In his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, the president of Mozambique said that the main reason for lack of progress on the 2030 Agenda is similar lack of trust and solidarity "between those who have a lot and those who have little or almost nothing at all".
"Even among those who have a lot, rather than building trust and solidarity they spend their resources by investing in a competition fueled by mistrust," said Filipe Jacinto Nyusi.
With this in mind, he highlighted three areas that require urgent action:
"First, we need to renew our political will and redouble efforts to accelerate the achievement of targets of the Agenda 2030.
Secondly, we must intensify integrated policies with concrete actions to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and preserve nature by empowering women, the youth and other vulnerable groups.
Thirdly, we must strengthen international partnership and multilateralism taking the United Nations System as a basis."
To achieve these goals, the President said world leaders must build trust and mutual respect between member states.
"Only with trust and mutual respect can we build a better world, of peace, safe and sustainable that deliver welfare for all," he stated.
Peace and security
On the issue of peace and security, he said his country has lost thousands of precious lives, and the number of refugees and internally displaced persons has increased to more than 50 per cent in the past year alone.
President Nyusi said that there has been multilateral efforts and several peace initiatives at the UN Security Council level and under the auspices of regional organizations to ensure peace and security around the world, but the war in Ukraine and other regions still endanger peace, security and the global economy.
"My own country, Mozambique, experienced cycles of armed conflicts, sometimes triggered by forces alien to national interests. But the settlement has been possible only based on constructive dialogue founded on trust and mutual respect." Mr. Nyusi noted.
Combatting terrorism
The President said Mozambique is confronted by the "nefarious phenomenon of terrorism."
"We have been achieving tangible success on the ground though terrorists continue to create terror and fear in sporadic way in isolated villages," Mr. Nyusi said.
He noted that with improvement of safety and tranquility, the people of Mozambique have been returning in large numbers to their homes and have resumed their normal life.
"This is a pioneer experience of combining bilateral and multilateral interventions. It is also an example of solution of African problems, first by the Africans themselves," Mr. Nyusi added.
Local level climate action
Even as most countries around the world grapple with climate change, the southern African country is one of the hardest hits.
"In the case of Mozambique, due to its geographic vulnerability, the country suffers cyclically of the devastating impact of natural disasters. The latest large cyclones, Idai, Kenneth and Freddy, caused the loss of hundreds of lives, and costly damages and losses in the billions," the President said.
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He added that support from partners has been well below the pledges and beyond the requirements.
"In many cases when this assistance comes partners have preferred to manage the funds outside agreed mechanisms with the Government, causing overlaps in areas or programmes which have little impact on the communities," Mr. Nyusi explained.
He said that as a way of mitigating the suffering of the people, Mozambique has been promoting domestic solutions towards consolidating a disaster management system with the involvement of public, private stakeholders, civil society and local communities, focusing on prevention and adaptation.
Full statement available here.
