Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
I am really glad to be here with you here in Nairobi for the final plenary of the OECPR.
I want to start by thanking all of you for your tireless and dedicated efforts throughout this week. Thanks to you, we now have a solid foundation for next week’s UNEA.
The world is watching us. Expectations are high for substantial, concrete outcomes that will be felt for years to come and benefit future generations.
But friends, we are meeting at a time of severe geopolitical turmoil.
I am deeply aware that the thoughts of many, also in this room, are with family and friends affected by those developments.
In times like these, the responsibility bestowed upon us is even greater.
More than ever, we need to demonstrate that multilateral diplomacy can deliver, and that indeed, there are things that work in this world.
(kunstpause)
Dear chair of the CPR, Ambassador Luisa Fragoso, dear delegates and friends;
Yesterday, the very last of a long row of inclusive consultations about the Ministerial Declaration was arranged here in Nairobi, chaired by my able ambassador Gunnar Holm.
Despite the complications created by the global pandemic, the engagement has been profound.
I appreciate everyone’s flexibility in allowing us to move forward as well as we have, even in these difficult times.
We have now arrived at the end of the OECPR.
We can no longer continue extensive consultations about paras in the Ministerial Declaration. My view, as UNEA President, is that we now have a carefully balanced text that fulfils what we set out to do.
Before I hand the word back to the Chair, I would like express my gratitude to the Executive Director, Inger Andersen, and the UNEP secretariat for your hard work and valuable advice throughout the process.
Thank you for the attention.
