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Sri Lanka Mission hosts HLPF Side Event

Date: 
Tuesday, 19 July 2016

 

The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York, together with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife, Sri Lanka and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) hosted a side event entitled Planning for an Inclusive Transformation; A dialogue towards building scenarios for visions and pathways on the sidelines of the 2016 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.

Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Rohan Perera making welcome remarks.

                                

The Hon. Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Minister of Sustainable Development and Wildlife of Sri Lanka delivering opening remarks.

The side event, which included a lead presentation and a moderated panel discussion, was held at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York on 19th July 2016, with the participation of the representatives of UN Member States, senior UN officials, members of the civil society and academia.

ESCAP Executive Secretary Dr. Shamshad Akhtar addressing the event.

Welcoming the participants, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Rohan Perera remarked that Sri Lanka has recognized the critical importance of a cohesive integrated approach to national implementation of the SDGs.

Delivering the opening remarks, the Hon. Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Minister of Sustainable Development and Wildlife of Sri Lanka and Chair of the Asia- Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) highlighted that as the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to establish a Ministry for Sustainable Development and as the current Chair of the APFSD, Sri Lanka is now in a unique leadership position to champion transformation to sustainable development.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP remarked that the Asia-Pacific region is already undergoing growth transitions but it now “needs a transition from a growth-centric framework to sustainable development,” She further stated that in order to achieve sustainable results there has to be a decisive shift in governments and the private sector, from governing for business as usual to governing for transformation.

Panel discussion.

The lead presentation, entitled Planning for an Inclusive Transformation was made by Mr. Uchita de Zoysa, Sustainable Development Advisor to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife of Sri Lanka. He also moderated the panel discussion.  

The panel comprising representatives from governments, United Nations agencies, international development organizations, civil society organizations and other stakeholders engaged in a dialogue to help provide insight into building scenarios for the transformation in 2030 and beyond.

The panel concluded that a collective initiative is required to ensure that all countries and stakeholders feel a sense of ownership for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the Asia-Pacific region.

 

Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations

New York