(Part 1) 11th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I declare open the 11th Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovations for the Sustainable Development Goals, and I call to order its first session.

meeting.

Firstly, let me deliver my opening remarks. Distinguished co-chairs of the SDI Forum, Ambassador Chola and Ambassador Gregor, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 11th Annual Stakeholder— Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals. Yesterday, together with the President of the General Assembly, we convened a joint special meeting on science, technology, innovations, and youth entrepreneurship. We heard directly from our young innovators whose ideas were practical as well as forward-looking. We also heard from the speakers about the barriers many still face— limited access to finance, technology, and opportunities. This reflects a broader reality. In one part of the world, a student can access global knowledge instantly, supported by artificial intelligence and digital tools. In another, a student studies without reliable electricity, without internet, and without access to opportunity. This is not a gap in innovations. This is a gap in inclusion. Around the world, billions remain offline. In the least developed countries, only about 1 in 10 people is connected online. Women and girls are still less likely to be online. than men. With only 5 years remaining until 2030, the world is navigating cascading crises. Progress is slowing. In some areas, it is reversing. Behind these trends are real pressures on people's lives: rising costs, climate shocks, uncertain futures, especially for young people. Science, technology, and innovations are often described as accelerators of the Sustainable Development Goals. That is true, but acceleration for whom? Too many countries still lack the infrastructures, lack the skills, and the resources to harness these tools. Too many innovators remain disconnected from finance as well as from the markets. Too many solutions do not reach the communities that need them the most. And as technologies advance, the risk is not only that gaps persist, but that they depend. Recent global commitments point us in the right directions. The Pact of the Futures, together with the Global Digital Compact, calls for closing digital divides and advancing inclusive and equitable digital technologies. The task now is to translate those calls and commitments into real results. This depends on conditions that are often overlooked: fiscal space, cost of capital, infrastructures, and skills. This determines whether innovation scales and whether it improves lives. The Sabiha Commitment and Doha Political Declarations speak directly to this. The Sabiha Commitment underscores the urgency of mobilizing finances at scale and supporting developing countries in assessing and deploying technology. And the Doha Political Declaration reaffirms that inclusion and social progress must guide our efforts. with a focus on those furthest behind. These are not separate agendas. They are part of the same effort to ensure that innovation translates into opportunity. The theme of this STI Forum reflects that, and its outcome will inform the High-Level Political Forum, which will review the SDG 6, 9, 11, and 17. They will help identify where progress is possible, where gaps persist, and what it will take to accelerate implementations in the years ahead. To close that gap between commitments and results, we must focus on delivering better. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, over the past decade, this forum has brought together governments, scientists, innovators, and communities. It connects ideas to action. It helps solutions travel further. I welcome the many side events and continued engagement around this forum. I thank our co-chairs for their leadership, and I acknowledge the 10-member group, the United Nations Interagency Task Team on STI for the SDGs, and the Secretariat. In the end, the measures of science, technology, and innovations is simple. Not how advanced it is, but whether it reaches to the people, whether it expands the opportunity, and whether it improves the lives. Finally, let us depart this forum with a renewed and solemn commitment to transform today's ideas into tomorrow's impact. to ensure that technology becomes a force that uplifts rather than divides, to deliver better, to shape a sustainable future for all. I thank you. I now invite Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination, at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Ms. Bijouk Sankaya, to make a statement.

