Global Partnerships

Photo: Opening Ceremony of Annual Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Group of 77. A wide view of the room as Secretary-General António Guterres (on screen) addresses the forty-third annual meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77. 27 September 2019. United Nations, New York. Credit: UN Photo/Kim Haughton

Concern About UN’s Smooth Functioning but Kudos for ‘G-77’

Viewpoint by António Guterres

Following are extensive excerpts from UN Secretary-General’ remarks to the opening ceremony of the forty-third annual meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the 134-nation Group of 77 developing countries and China, in New York on 27 September 2019.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Group of 77 and China are on the frontlines of multilateralism and of support for a strong United Nations, consistent with your founding principles. I thank the State of Palestine for its effective Presidency of the Group.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; The Group of 77; 28 September 2019

White Paper Expounds China’s Relationship with The World

By Globaltimes.cn

BEIJING (IDN-INPS) – The State Council Information Office issued a white paper titled "China and the World in the New Era“ on 27 September. This is the first governmental white paper that has comprehensively expounded the relationship between China and the world. The white paper focuses on China's international outlook, its development objectives and the role it plays with a purpose to increase the international community's understanding on China's development.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 September 2019

Collage with images from SDGs, ACP and EU websites. Credit: INPS-IDN.

ACP, EU Point to Crucial Linkages Between Sustainable Development and Climate Action

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – More than half of the UN members have issued a joint declaration in support of the 2030 Agenda, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) endorsed by the international community in September 2015, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change adopted three months later.

The joint declaration by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU) carries significant weight in terms of demonstrating a commitment to Agenda 2030 by countries which together account for over 1.5 billion people, one-fifth of the global population.

: J Nastranis; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 25 September 2019

Photo: Screenshot of joint ACP-EU press conference on 23 September at the UN. From left to right: Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica; Neven Mimica, European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development; Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Gambia; Patrick I. Gomes, Secretary General of the ACP Group of States. Source: UN Web TV

EU Joins 79 ACP States in Calling for ‘Bold Decisions’ to Achieve SDGs

By J. Tuyet Nguyen

NEW YORK (IDN) – Governments from Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and the European Union issued on September 24 a joint declaration calling for “bold decisions” to implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate change agreements, saying that the two programs are closely linked.

“Recognizing that the linkages between sustainable development and climate action, we reiterate our strong commitment to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change fully and effectively,” the groups said in a Joint Declaration issued in New York.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 24 September 2019

Photo: ACP Secretary-General Dr Patrick I. Gomes at the first-ever United Nations Trade Forum, organized by UNCTAD in Geneva, Switzerland, from 9 to 13 September 2019. Credit: Timothy Sullivan (UNCTAD)

ACP Reiterates Call for Urgent Ambitious Climate Action

Viewpoint by Dr. Patrick I. Gomes

The writer is the Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). Following are extensive excerpts from his presentation at the United Nations Trade Forum from 9-13 September 2019 in the Session ‘Climate Action and Trade’ in Geneva.

GENEVA (IDN) – The ACP Group of States shares with the great majority of well-informed persons, globally, that climate change is the most significant challenge, this century, for the achievement of sustainable development on planet Earth.

: Dr. Patrick Gomes - ACP Seretary-General; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 13 September 2019

Photo: Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya.

Kenya President Keen to Boost the Caribbean Presence at ACP December Summit

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – ACP Secretary General, Dr. Patrick I. Gomes has welcomed the recent visit of Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta to the Caribbean and said that it could help boost the region’s participation at the December 9-10 ACP Summit to be held in Nairobi.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), he said that the response to President Kenyatta’s visit to the Caribbean in August 2019, and his talks with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley and St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has been “encouraging”.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 10 September 2019

Photo: Aerial view of Sochi, located on the Black Sea coast. CC BY-SA 3.0

Sochi Summit Expected to Open Russia’s Door to Africa

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – As Sochi, a Russian city located on the Black Sea coast, prepares to host African leaders, experts have been discussing the possible outcome of this first high-level event in the history of Russian-African relations, with the heads of all states of the African continent invited, as well as leaders of major subregional associations and organisations attending.

According to official sources here, the summit on October 24 will play special attention to the current state and prospects of Russia's relations with African countries and to the expansion of the political, economic, technical and cultural cooperation.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 30 August 2019

New Climate Reality Is Frightening, But Surmountable

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

The writer is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) – The past five years have been the hottest on record in Asia and the Pacific. Unprecedented heatwaves have swept across our region, cascading into slow onset disasters such as drought. Yet heat is only part of the picture.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 28 August 2019

World Leaders to Focus on Climate Action in September

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Issues such as highlighting how governments, civil society and individuals can take action on climate, sharing updates on the Sustainable Development Goals, and celebrating outstanding figures whose actions have had a transformative positive impact on the environment will take centre stage when world leaders gather in New York City for the high-level week of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly from September 21 to 26.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 26 August 2019

Photo: President Filipe Nyusi addressing the Russian-Mozambique Business Forum on 21 August 2019 on Moscow. Credit: World Trade Center.

Mozambique Embraces Russia’s Investment Efforts

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Keen to intensify and widen bilateral relations, Russia and Mozambique have signed several intergovernmental documents as well as business agreements during President Jacinto Filipe Nyusi’s visit here. Its highlights were talks with President Vladimir Putin and the Russian-Mozambican business forum, the first gathering of businesspersons from Russia and representatives of companies from Mozambique, in Moscow.

The importance of the August 20-23 visit is underlined by the fact that it has taken place in the run-up to the Russia-Africa summit in Sochi on October 23-24. However, because of general elections in Mozambique on October 15, President Filipe Nyusi might not be able to attend the summit, reports said.