Investment in Sustainable Development Good for Bottom Line, Our Common Future, Secretary-General Tells Conference on Blue Ocean Strategy
Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), to the International Conference on Blue Ocean Strategy, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, today:
I am pleased to send greetings to all participants at the International Conference on Blue Ocean Strategy. I thank the Malaysian Government for organizing this gathering.
With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, world leaders have set out their vision for the future of humanity. The recent High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York demonstrated that countries are acting to realize the 2030 Agenda.
The interconnected nature of the Sustainable Development Goals requires new ways of thinking. We need innovative approaches to end poverty and hunger and create peaceful, equitable and inclusive societies.
The core promise of the 2030 Agenda is to leave no one behind. Success demands that Governments, the private sector and civil society forge new pathways and build partnerships on shared goals.
Through collaboration and social innovation, we can tap the immense capital that lies within each country: its people. The United Nations stands ready to help empower people by securing human rights, closing the wealth gap, and ensuring basic services for all. This will promote lasting stability and environmentally sustainable economic growth.
The private sector can innovate green solutions, create jobs and help advance human progress. Shareholders, consumers and the international community all highly value sustainability, making investments in sustainable development good for the bottom line and our common future.
Your Conference offers an invaluable opportunity to mobilize support for the United Nations as we work for a better world for all. In this spirit, I wish you great success.