Thank you, Mr. President. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General of DESA, Mr. Lee Jun-hwa, it's my pleasure to welcome you to this year's Multi-Stakeholder Forum on science, technology, and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals. We gather at a moment of profound urgency and extraordinary possibility. With 5 years remaining to achieve the 2030 Agenda, the world is not yet on track. Progress on many goals has slowed or even reversed as we confront conflicts, rising inequalities, escalating climate shocks, and growing geopolitical tensions. At the same time, rapid technological change is reshaping our economies and societies at a pace few could have imagined just a decade ago. Against this backdrop, the importance of this forum cannot be overstated. It is a space where knowledge meets action, where innovation meets inclusion, and where partnerships are forged to accelerate solutions at scale. This year's program reflects both the complexity of our challenges and the breadth of opportunities before us. Over the coming days, you will explore how science, technology and innovation can advance the goals under review, from water and energy to industrialization, sustainable cities, and partnerships. You will imagine and examine the roles of foresight, governance, trust, planning through SDI roadmaps, and international cooperation to steer innovation, including artificial intelligence, towards resilience, equity, and sustainability. A central theme running through our discussions is the need to close divides— digital divides, innovation divides, and capacity gaps that continue to leave many countries and individuals behind. Technology should not deepen inequality, it should be a force for inclusion. This requires investment in infrastructure, in skills, and in enabling policy environments, particularly in developing countries. In this regard, the outcome of the Summit of the Future provides important guidance. The Pact for the Future calls on us to strengthen international cooperation to rebuild trust, and to ensure that innovation serves humanity as a whole. It recognizes that our global challenges are deeply interconnected and that solutions must be equally integrated. Similarly, the Global Digital Compact and the WSIS+20 review outcomes underscore the need for an open, safe and inclusive digital future. It challenges us to harness digital technologies to advance sustainable development while protecting human rights and ensuring accountability. The discussions that you will have here on data governance, on digital public goods, and equitable access are essential contributions to that vision. Excellencies, multi-stakeholder engagement is at the heart of this forum. Governments, scientists, entrepreneurs, civil society, and young people all have a role to play because innovation does not happen in isolation. It thrives in ecosystems built on trust, openness, and shared purpose. We must also ensure that the voices of those most affected by global challenges are heard. Indigenous knowledge, local innovation, and grassroots solutions are indispensable. They remind us that progress is not only driven by cutting-edge technology, but also by context, by culture, and by community. Dear colleagues, let this forum be a catalyst for bold ideas, for practical partnerships, and for renewed ambition. Let it generate not only dialogue but actions that can be carried forward into national policies, international cooperation, and everyday lives. The Department of Economic and Social Affairs, together with the entire UN system, stands ready to support you in this endeavor. With that, I wish you all productive and inspiring discussions and every success in advancing the transformative potential of science, technology, and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Thank you.

I thank the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination for her remarks. Honorable Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I look forward to thought-provoking discussions over the next 2 days. And I now hand over the conduct of the forthcoming proceedings to the distinguished co-chairs of the STI Forum, His Excellency Gregor Koslo, Permanent Representative of Austria, and His Excellency Chola Milambo, Permanent Representative of Republic of Zambia. And we will take a brief pause to rearrange the podium. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you very much, SG. Just a moment to rearrange the podium. Thank you. Thank you very much. Just some musical chairs there. All right then. Very good. Excellencies, honorable ministers present, President of the Economic and Social Council, SG, Excellencies, distinguished participants, a very warm welcome. Really, on behalf of my co-chair Ambassador Gregor and myself, we are honored to have been appointed by the President of ECOSOC to jointly chair the 11th Multistakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals. I extend a warm welcome to all of you for attending, those who are coming from near and afar. I now invite the forum to begin its ministerial session under the theme Strengthening Science-Policy Nexus to Drive Sustainable Development, and we shall hear some from some keynote speakers soon. Science, technology and innovation have been engines of progress throughout history. At this current juncture, a time of compounding crisis and rapid technological change, this forum is about translating STI into practical, scalable solutions that accelerate the SDGs. The annual STI Forum is a core pillar of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism established by the member states under the 2030 Agenda. Over the past decades, it has built a strong foundation of shared learning and partnership building, connecting evidence with implementation, surfacing what works, and strengthening the networks needed to move from ideas to delivery. With 2030 approaching, our task is to turn this accumulated experience into faster, more equitable progress. With less than 5 years to 2030, only 35% of SDG targets are on track or making progress, moderate progress, while 48% are moving too slowly and 18% have regressed below the 2015 levels. Yet there are many reasons to have hope, and I would like to share 2 key messages along these lines. Improving productivity through automation can threaten jobs. Environmental protection can challenge entrenched economic interests. These trade-offs are not policy failures; they are inherent to transformation. What the global community recognized in 2015, and what remains just as relevant today, is that science, technology, and innovation can help us navigate these trade-offs. Scientific advances allow us to expand what is possible, to decouple growth from emissions, to design safer transitions for workers, to create new industries where old ones decline, and to provide evidence that enables policymakers to make informed, balanced decisions. STI does not eliminate difficult choices, but it equips us to manage them more intelligently, more fairly, and with greater confidence. Second, the Forum's focus this year is grounded in the core systems that will determine whether we deliver by 2030, starting with water and sanitation and clean energy, alongside the infrastructure and city dimensions that shape how solutions reach people. What can be achieved even in water-stressed environments. Data and modeling tools allow us to manage watersheds more sustainably and prepare for climate risks. Despite these advances, too many people, especially the poorest and most marginalized, are still left behind. Science alone cannot explain this gap, nor can it close it. The persistent lack of universal access to safe water and sanitation is not primarily a technology problem. It's driven by structural barriers, inequality, discrimination, weak institutions, limited local capacity, and inadequate financing. These barriers determine benefits from innovations and who does. This is why the message for this forum is not simply about science. Or faster technology, but about partnerships. Policymakers, scientists, and society must work together. Policymakers create the enabling environments— laws, regulations, and incentive structures— that determine whether innovations reach those most in need. Scientists and engineers provide the solutions and evidence. Communities and civil society ensure that solutions are appropriate, trusted, and inclusive. None of these actors can succeed in isolation. Each needs the other. I now take this opportunity to invite my colleague, Ambassador Gregor, to deliver his remarks. Ambassador, the floor is yours.

