STATEMENT BY

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STATE MINISTER
MINISTRY O F FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE SULTANATE OF OMAN AND HEAD OF THE OMAN1 DELEGATION TO THE 6 5 T H SESSIONTHE OF UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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DURING THE HIGH~PLENARY MEETING "MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDG) SUMMIT" OF THE 6 5 T H SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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20 September 2 . 0 01 ~enerai Assembly ~ ; t l l United Nations Heacfquavle~

Permanent Mission ofthe SuUanate of Oman to the United Nations 3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza 305 East 47th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212)355-3505 Fax: (212)644-0070

Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen.

The Millennium Summit held in the year 2000 was a milestone in international cooperation when our Heads of State and Government adopted the Millennium Declaration in which they identified 8 development goals, that, if implemented, will lead t o a world with less poverty, hunger and disease, and a world with greater access to health care and education. Here we are, ten years later and five years from the target date, meeting to undertake a comprehensive review of progress made and t o determine what extra measures we could adopt to accelerate action on the MDGs between now and 2015. Successes in some areas have put many regions on track. Progress continues t o be made in poverty reduction, putting more children in schools, controlling malaria and HIV and the provision of safe water resources in rural areas. However, there is a danger that many of the MDG targets are likely to be missed in most regions. In this time of economic crisis, combating global poverty, disease, and inequality is no easy task. The negative impact of natural disasters, epidemics and civil unrest serve to make debt-ridden developing countries yet poorer still. MDGs are the most broadly supported, comprehensive, and specific that the world has ever agreed upon. It is the most ambitious plan t o combat global poverty in human history and produce sustainable progress to quality of life.
It is this global participatory approach that is the key.

This summit is invaluable in reviewing the progress, achievements and challenges we have faced over the last decade. It is as important, however,

to develop a plan for the coming years t o ensure that these targets do not become empty idealism. Moreover, this initiative does not end in 2015. Across the world, progress towards these goals has been unequal. Politicised aid-giving factionalises the global community and reduces the MDGs t o a cruel charade. We call upon all, t o do what they can, t o ensure that development reaches everyone and everywhere. Global partnership is a key tool and an important approach. Donors and recipients must work together with these aims as their common and unifying goal. The Sultanate of Oman, under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, continues t o achieve positive progress in all of the identified areas in the context of the MDGs. This has had a tangible effect on our society and economy. For example our infant and children under five mortality rates, per 1000 live births, have fallen by 29% since 1990, whilst His Majesty's promotion of women to numerous leadership positions in our society has provided a meritocratic example following the basic principle of equality. I would like t o put before you, however, two challenges for consideration. These challenges are being faced both globally and locally and should form part of our action plan. Non-communicable diseases and road traffic accidents are the cause of 60% and 15% of premature deaths worldwide. I am sure that you will share our concern a t such figures and our desire to approach these issues together.

Mr. President, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 641255 of the 2" of March 2010, proclaimed a UN Decade of Action for Road Safety. It acknowledged road safety t o be a major public health crisis which, if

unaddressed, would "hinder progress towards the Millennium Development Goals". Road safety has been overlooked as a contributor to the achievement of the MDGs despite its cross-cutting impact upon six of the MDGs, and the fact that it has a key role t o play in alleviating poverty. Mr President, dear friends, the attainment of the MDGs is a realistic aim for the future. If politics is the art of possible, then let us be clear; achieving the MDGs is possible. But this is only the case if we foster a more active global community and a shared humanitarian ethos. To succeed in these intentions we must reflect the old saying, 'a stranger is afriend I have not yet met'. Let's help our friends. Let's help strangers. Let's help each other. Thank you.