By Asma’u Ahmad
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres says prosperity, dignity and a healthy planet can best be achieved through implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as World’s blueprint.
Guterres made this known in a statement on Tuesday issued by Mr Oluseyi Soremekun, National Information Officer, UN Information Centre (UNIC), Lagos.
Antonio Guterres
According to the statement, made available to the newsmen. Guterres spoke through Mr Ronald Kayanja, UNIC in Nigeria, in his message to the first Covenant International Model United Nations (CIMUN) Conference.
Soremekun said the conference was organised by Covenant University Ota, in collaboration with UNIC Nigeria with the theme, “Restructuring the future through innovative ideas”.
He quoted Guterres as saying : “our world today enjoys remarkable opportunities to advance common progress. “The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are our blueprint for dignity, prosperity and a healthy planet,” Guterres said.
“Despite the remarkable opportunities, we the people also face many complex challenges: “Armed conflicts have deepened, Global anxieties about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War.
“Climate change is moving faster than we are, inequality and nationalism are on the rise, while trust and solidarity are on the decline.”
“These problems and challenges are increasingly global and increasingly grave. “We need less hatred, more dialogue and deeper international cooperation, multilateralism is more important than ever, empowering the world’s young people is also an imperative”.
He explained that the achievement of Agenda 2030 and the SDGs required innovative ideas, adding that no better time to discuss the theme: “Restructuring the Future Through Innovative Ideas’’ than now.
