Statement By H.E. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla Vice President Of The Republic Of Indonesia at The United Nations Summit on The Adoption of The Post-2015 Development Agenda

STATEMENT

BY H.E. MUHAMMAD JUSUF KALLA

VICE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

AT

THE UNITED NATIONS SUMMIT

ON THE ADOPTION OF THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

NEW YORK, 26 SEPTEMBER 2015

Mr. President,

Your Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates

It is indeed an honour for me to join this august gathering of world leaders to adopt the post-2015 development agenda.

I wish to express my highest tribute for the inclusive process of the formulation of post-2015 development agenda, and we commend the UN Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly for their able stewardship throughout the process.

Mr. President,

This year we stand witness to a historic juncture in development. The post-2015 development agenda represents our oath to our future generation, that we will strive together to leave them a legacy of a more prosperous world through sustainable development.

In this light, allow me to underline three main points:

First on the lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Fifteen years ago, the MDGs were set. Some targets have been met and important progresses were achieved across all goals.

Globally, extreme poverty was reduced by half; 3.3 million deaths from malaria were averted; 2.3 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water and education.

Nevertheless, inequality amongst and within countries as well as poverty remain as the main global challenges. Besides that, new global challenges have also risen such as energy inequality, infrastructure gap, unsustainable consumption, limitation in production, and climate change.

Rising conflicts have also set many countries back in their development achievements, fragmenting communities and diverting scarce resources away from productive enterprises.

The agenda thus remains unfinished. Based on lessons learned and best practices in achieving MDGs, we need to intensify our efforts and enhance shared responsibilities in accordance with national capabilities as a solid fondation for the new agenda. Here developed countries have to give the examples that others can follow.

Second, I would like to highlight Indonesia’s efforts to implement SDGs.

Indonesia surpasses the goal of halving the percentage of population living in poverty.

Indonesia is also on track to reduce the prevalence of underweight children, reduce child mortality below age 5 and to increase enrollment for primary education.

Drawing from the MDGs implementation, Indonesia has just mainstreamed the Post-2015 Development Agenda into its national development planning.

In this respect, Indonesia has inter alia reduced public spending on fuel subsidy and enhanced budget allocation for social development programs, such as “Indonesian Health Card” and “Indonesian Smart Card”, to give poor households better access to healthcare and education.

And Third, I wish to emphasize the need to strenghten global partnership.

The agenda demands a strong and inclusive global partnership to support the means of implementation, while taking into account national circumstances and development priorities.

It is critically important that international commitments be met, including the official development assistance target by developed countries and the action agenda as agreed at the 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development, despite a lacklustre global economic growth.

The financing mechanism should be coupled with knowledge sharing, technology transfer and wider access to market for developing countries and least-developed countries, including for the Middle Income Countries (MICs) which face many challenges, not least the impacts of the recent global economic turmoil.

Contribution from non-state actors is also of great importance. Private sectors and civil society play tremendous role in job creation and community empowerment. Thus, corporate social responsibility and philantropic activities should be enhanced and widened. The political structure should be sufficiently open to incorporate the role of non-state actors.

Development cannot take place in the absence of peace, within state or between states.  Thus preventing conflicts from occurring, resolving conflicts and ensuring appropriate post-conflict reconstruction to ensure sustainable peace, should be a priority global agenda.

Mr. President,

Let me conclude by reassuring that Indonesia stands ready to work together in ensuring that our post-2015 development agenda will not merely be a pipe dream, but a reality for all.

I thank you.