President of the Republic of Slovenia on progress made towards Millennium Development Goals

New York, 26.9.2008  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, attended and co-chaired a roundtable discussion yesterday afternoon local time entitled "Education and Health", taking place as part of a high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals. In the afternoon, President Türk participated in a roundtable discussion on environmental sustainability and held bilateral meetings on the margins of the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta.

Addressing the environmental sustainability roundtable, President Türk noted that there was no longer even the slightest doubt about the dramatic effects of the challenge of environmental sustainability. He went on to add that the issues of environmental conservation and control of global warming were strategically important for long-term implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. In the President’s words, they will be at the forefront of the global development battle in the coming decades. True change, transformation policy, new technologies and new ways of life are called for in this area. In order to achieve them it is necessary to establish adequate partnerships between the key global actors, such as the European Union, the United States of America, India, China and the G-77 countries as a whole. This is a joint responsibility, according to the President, with developed countries having higher expectations. Dr Türk cautioned that there was no time to lose and that the Bali roadmap would depend on how well we prepare for the conferences to be held in Poznaò in December 2008 and in Copenhagen next year. We cannot be carefree, said the President, going on to add that this roundtable discussion should stress the necessity of adequate preparations for the Poznaò conference as an instrument for the creation of the joint and differentiated responsibilities ahead of us. Dr Türk also backed the Secretary-General’s proposal to organise a summit meeting to assess implementation of the Millennium Development Goals as early as in 2010. In relation to environmental sustainability, we need to understand the strategic importance of this issue and be aware that time is running out, warned the President, advocating that negotiations be held at the highest level in order to reach an agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Nature will not wait, and therefore diplomacy must make its contribution to the change the world needs.

With Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, President Türk discussed the situation in Georgia and received an invitation to visit the Republic of Azerbaijan. The talks between the Slovenian President and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, centred on cooperation within the Mediterranean Union.