Kutesa to steer Millennium Development Goals

United Nations General Assembly president Sam Kutesa (C) after a meeting with ambassadors and high commissioners at ministry of Foreign Affairs offices in Kampala on Tuesday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA

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Mr Kutesa also reiterated his commitment to working out negotiations to increase membership of countries from the 15 exclusive members on the UN Security Council.

KAMPALA- The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Mr Sam Kutesa, has vowed to steer the post 2015-Millenium Development Goal (MDG) agenda.

Mr Kutesa, who is also Uganda’s Foreign Affairs minister, disclosed that all the UN member states would align their respective National Development Agendas (NDAs) with the UN programmes to ensure the next phase of goals strike a far wider reaching impact.

“We will be embarking on the post MDG agenda-not only the 17 goals and we shall not leave anyone behind. It requires a lot of financing and we shall need high level facilitation,” Mr Kutesa told envoys accredited to Uganda.

The cost
Facilitation of this programme, he said, would require about $1.8 trillion (about Shs5.1 quadrillion) and added that subsequent meetings will be held by the General Assembly starting next month.

Mr Kutesa also reiterated his commitment to working out negotiations to increase membership of countries from the 15 exclusive members on the UN Security Council.

The envoys raised concerns on the UN intervention in South Sudan, mechanisms to tackle global corruption and on how the push to have developing countries represented on the Security Council would be effected.

Mr Kutesa, later presided over tree planting at the Chogm gardens and a public lecture on the 70 years of UN: Towards Transformative Social economic development agenda at Kampala Serena Hotel, attended by civil society, politicians, among other stakeholders. Mr Kutesa’s tenure expires in September this year.