MFA Press Statement: Visit of Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman to Luxembourg, 4 to 6 November 2015

Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Foreign Affairs and Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman is in Luxembourg to attend the 12^th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM12) from 5 to 6 November 2015.  Delegations from 51 Asian and European countries, as well as the ASEAN secretariat and the European Union, convene every two years for the ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. 

Dr Maliki spoke at the first plenary session on 5 November 2015 entitled: “Climate Change, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management”.  In his intervention, Dr Maliki highlighted three major global challenges to the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) facing all countries.  Dr Maliki also emphasised that international cooperation is the only way to deal with transboundary issues such as climate change, pandemics and the man-made forest fires which have produced the thick haze that has plagued Southeast Asia for the past few months.  He stressed that closer international cooperation is needed to pressure companies which continue to profit from illegal slash-and-burn methods.  The full text of Dr Maliki’s intervention is attached.

Separately, Dr Maliki met Secretary-General and Undersecretary for External Economic Policy and Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia Väino Reinart, where they discussed bilateral issues including exploring ICT cooperation.  Dr Maliki and Reinart also looked forward to the EU’s swift ratification of the EU-Singapore FTA which they believed would enhance further economic cooperation between Singapore and Estonia, and with the EU as a whole.  Yesterday, Dr Maliki also met the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic (Greece) Nikolaos Kotzias, where they reaffirmed the good bilateral relations between Greece and Singapore and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern.  Dr Maliki attended the reception of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Young Leaders Summit 2015 where he met young entrepreneurs, academics and students from Europe and Asia, including Singapore. 

He will be having several bilateral meetings with the delegation leaders from Italy, Pakistan, Brunei UK, Sweden, Lithuania, Norway, Ireland, Bulgaria, Poland, Malta, and Cyprus over the course of the FMM12.

On 6 November 2015, SMS Maliki will attend the Retreat Session of the ASEM FMM12 where the Ministers will discuss regional and international issues.  SMS Maliki will depart Luxembourg the same evening.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

5 NOVEMBER 2015

1                   Madam Chair, thank you for the floor.  Let me first thank our host, Luxembourg, for their generous hospitality.

2                   The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out a commendable set of Goals.  It reflects our most urgent collective aspirations.  It also gives us the tools to “do development better”.  No single model of development will be applicable to all.  Countries will have to select from this menu to adapt solutions to their own national priorities and unique circumstances.  Achieving these goals will also require leadership, political will and resources.

3                   There are three major global challenges to the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.  All countries face them, but the impact will be greater for small states such as Singapore.  First, all states will have to deal with the impact of crises spread by global interdependence.  The global economy is still recovering from the 2007 Global Financial Crisis.  A recently released World Bank report[1] warned that the protracted shortage of long-term financing will continue to blunt the growth of developing countries.  The UN and international organisations such as the World Bank and IMF can help ensure that the global economic framework remains conducive for growth.  The multilateral system can also be strengthened by becoming more inclusive and giving developing countries a greater say.  

4                   Second, the increasing interconnectedness of states has brought new medical challenges that will affect countries’ ability to achieve SDG 3 to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being.  In today’s interconnected world, modern pandemics spread farther and faster than before.  Millions, many of them children, die from malaria, water-borne diseases and other preventable medical conditions, at huge social and economic cost.  Achieving universal access to clean water, sanitation and resilient health care systems requires the long-term commitment of human and financial resources.  This is often beyond the capacity of developing states, particularly small states, to achieve on their own.  International involvement is indispensable for many developing countries to achieve the SDGs on health, water and sanitation.

5                   Third, climate change.  It affects all Member States and we need to respond urgently.  Slow onset and extreme weather events can precipitate population displacement, economic damage and even civil conflict.  Higher temperatures can accelerate the spread of some diseases to epidemic proportions.  For small island states, climate change is an existential threat.  It is therefore critical to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity of all countries to climate related hazards and natural disasters.           

6                   Next month’s climate change conference in Paris has the potential to deliver the first binding agreement with universal participation of all Parties to the UN Framework Convention.  The Paris Agreement under discussion foregrounds national determination and aims to be facilitative and cooperative.  Every country can act to address climate change.  The innovative bottom-up approach Parties agreed to at COP-19 in Warsaw has achieved remarkable results.  We now have about 160 intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) covering 90% of global emissions ahead of COP-21.  While this may not yet limit temperature rise to below 2°C, it serves as a solid foundation for structured international collaboration towards that goal.

7                   The concerns of developing countries must be addressed adequately.  More than a hundred developing countries have acted in good faith to pledge climate action.  They now must have the support and means of implementation.  We are building ambition and dynamism in a way which allows all Parties to participate on their own terms, while acting in unison to transition our economies onto low-emissions pathways.  The political realism which has carried this highly pragmatic solution from Durban in 2011 must persist in Paris.  We are confident that Parties can find the pragmatism needed to succeed.  We must not repeat the mistakes at Copenhagen.

8                   International cooperation is the only way to deal with global commons.  We see this in the forest fires which have produced the thick haze that has plagued Southeast Asia for the past few months, and reached as far as Guam.  These fires are mostly man-made.  Some studies have estimated that this year’s fires alone have released over a billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, more than Germany’s total annual CO2 emissions.  It is a regional problem with global implications, and which has set-back global efforts to fight climate change.  We need to bring errant companies to task and step up closer international cooperation to stop companies which continue to profit from illegal slash-and-burn methods.

9                   Disaster risk reduction is a key component in sustainable development.  It is not only crucial for long-term economic growth but also a cornerstone in national and regional security.  Singapore therefore fully supports the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and is strongly committed to its implementation. 

10              Singapore is trying to do our part to help.  We benefited greatly from technical assistance and cooperation with the World Bank and UN agencies in our early years.  To pay it forward, we started the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) in 1992, conducting about 300 courses each year for 7,000 officials from fellow developing countries.  This April, we welcomed our 100,000^th SCP participant.

11              At the 3^rd Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conference in Samoa, Singapore launched a three year technical cooperation package for SIDS that includes customised programmes in areas like climate change, sustainable development and disaster management.  In collaboration with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, we conducted a specialised training course for SIDS from 19-23 October on implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, including climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.

12              To support the 2030 Agenda, Singapore launched our new Sustainable Development Programme at this year’s UN Sustainable Development Summit.  Singapore will continue to partner UN agencies, such as the UN Development Programme (UNDP), to provide technical assistance and capacity building to developing countries in the areas of leadership and governance, sustainable cities, and water and sanitation solutions.

13              Thank you.

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[1] Global Financial Development Report 2015-2016 – Long term financing