SDGs ‘crucial’ in building a better future for people

Amidst a big presence of political, international and diplomatic figures, the second session of the “Bahrain Visions Forum: Shared Visions for a Successful Future”, organised by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa’s Court for the second year, convened this year under the theme “Values Required to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals”. The forum serves a reaffirmation of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to support the efforts of the international community towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are considered as an important foundation for building a better future in which the people of the world enjoy a secure and stable life. 

Present at the event were Mohammed Al Mutawa, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Hussam bin Isa Al Khalifa, President of HRH Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Award for Sustainable Development, and Dr Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), Peter Zegarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Hungary,  Dr Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and UAE Minister of Happiness, Ohood Al Roumi.

The forum was also attended by Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, and Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani, Secretary-General of the Gulf Co-operation Council, with the participation of a large number of officials and diplomatic corps and officials of the United Nations, the press and media. Jonathan Granov, President of the Institute for Global Security, delivered the opening speech of  the forum, in which he praised the unanimous adoption by the General Assembly of the initiative of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister to declare April 5 an International Day of Conscience.  

He praised the partnership between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Global Security Institute in organising the forum, to be a platform for leaders to exchange views and leading ideas to face global challenges, pointing out the importance of the forum this year in highlighting issues related to sustainable development. On behalf of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Mr Al Mutawa, delivered a speech at the forum, in which he called on the international community to adopt the values derived from human conscience and develop them into integrated mechanisms so that they make a reference for every effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and support the steps of states and peoples towards human well-being everywhere. 

HRH the Premier also called on the international community to be more positive and strong in confronting and addressing the causes of insecurity and instability, and that the system of collective action be able to lay the foundations of a lasting peace that would provide the conditions for countries to continue their development in the interest of their peoples.  The Prime Minister affirmed the commitment of the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to support the efforts of the international community to move forward towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, as an important foundation for building a better future in which the peoples of the world enjoy the requirements of a safe and stable life. 

HRH Premier expressed his hope that the International Conscience Day on April 5 of each year, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in response to his initiative, will be a new, constructive, systematic and consistent way to mobilise the international community’s efforts to promote peace for the security of peoples and communities and achieve sustainable development goals. Then, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, delivered a speech in which he affirmed Bahrain’s strong commitment to sustainable development goals and working with its partners to raise the standard of living in the region and provide a safe environment for future generations.

He stressed that the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister, and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamdal Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the First Deputy Prime Minister, set SDGs at the forefront of its national strategy and has made them the cornerstone of Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030. Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, President of the Centre for Sustainable Development in the United States of America and a keynote speaker thanked, in his speech, the Kingdom of Bahrain for its inspiration to 192 member states of the United Nations to take the agenda of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals seriously as a guide for the common collective future, despite the challenges experienced by the region.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Anwar Gargash, expressed his thanks to the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain for the good initiative to establish this forum, pointing out that Bahrain has long been considered a leading country in the region, and one of the first countries to introduce modern management, and the first to introduce education and health care.