Mr. President,
Having been honoured by His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, The Amir of the State of Kuwait, to represent His Highness at this high-level meeting, I wish first to convey to all the distinguished delegates his greetings, coupled with best wishes for a successful outcome of this important and historic gathering. His Highness shares you the hope that the Final Document the Assembly intends to adopt will prove helpful in fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of all the peoples we represent.
Having said that, it now gives me pleasure to express, on behalf of the government and people of the State of Kuwait, our warm congratulations to you, Sir, and to your friendly country, the Kingdom of Sweden, on your election as President of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. We do have confidence in your ability and skill to meet the complex demands of your mandate. In the same vein, I would be remiss if I didn’t pay tribute to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, the Foreign Minister of the Gabonese Republic, for his remarkable stewardship of the Assembly during its last session.
Let me take this opportunity to express, in the name of the people and government of the State of Kuwait, to our friends, the people and government of the United States of America, our heartfelt sentiments of solidarity and sympathy during these tragic days of loss and stress in the wake of the catastrophic hurricane that struck three Southern states.
Mr. President,
This high-level plenary meeting, which is convened to review and assess the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Organization. The occasion, which is a cause for celebration, provides us with an opportunity to recommit ourselves from this rostrum to the institution and to renew our firm confidence in it. Here, let me express our thanks to the Secretary-General for his valuable report submitted to this summit. The report contains a set of substantive recommendations which we hope would, to a large measure, be incorporated into the Final Document set for endorsement at the end of the summit.
May I therefore appeal to this august assembly, which is now in session at the highest level of responsibility, to muster its resolve with a view to give a real and tangible meaning to the concepts of international coordination and cooperation. Our goal is to fill the cracks and narrow the gaps in the global system with a view to overcome the problems that impede the realization of the MDGs in all regions of the world, especially in Africa.
Mr. President,
Kuwait believes that the development goals the world aspires to attain by the year 2015 are not an impossible mission. Yes, they could be within our reach, especially the eradication of poverty, hunger, treatment of pandemics like HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as improvement of health and education conditions in our communities. Looking around, we do actually see an encouraging number of success stories in many countries.
But meeting our development objectives requires collective commitment to our common responsibilities both as developing and developed nations. It also demands an informed conviction that economic and social development, openness and political engagement are all critical factors in our joint endeavours to tackle the problems and challenges which face the world today in the areas of peace and security as well as the long-standing threats that undermine world stability, like chronic armed conflicts and festering regional problems, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and human rights violations. It is against this backdrop that Kuwait hopes that security and stability would be established and maintained in Iraq and that a just and comprehensive solution would be achieved for the Question of Palestine.
Kuwait also welcomes the pledge made by a good number of developed countries to increase their official development assistance (ODA) in order to reach the level of 0.07% of GNP as agreed upon by the international community. Such an effort would indeed demonstrate a full recognition on their part that development is the crucial key to address the entire gamut of problems facing the developing world. In the same vein, Kuwait wishes to appeal to the developed countries to honour their previous commitments in terms of aid and to consider substantial reductions in the debts owed to them by the developing countries. Furthermore, we invite them to ease the tariff restrictions that curb the flow of products from the developing countries to the markets of the developed nations and to set up a global partnership structure conducive to the creation of a more accessible and balanced international trade and financial order under the umbrella of the World Trade Organization.
Mr. President,
Given Kuwait’s keen commitment to meet its obligations under United Nations resolutions and international conventions with a view to accelerate the pace of development, and despite the fact that Kuwait belongs to the group of developing countries, yet all relevant development indicators suggest that my country has indeed covered a lot of ground in meeting our obligations in regard to every MDG. Equally significant, perhaps, is the fact that we managed to deliver ahead of the timelines set by the United Nations system.
All along, since the State of Kuwait joined the United Nations membership in 1963, we have met our obligations under all international arrangements in order to establish a global partnership for development. To that end, we have created the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development, thus putting in place a liberal facility to provide assistance to the developing and least-developed countries. Recipients of aid from the Fund now exceed one hundred countries and the aggregate volume of assistance goes beyond 12 billion dollars. Thus the ODA provided by Kuwait over the past years amounted, in real, terms, to almost double the internationally agreed-upon percentage. This does not include the help given by the people of Kuwait through civil society associations and non-governmental organizations to communities in need in various countries.
Let me now happily reassure you that we intend to preserve this tradition of providing development and financial aid to the developing nations.
Mr. President,
On this occasion, Kuwait is also pleased to highlight a recent achievement in gender equality in the political field. For that matter, Kuwaiti women can now exercise their right to vote and to run as candidates for election to the national assembly. That was achieved on 16 May this year when the national election law was amended. This landmark achievement is a cause for celebration and pride for it has expanded the prospects for all women in Kuwait to assume leadership positions and to participate directly in the decision-making process. Thus, Kuwaiti women have now become more effective stakeholders in the overall national development drive.
Mr. President,
But the progress we have so far made in Kuwait against the MDG benchmarks can only serve as an impetus to ehance our capabilities and our sense of purpose in facing up to the rigorous demands of the MDGs system. We still have some daunting challenges in the sphere of the environment. This in itself requires a massive rally to develop and deploy the effective mechanisms needed to mitigate and, ideally, reverse the adverse impacts on our environment.
Mr. President,
In our pursuit of the MDGs, we remain hopeful that the lessons drawn from our past experience will be used in defining our immediate course of action and to live up to the challenges of the moment. In the final analysis, it would be our collective wisdom and determination that will help us forge ahead in shaping a better future, i.e. a life of freedom and dignity, where the rule of law reigns supreme in order to maintain social stability and to uphold the principles of liberty, justice and equality for all human beings.
Thank you. May peace and mercy from Allah, Our Lord, be upon all of you.
