Papua New Guinea was not present at the Conference on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Hosted by the Government of Timor-Leste in the capital Dili, the Global Conference on the 2030 Agenda brought together high level policy makers from governments, development partners and civil society organisations.
General Secretary of the G7+ International Secretariat, Dr Helda Da Costa, encouraged PNG to participate more in the discussions and share their experiences with other countries.
Representatives from the G7+ countries attended the opening of the Global Conference on the 2030 Agenda: A Roadmap for SDG’s in Fragile and Conflict-affected States.
They included countries like Afghanistan, Central Africa Republic, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Portugal and Sweden, to name a few.
Although PNG is not a G7+ member, an invitation was sent to PNG to attend by the government of Timor-Leste.
The conference would have benefited PNG and especially the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in its post-conflict and reform state.
The G7+ is committed to realising the SDG’s, especially Goal 16 related to peace, justice, and strong institutions.
Da Costa, said conflict and fragility have proved to be the most difficult challenges of the century.
“We welcome the Secretary General’s Peace Agenda, recognising the importance of conflict prevention and sustaining peace.”
President of Timor-Leste, Dr Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo, who officially opened the conference and said Timor-Leste was one of the few countries to ratify the 2030 Agenda at the parliamentary level.
This, he said, showed the country’s commitment to both the global development agenda and the implementation of the SDGs.
The Dili communique resolved that the only way to end the suffering and ensure prosperity for all is by building peace through nationally owned, inclusive dialogue and reconciliation.
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, through a video message, thanked the Timor-Leste Government for hosting and sharing its experience and also reaffirmed advancing promotion as a top priority for the UN.
The G7+ will present its first G7+ SDG Report at the High Level Political Forum in New York in July this year.
