Remarks by the Prime Minister at the Plenary Session of Summit of the Future

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Mr. President,

With so much dividing us – and with so many wars going on, I think we can salute yesterday’s agreement; that we came together and were able to agree on ambitious targets.

The Pact for the Future provides a vision for this, across all the UN’s three main pillars; and this should be saluted.

Let me highlight three points from the Norwegian perspective, Mr. President,

First, we have reaffirmed our commitment to international law, including human rights.

The disregard for human life and international law that we are seeing today must not be allowed to continue.

Universally agreed rules and rights remain an indispensable foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and just world.

Those who deliberately breach it must be held accountable.

Second, we urgently need to address climate change, cut emissions, transform our energy systems and protect the environment.

We must deliver on our pledges. We stand firmly by agreed commitments and keep our ambitions high.

We need to close the extensive financing gap to achieve the SDGs – leaving no one behind. This includes increasing climate finance and investments.

Together with Mexico, Nepal and Zambia, Norway will serve as co-facilitator for the next conference on financing for development. We are committed to working with all Member States to achieve an ambitious outcome in Seville.

Mr. President,

Our Pact rightly addresses the need to provide sufficient and timely debt relief to countries in debt distress, to reform the multilateral banks, and to promote more inclusive and effective tax cooperation.

Norway will continue to engage in an active and constructive manner to develop a UN framework convention on international tax cooperation.

We must work towards an inclusive, open and secure digital future for all; this is part of our dialogue at the UN today.

Accessibility is key, particularly for the least developed countries. Some 2.6 billion people remain excluded from the digital world.

For too many people they also lack access to electricity. Norway supports and actively promotes the initiative by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, the ‘Mission 300’, to provide 300 million people in Africa with electricity by the end of this decade.

Norway is committed to bridging this digital divide.

Our efforts include advancing digital public goods and ensuring digital ID access for all.

We also urge stronger cooperation among the large states on a safe Artificial Intelligence regulation that will give us the opportunities of this technology and limit the threats.

Third, Mr. President,

Sustainable development cannot be achieved without peace and security. It goes without saying.

Preventive diplomacy and peacebuilding must be at the center of our efforts.

It is essential to ensure women’s participation in all aspects of the peace and security agenda. There are powerful decisions made by the UN on this issue earlier; these should be highlighted again.

We need a more transparent, inclusive and effective Security Council with greater limitations on the use of veto.

We need to address the historical injustice against Africa, and improve the representation of underrepresented regions.

The General Assembly plays a vital role in maintaining international peace and security, in close coordination with the Security Council.

Mr. President,

We should expect from the Security Council that it can get it to act together and end the war of aggression that Russian is conduction against Ukraine. – And to weigh in and help end the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, and to work toward a two-state solution, giving the Palestinians their right of a state and a two-state solution where the Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace.

The solutions can only be found in close partnership with other stakeholders, also in the civil and private sector.

So, friends and colleagues,

A lot to be done. The Pact for the Future is a commitment to one another and to future generations, providing a roadmap for building a better world.

Now, that work of putting the Pact into action begins, and Norway is eager to get started.

Thank you, Mr. President.