Statement delivered by His Excellency, Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden at the SDG Summit Leaders Dialogue: Partnership For Sustainable Development, United Nations, 25 September 2019, New York.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
It is time for delivery on the Sustainable Development Goals.
We must succeed in our commitments: to end extreme poverty and solve the climate crisis.
For this, we need leaders and doers to step up. But individual efforts are not enough. We need to cooperate if we want the results to be sustainable.
Allow me to give two concrete examples of such partnerships.
In 2016, I launched an initiative called the Global Deal – together with the ILO, the OECD, and a core group of countries, companies, employer organisations and trade unions.
The Global Deal aims to promote and strengthen social dialogue.
Well-functioning social dialogue is economically smart and is an important tool for generating decent work and reducing inequalities and exclusion, in line with SDG 10.
Two days ago, my colleague the Prime Minister of India and I launched a new ‘Leadership Group for Industry Transition’.
This group will support and accelerate the transition of heavy industries, which account for 30 per cent of global emissions. Public-private partnerships, innovation and technology are at the centre of this initiative.
Achieving the SDGs requires focus on gender equality. Gender equality is an explicit goal, SDG 5, but also a perspective to be included in the implementation of all other goals.
I lead a feminist government, emphasising the rights, representation and resources of all women and girls.
I am a HeForShe Champion and call on all other leaders to join the cause.
In far too many places, women’s and girls’ enjoyment of human rights is pushed back.
Our response to this will require perseverance and strong partnerships.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The political declaration adopted earlier at this Summit calls for individual and collective action.
Let us show that our partnerships have a real impact in the everyday lives of our citizens.
Let us solve our big challenges together.
Let us act – and deliver!