GEORGE MANNEH WEAH, President of the Republic of Liberia, while contextualizing this year’s assembly within the world’s political, security and environmental challenges, underscored the importance of promoting global security and rebuilding trust, especially in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals with which development assistance projects must necessarily be aligned.  His country is committed to the 2030 SDGs Agenda, particularly as they are in consonance with its domestic Flagship National Development Plan — the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development.  He also expressed concerns about the dangerous increase in the activities of armed non-State actors, threats of nuclear escalation, and extreme weather conditions, stating that “these challenges continue to serve as obstacles to our quest for a safe and peaceful world”.

Noting the importance that the seventy-eighth Assembly places on global health, as evident in the number of high-level meetings dedicated to health issues, he outlined areas where his country has made remarkable progress, including reduction in maternal mortality, access to health care and education, boosting gender parity in school enrolment and strides in infrastructural development.  He underscored the need for global concerted action in addressing “challenges aimed at providing basic services to all peoples”, particularly throwing weight behind the Secretary-General’s proposed SDG stimulus plan and calls for a $500 billion per year sustainable development fund for developing countries.

He reminisced about his first address to the assembly five years ago, when he commented on the peaceful elections that had just been held, stating that, in a similar manner, elections are scheduled to be held in a few weeks, on 10 October, and will provide “an opportunity to sustain the gains made in our reconstruction and development processes”.  He pointed to his Government’s plans to ensure the conduct of peaceful, fair, credible and transparent elections, especially on the heels of the signing of the 2023 Farmington River Declaration by all political actors to continually promote peace.

On global extreme climate conditions and natural calamities, he harped on the need for support to be given to developing countries in building resilience and surmounting these challenges, stressing that “it is therefore our collective responsibility to urgently prioritize addressing the climate crisis as we strive to reach a target of 64 per cent reduction in carbon emission”.  He further commended the Secretary-General for the New Agenda for Peace targeted at the “triple crises of disruption, biodiversity loss and pollution destroying our planet”.  He expressed his nation’s solidarity in upholding the Agenda and also pledged his country’s commitment to protect the planet, promote peace and prevent conflicts, adding that this would only be possible through cooperation with government and non-government stakeholders.