"The adoption of the 2030 Agenda in 2015 reflected an ambitious global commitment towards economic, social and environmental development," stated Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie today, while chairing the official opening of the Preparatory Symposium for the Development Cooperation Forum of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) alongside the Vice President of the Argentine Republic, Gabriela Michetti, and the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (the third highest-ranking official in the organization), Liu Zhenmin.
At the event held this morning at the Palacio San Martín, attended by over 120 experts (from the public sector, governments, academia, international organizations and foundations), Faurie stated that the "2030 Agenda represents a paradigm shift that makes us all partners, which calls for collective responses that integrate the vision and joint efforts of all development actors, without leaving anyone out."
"In a context marked by some tensions when it comes to defining the path for the international system, amid calls for retreat and isolation, Argentina is deeply committed to multilateral cooperation, the strengthening of international system institutions and regional and interregional integration," he added.
"We do not want the new agenda to be mere wishful thinking," the Foreign Minister stated, adding that "it is necessary to strengthen existing cooperation fora and promote new and supplementary fora, with a focus on peace and sustainable development, based on the pledge to "leave no one behind".
"It is not by chance that this meeting is being held here right now. When President Macri took office, a new political, economic, institutional and cultural cycle began. This involved mending and strengthening foreign ties, as well as a confidence-building process," the Argentine Foreign Minister explained, highlighting that Argentina will also host the High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation in March 2019.
Faurie also stated that "this year Argentina commemorates the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Argentine Fund for South-South and Triangular Cooperation (FO.AR), our main tool for the implementation of technical cooperation projects" and mentioned that "it has played an extensive and comprehensive role: over 9,500 Argentine and foreign professionals and experts have been employed in activities carried out in over 70 countries."
"The continuity of the fund and its constant growth over the course of successive administrations make FO.AR and South-South Cooperation a true Argentine state policy."