TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain is a highly valued partner of the United Nations. This was emphasised by Csaba Korosi, 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President, as he praised the Kingdom as one of the most constructive actors in the policymaking and representative organ of the world body.
Korosi is visiting Bahrain where he met with His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and top officials. He noted the Kingdom’s large influence because of its diplomacy and approach.
Bahrain is a regional hub for the UN, and there are more than 20 UN agencies based here to serve the broader region. The UNGA head recounted that Bahrain was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council.
He said that Bahrain was a very generous country in supporting humanitarian efforts, noting that it coordinates with the UN on all humanitarian activities that are conducted abroad.
Most successful
Countries who can embrace a vision for themselves, for their development, for their place in the larger broader world, those countries are the most successful ones, Korosi said.
“Bahrain is a lucky country, because what I saw in the vision of Bahrain is a very well-formed strategy for the future,” he said. “And when I had the chance to have a discussion with His Majesty King Hamad, I found that he is a man with vision.
So, it’s always very reassuring that even in times of wars, in time of financial crises, in time of climate crisis, there are leaders in the world who take the responsibility.” Speaking on the purpose of his visit, which is the first to a Middle Eastern country, Korosi said he sought to build alliances and cooperation with Bahrain.
“The world is in crisis,” he said. “It’s the most complex, most difficult crisis the world is going through for the last 70 years.” The UNGA leader said his meetings with His Majesty the King and government officials discussed means of helping member states weather the current crisis and to make progress in sustainability transformation and to get prepared for the challenges that are waiting further down the road.
“My other purpose for coming here was to see by my eyes what I saw from the books and different reports; that it is possible, even in a small country where various diverse communities, either religious or ethnic communities, can live, work and thrive together,” he said.
“I saw very nice examples. I wish many leaders could be given the same tour I had the chance to participate in.” Korosi also met with young Bahraini diplomats to discuss how they view the world and how their knowledge is up to date on future challenges.
Goals
Korosi was the co-chair of the UN negotiations that produced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“When I gathered down the results of the long negotiations that produced the 17 goals,” he said. “I was very hopeful because we felt that it is something serious for the whole of humanity, for the future. But I still had some doubts, how will it come down to different countries?” He said he was positively surprised to see that progress has been made in this area in Bahrain, adding that it was one of the first countries to have a ministry for sustainable development.
In addition to the administrative unit, he said it was reassuring to see how Bahrain made efforts into aligning policies and allocating budgets to drive the sustainability transformation process. Korosi said the SDGs were a global vision, not a national one. No one can implement the global vision, it needs to be translated into national realities, he said.
Bahrain has done its job, he added, explaining that it distilled the 17 goals for its realities, according to its needs, priorities, traditions, and social structure, and started a mechanism to turn the goals into a national development programme. Bahrain has integrated SDGs into its Government Action Plans and aligned its efforts to implement them with its Economic Vision 2030.
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