Excellencies, distinguished guests, and colleagues,
It is a pleasure to address this important event, ¡°From Copenhagen to Doha¡±.
I thank the Permanent Mission of Qatar for organizing this crucial discussion, for us to come together and generate actionable ideas for the Second World Summit for Social Development.
The Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and its Programme of Action established a pathbreaking consensus for people-centred development ¨C a vision reaffirmed in the 2030 Agenda.
Since Copenhagen, we have made impressive progress on social development, but we still face deep inequalities, economic uncertainties, and the cascading effects of climate change, conflict, and pandemics.
These challenges are a sobering reminder -- social development should not be an ¡°afterthought¡±; it is the foundation of peace, economic prosperity, and resilience.
The Second World Summit offers a unique opportunity for us to assess progress, identify gaps and chart a course for accelerated social progress.
As we engage in today¡¯s discussions, let us be guided by this central question: How can we move beyond promises to deliver real, tangible results for all people?
Allow me to share two key points.
First, we need integrated, whole-of-government approaches that prioritize social investments, ensuring coherence between social and economic policies.
Poverty eradication, for example, demands equitable access to essential services and economic opportunities. This means broadening social protection coverage, ensuring universal health coverage and quality education, providing affordable housing, and reforming ineffective and unfair tax policies.
Second, our policy frameworks must be anchored in a commitment to inclusion, social justice and solidarity and must seek to safeguard social progress.
Achieving full employment and decent work, for example, requires inclusive labour markets, strengthening workers' rights, and preparing for the future of work in a digital and AI-driven world.
I¡¯m confident that our discussion today will identify results-driven solutions to generate momentum for an ambitious and successful Summit outcome in Doha.
Thank you!