Ivorian leader calls for Global Solidarity for Post-2015 Development Goals

Mr. Alassane Ouattara, President of Cote d’Ivoire, on Wednesday in New York, US, called for greater global solidarity to achieve current development goals and an even more ambitious agenda for the decades ahead.

‘We must adopt a global approach which will allow our countries to build more equitable models for sustainable development which respect our specific needs,’ PANA quoted Mr. Quattara as saying at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly.

He said although much remained to be done, most countries have made important progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

‘As we reach the moment of truth, we cannot deny the evidence that the world needs more solidarity to achieve the MDGs,’ the Ivorian leader said.

Mr. Quattara stated: ‘The African continent, which is behind schedule with regards to the 2015 deadline, can all the same count on its growing weight in the world economy.

‘That is why my country endorses a post-2015 agenda that will forge a new consensus for a new generation of sustainable development goals.’

Turning to the problem of terrorism, the president stressed that the recent deadly assault on a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, highlighted the urgent need for collective action against the scourge.

He added that ‘a better world will be possible only if we take up the challenge of peace and security and also democracy by returning to the values of the UN Charter’.

He also thanked the UN and the international community for their support in restoring stability to his country, saying that ‘the UN played a major role in bringing peace and stability and reuniting Cote d’Ivoire after it was split by civil war in 2002’.

PANA reported that the UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI), set up in 2004, currently comprises nearly 10,000 uniformed personnel, including 8,500 troops and 1,300 policemen and women.