YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI, President of Uganda, said that 70 years after the founding of the United Nations, inequalities among States persisted in defiance of the underlying messages of brotherhood and solidarity every religion preached.  Underdeveloped countries were in their current state today because of various internal and external factors, which the world could no longer afford to debate.

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals constituted a landmark in humanity’s quest for peace and prosperity and was a prescription closely aligned with the national strategy Uganda had been following, he said.  For the first time, the Goals proclaimed in bold letters the concept of universal prosperity, which would assist the prioritization of the use of scarce resources by international agencies.  In particular, the use of the word “transformation” in the Goals was most revealing, he said, stressing that the purpose of sustainable development was to ensure growth both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Uganda had overcome enormous challenges over the decades by drawing on its indigenous capabilities, he said, urging the international community to be wary of those seeking external solutions to every problem.  The United Nations should avoid being lured into situations by groups that did not enjoy domestic legitimacy or support.  Otherwise, the Organization would only become part of the problem.