BEIJING, Oct. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of International Day for Eradication of Poverty and China's 2nd National Poverty Day, the United Nations said ending extreme poverty by 2030 must be a top priority for all nations, as part of their global commitment to the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals. It also welcomed the ambitious poverty reduction plan launched by the Government of China this week to eliminate poverty by the end of 2020.
The 2015 Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum was opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping who gave a keynote address on China's commitment in poverty reduction and the vital role of the South-South Cooperation in tackling extreme poverty across the world, saying: "Shortly before, I chaired the High-level Roundtable on South-south Cooperation at the United Nations whereby I shared experiences on south-south cooperation with over 20 heads of states and international organizations and we reached a broad consensus. China is ready to continuously deepen south-south cooperation on poverty reduction with other developing countries to enhance the well-being of the people of the world."
To mark the occasion, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a video message at the forum emphasized the importance of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for worldwide poverty reduction, saying: "This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions is at the core of the Agenda."
Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and Chair of the United Nations Development Group, also addressed the high level dignitaries attending the opening in the Great Hall of People, alongside other Heads of States.
The 7th Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum, co-hosted by China's State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP) and United Nations System in China, to coincide with National Poverty Day and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, brought together over 300 representatives from around the world to share experiences on poverty eradication.
"Now the hard work on implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals must begin. Each country will want to consider how to mainstream the goals and targets into its national development agenda. China has the opportunity to do that in its five-year plan from 2016 to 2020,"said Clark.
Building on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, endorsed by member states at the United Nations in September, commits to eradication of poverty by 2030.
Outlined in Goal 1 of this new agenda, countries have committed to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. To succeed in these targets, specific measures are outlined in the Agenda to achieve the goal. These include building inclusive social protection systems; strengthening the resilience of the poor, especially women and children, as well as those in vulnerable situations; ensuring the significant mobilization of resources; identifying ways to strengthen equal rights to economic resources; as well as improving access to basic services and creating sound policy frameworks at a national, regional and international level based on pro-poor and gender sensitive development strategies.
Other Heads of States, including Idriss Deby, President of Chad, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, President of Croatia, Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, and Pany Yathotou, Lao's President of the National Assembly, also made key note speeches on poverty reduction at the forum. Several heads of international organizations such as Margaret Chan, Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), Jin Liqun, President-designate of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Vaman Kundapur Kamath, President of New Development bank participated. The morning session was followed by an interactive session where representatives discussed the multidimensional nature of poverty in the context of the 2030 Agenda and exchanged best practices on poverty reduction strategies going forward.
Past Poverty forums have successfully addressed key hotspot issues including; the changing patterns of development, poverty reduction in rural china and social inclusion, urbanization and poverty reduction in the context of the financial crisis.