainable development agenda which is expected to serve as the launch pad for action by the international community and national governments to promote shared prosperity and well-being for all over the next 15 years.
In his statement, Minister Moses said although grounded in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the sustainable development agenda was more comprehensive and integrated and therefore more coherent in application.
He noted that it is anchored in the principle that “no one shall be left behind” and should represent triumph for all states, including the small and marginalised.”
Moses said despite T&T’s middle income status, as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), the country still faces many developmental challenges.
In this regard, he underlined the importance of revitalisation of the global partnership for development which should continue to recognise the unique developmental challenges faced by SIDS and the need to design financial tools and facilities to effectively respond to these challenges.
He assured that T&T will continue to work with all partners toward achievement of this critically important objective.
In his address, Pope Francis urged the international community to take action against poverty, inequality of opportunity, and climate change, who remarked that “any harm done to the environment is harm done to humanity”. He called upon all leaders to put aside individual interest and instead focus on the collective good of all.