Speech by Minisetr Peter Larose for Mainstreaming SDGs in National plan and budget
July 14, 2017
Budgets in Seychelles
Honourable Ministers,
Secretary of State in the Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Barry Faure,
Staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs,
Economic Advisor of UNDP,
Programme Manager of UNDP, Mr. Roland Alcindor,
Principal Secretaries, CEOs, Director Generals,
Representatives from Civil Society Organizations,
Representative from Guy Morel Institute,
Representative from Seychelles Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Distinguished Speakers,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good morning and welcome to our 2-day workshop on mainstreaming SDGs into the National Plans and Budgets for the Republic of Seychelles.
It is indeed a great pleasure for me to deliver the opening remarks on such a topical issue. In fact, it is a National Dialogue worth having because it concerns every citizen of our Republic.
From the outset, I would like to thank Mr. Roland Alcindor, the Representative of UNDP in Seychelles, Secretary of State, Ambassador Barry Faure of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Elizabeth Agathine, Principal Secretary from the Ministry Finance, Trade and Economic Planning and other members of the organizing committee for initiating this workshop.
Thank you also to all our stakeholders including our Distinguished Speakers, who had volunteered to participate in this event.
Seychelles has made significant progress during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era. It is therefore fitting that as we move to the Agenda 2030 (Sustainable Development Goals), we must celebrate our achievement made so far. Having made such progress, we can safely build on a solid foundation.
While, we focus our attention on 2030 Agenda, we should not forget Agenda 2063 as well.
Admittedly, the new global development agenda that we have signed up will be much more challenging. We will have to seriously reflect on our collective aspirations and the way we implement our development plan for a better standard of living, while preserving our environment for the future generations.
This is a task that we must involve our development partners as well because we are expected to utilize our Domestic Resources to finance our development in a sustainable way.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, the current buzzword around the world is about inclusive development. I am really pleased that Seychelles has had the foresight to adopt this national policy for more than 4 decades, where no one should be left behind.
Our development has always been “people-centred”. This policy has allowed us to make significant socio-economic progress, although there is still room for further progress.
I see the cost of development of our human capital, be it, in health, education, technology, environmental protection and other areas as national investments.
In our dialogue to discuss the priorities of our own Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), I believe, we need to have a sense of national ownership.
Our development partners can do so much to assist us but our approach to inclusive development should be pragmatic and realistic.
It is in the regards that we need to link our National Strategic Plan with the SDGs targets. What remains is another 13 years to reach to the Year 2030.
Theoretically, it may sound a long time but, it is very short for us to benchmark our outcomes with the 17 development goals and 169 targets. In the implementation of the SDGs, we should not assume that any solution will last forever.
As we continue to create new economic opportunities, we must become more conscious in promoting a sustainable environment. I take this opportunity to call on every citizen, Government agencies, Parliamentarians, academia, NGOs, and donors to a partnership agreement with a view to tackle climate change and environmental challenges.
Similarly, to other Small Island Developing States, Seychelles is vulnerable to the external shocks in the global economic environment.
Distinguish Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, I do not have to remind you that we live in a global village. As a nation, we must be prepared to change and adapt to new realities.
To succeed with our Agenda 2030, we must build new partnership with all stakeholders in many areas because business as usual is something of the past.
We need all stakeholders on board because the goals and targets are interconnected and many of them require strong collaboration across different frontiers. This challenge is directly linked to SDG 3 in ensuring a healthy living for all.
With these few remarks, I wish all the participants success in your endeavours to make SDGs an integral part of our lives. I now have the pleasure to declare the dialogue open.
Thank You.