Your Excellency, Mr. Evo Morales Ayma, President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia,Your Excellency, Mr. Milton Claros Hinojosa, Minister of Public Works and Housing Services,Your Excellency, Mr Brian Mushimba, Minister of Transport and Communications of Zambia,Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS,Distinguished Delegates,Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here to discuss the critical challenges and opportunities for advancing sustainable transport in landlocked developing countries.
I want to thank the Government of Bolivia for hosting this international high-level meeting.
My heartfelt thanks go to the Department of Santa Cruz and the City of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
I also want to thank my colleague Mr. Acharya for his long-standing collaboration with DESA.
This is a very timely meeting.
When the international community adopted the 2030 Agenda last year, all acknowledged that the Sustainable Development Goals would be only words on a page until the implementation began at the national and local levels.
Implementation means moving beyond ideas and intentions into action, to employing the tools of government, society, and the public and private sectors, in new and innovative ways, to improve people¡¯s lives.In this regard, transport is such an instrumental tool. Sustainable transport systems are building blocks of progress, fundamental to advancing sustainable development.
Progress in implementing many SDGs will rely on sustainable transport: public health, sustainable cities, education, to name but a few ¨C they all depend on sustainable transport systems.
It is clear that sustainable transport will also be critical for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And opportunities for women, young people, older people, and people with disabilities also are all inextricably tied to safe and accessible transport.
We all know that the sustainable transport imperative becomes even stronger when considering the specific challenges of landlocked developing countries.
Close to 90 percent of global freight cargo is transported by sea, and so landlocked countries, which need to pass through one or more transit countries to reach seaports, suffer disadvantages in terms of international trade and development.
The Vienna Program of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries, adopted in 2014, highlights the crucial importance of transport and the importance of partnerships.
Transit countries are key partners for their landlocked neighbours, as they work together to enhance the efficiency of border crossings, for instance, and on regional development initiatives.
Infrastructure development, including the development of climate resilient infrastructure, will require the active engagement of development banks and other regional and international financial institutions, and a range of other stakeholders.
The private sector will be an important partner as well, advancing the businesses and technologies that will enable the movement of people and goods¡ªsafely, and with attention to the climate and other environmental impacts.
Sustainable transport, in landlocked countries and across the globe, must be a joint effort. So I am happy that we are joined here today by transit countries, representatives of the business sector, and other stakeholders in this important meeting.
In the spirit of collaboration and multi-stakeholder approaches, I would also like to remind you all of the upcoming Global Sustainable Transport Conference, to be convened by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on 26 and 27 November.
This Conference, the first-ever Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ conference dedicated to sustainable transport, will address all modes of transport in developing and developed countries and will focus on the concrete ways that transport contributes to advancing the 2030 Agenda.
The Conference will shine a light also on the unique challenges of countries in special situations, and the outcome of our meeting here in Santa Cruz will thus serve as an important input into the Conference.
In addition, the Secretary-General¡¯s High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport will issue their global outlook report in advance of the Conference, and the recommendations contained in that report will also contribute substantively to the Ashgabat Conference.
They will be equally relevant to landlocked developing countries.
Excellencies,
This meeting today, and the upcoming Global Sustainable Transport Conference, as well as the inspiring initiatives springing up around the world, show that the global community is waking up to the central role that transport plays in sustainable development.
Landlocked countries have long recognized this, but the global momentum brings new opportunities to advance the cause of sustainable transport in landlocked countries and transit countries, and in all countries across the globe.
I wish you all well in your deliberations, and I look forward to participating in the dialogue.
I am delighted to be here to discuss the critical challenges and opportunities for advancing sustainable transport in landlocked developing countries.
I want to thank the Government of Bolivia for hosting this international high-level meeting.
My heartfelt thanks go to the Department of Santa Cruz and the City of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
I also want to thank my colleague Mr. Acharya for his long-standing collaboration with DESA.
This is a very timely meeting.
When the international community adopted the 2030 Agenda last year, all acknowledged that the Sustainable Development Goals would be only words on a page until the implementation began at the national and local levels.
Implementation means moving beyond ideas and intentions into action, to employing the tools of government, society, and the public and private sectors, in new and innovative ways, to improve people¡¯s lives.In this regard, transport is such an instrumental tool. Sustainable transport systems are building blocks of progress, fundamental to advancing sustainable development.
Progress in implementing many SDGs will rely on sustainable transport: public health, sustainable cities, education, to name but a few ¨C they all depend on sustainable transport systems.
It is clear that sustainable transport will also be critical for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And opportunities for women, young people, older people, and people with disabilities also are all inextricably tied to safe and accessible transport.
We all know that the sustainable transport imperative becomes even stronger when considering the specific challenges of landlocked developing countries.
Close to 90 percent of global freight cargo is transported by sea, and so landlocked countries, which need to pass through one or more transit countries to reach seaports, suffer disadvantages in terms of international trade and development.
The Vienna Program of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries, adopted in 2014, highlights the crucial importance of transport and the importance of partnerships.
Transit countries are key partners for their landlocked neighbours, as they work together to enhance the efficiency of border crossings, for instance, and on regional development initiatives.
Infrastructure development, including the development of climate resilient infrastructure, will require the active engagement of development banks and other regional and international financial institutions, and a range of other stakeholders.
The private sector will be an important partner as well, advancing the businesses and technologies that will enable the movement of people and goods¡ªsafely, and with attention to the climate and other environmental impacts.
Sustainable transport, in landlocked countries and across the globe, must be a joint effort. So I am happy that we are joined here today by transit countries, representatives of the business sector, and other stakeholders in this important meeting.
In the spirit of collaboration and multi-stakeholder approaches, I would also like to remind you all of the upcoming Global Sustainable Transport Conference, to be convened by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on 26 and 27 November.
This Conference, the first-ever Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ conference dedicated to sustainable transport, will address all modes of transport in developing and developed countries and will focus on the concrete ways that transport contributes to advancing the 2030 Agenda.
The Conference will shine a light also on the unique challenges of countries in special situations, and the outcome of our meeting here in Santa Cruz will thus serve as an important input into the Conference.
In addition, the Secretary-General¡¯s High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport will issue their global outlook report in advance of the Conference, and the recommendations contained in that report will also contribute substantively to the Ashgabat Conference.
They will be equally relevant to landlocked developing countries.
Excellencies,
This meeting today, and the upcoming Global Sustainable Transport Conference, as well as the inspiring initiatives springing up around the world, show that the global community is waking up to the central role that transport plays in sustainable development.
Landlocked countries have long recognized this, but the global momentum brings new opportunities to advance the cause of sustainable transport in landlocked countries and transit countries, and in all countries across the globe.
I wish you all well in your deliberations, and I look forward to participating in the dialogue.
File date:
Thursday, October 13, 2016