Thank you, dear Troller, dear co-chair, and Many thanks to the President of ECOSOC, dear Lok, and to have put the trust in us to co-chair this meeting. Distinguished participants, Excellencies, we're also meeting, as we all know, at a time when technological change is accelerating at an incredible speed. Advances in artificial intelligence, biotech, quantum computing, and advanced materials are reshaping economies and societies much faster than our government systems, systems have traditionally evolved. This creates enormous opportunity, yes, but it also creates substantial risk. In fact, without appropriate governance, emerging technologies can exacerbate inequality, can undermine trust and can outpace the safeguards designed to protect people and public interests. In fact, without appropriate governance, they will. Where else than here, here at the UN and here at such a forum, can we actually explore how to do that better? In this context, recent steps towards global cooperation on technology governance, including efforts to establish international mechanisms for the governance of artificial intelligence represent an important beginning. A UN-based approach on AI governance grounded in multilateralism, grounded in human rights and sustainable development, and if I may add, putting humans at the center of the effort, they signal that the international community recognizes both the promise and the responsibility that come with transformative technologies. But frameworks alone are not enough. They require broad support. They require all our efforts. They require political commitment, technical expertise, and continuous dialogue across countries, but also across sectors. This is precisely where the SDI Forum plays a vital role. It offers a space, and it's quite a unique space. It offers a space where policymakers, scientists, innovators— we have a lot of young people here today— align, come together, and share experiences, align priorities, and build trust. The need for coordination is especially visible in clean energy access and digital infrastructure, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Ensuring affordable, reliable, and clean energy for all is a defining test in the final stretch to 2030 in the context of SDG implementation. As AI and data systems expand, rising energy demand must not raise costs, strain grids, or widen inequality. The task is to align this digital transformation with energy access so that AI drives SDG progress for everyone. As we begin the ministerial session, let us be guided by realism and ambition in equal measure. Realism about the trade-offs and constraints we face doesn't go without realism. Ambition in our determination to harness science, technology, and innovation in ways that are transformative equitable, and aligned with the values of the United Nations. We strongly hope that the conversations, discussions today and tomorrow will produce concrete ideas, as the ASG has said already, and collaboration that— so that we can carry forward our progress and build and feed into the HLPF in July. I would like to thank and acknowledge the 10-member group of high-level representatives appointed by the Secretary-General, the UN Interagency Task Team on STI for the SDGs, and UNDESA and UNCTAD for their efforts to prepare this important forum. Excellencies, the path to 2030 will not be easy, but working together across disciplines, sectors, countries, we can ensure that innovation serves people and protects the planet in an inclusive way. I thank you.

Thank you very much. I thank you, Ambassador Kossler, for your remarks. We appreciate that. And now we will transition to the stage where we'll listen to some keynote speakers. And now we invite our first keynote speaker, I now welcome our keynote speaker, Professor Rita Oji, Canada Research Chair in Persuasive Technology and Computer Science, professor at Dalhousie University, to deliver a keynote statement. Professor, you now have the floor.

Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, colleagues, friends, innovators, good morning. It's a real honor to join you here today. We are meeting at a remarkable moment in history. Anywhere we turn to, we hear that technology will transform our world. It's already shaping how we work, how we learn, how we govern. and how we imagine the future. And yet, across much of humanity, many people are still asking much more basic questions. Will the technology help me to get clean water? Will it help my community get reliable energy? Will it help us protect our crops, prevent disease? And live with dignity. This is why, for me, the most important question about AI today is not simply how powerful it is. The real question is, who is it being designed for? Let me make this concrete. Recently, I visited a lab in North America. Powerful servers, Stable electricity, clean datasets, a team of powerful engineers and scientists training models to dictate early signs of diseases from medical images. Extraordinary work, I must confess. Now picture a clinic in— I know, in the rural southeastern part of Nigeria. Not too far from where I grew up, one doctor, intermittent power, paper record, and a 2-hour work for some of the patients just to get to the hospital. Yet they have the same need to catch diseases early. The AI built in that first lab I told you will work beautifully well in that lab and similar contexts. But take it to that clinic tomorrow and it will fail. It will fail not because the science is wrong. It will fail because it was never designed for such a reality. No reliable electricity to run it. No digital records to feed it. No internet to update it. No local language to explain it. and no trust built with the communities to accept it and adopt it. Most of the AIs built in our world today look like that first lab. They are designed for the context of abundance, and then we wonder why they do not deliver for majority of humanity. The majority lives in Global South. And I use the phrase majority world not intentionally, not as a slogan. I use that phrase to remind us that Global South is not a side note to human story. It is, in fact, most of the story. When the world talks about AI and Global South, the story is often that of transfer. Design it in the North, deploy it in the, in the South, eventually adapt it, eventually make it affordable. That model is backwards. The Global South should not be treated as a late adopter of intelligent design elsewhere. It should help lead in shaping what the intelligence becomes. Leadership here is not about exclusion. It's about helping to decide what problems matter, whose knowledge counts as expertise, and ensuring that AI is tested not only where the conditions are ideal, but ensuring it is tested where the stakes are highest. And this is not just aspirational. When we design AI for constraints— intermittent power, sparse data, dozens of languages, fragile trust— you do not produce weak AI. We produce stronger one, more robust, more human-centered by necessity. The innovations gathered in this forum proves this. In Kenya, the Solar Health combines climate data with AI to anticipate disease risk before they become emergencies. Aqua Sentinel uses AI-enabled robotics to detect pollutions in reservoirs. And in Nigeria, Rehub turns electronic waste into affordable energy for off-grid community. In South Africa and Malawi, smart pods help farmers retain water during droughts. Different sectors, different technology, but the same guiding principles. Solutions born out of people's lived realities, designed around real constraints, solving real human needs. They reveal a deeper choice the world is making about what AI is for. AI for convenience versus AI for survival and resilience. AI for automations versus AI that expand human capabilities. AI that extract data versus AI that build human capacity and trust. The innovations in this room has already chosen The question is whether the rest of the world is ready to learn from their lead. So if the talents and the ideas are already there, what is holding us back? I see 3 gaps. The data gap. The dataset that trains most AI systems dramatically underrepresents the Global South. A design gap. Most AI assume users who are literate. English-speaking, digitally fluent. That is not the profile of most people in the world. And a governance gap. Global AI governance are mostly focused or remains focused on frontier risk. These are very important, but for most people, it's not just the frontier risk that is the problem. The major problem is irrelevant AI. AI that are technically brilliant but developmentally useless for those who need them most. Innovation without adoption is simply an invention. And right now, too much of what we are building never completes the journey to the people that are meant to serve. So what do we need to do differently? We need to stop exporting and start investing in local innovation ecosystem. We need to stop assuming and start listening. Building governance that asks not only how powerful that AI is, but is it fair? Is it usable? Who is it— who who is being left out, and we stop measuring success by speed and scale alone and start measuring success by whether AI expands human dignity, strengthens resilience, helps communities shape their future. Let me close with something personal. I did not grow up with technology. I grew up in the remote village in southeastern Nigeria. Born to parents who were peasant farmers and never had the opportunity for— to education. We had no electricity, no pipe-borne water, and no computers growing up. So the idea that a machine can think, learn, and help doctors diagnose a patient was never part of my world growing up. Before I was admitted to study computer science at the university, I had never used a computer. I had never seen one up close, actually. I chose that field not because I really understood what it meant. I chose it with the hope that it can help me change things, at least for my community and people like me, the people I grew up with. I spent my undergraduate years learning how to code, how to build systems, how to think computationally. without owning a computer. I borrowed time on people's computers, queued for a few computers in the university, and bought hours in business centers when I could. Nevertheless, I graduated with a first-class honors. I share this not to talk about myself. I share it because my story is not unusual. It is not a one-off. Across the Global South right now, There are young people with extraordinary talents who are locked out, not because they lack ability, but because they lack access. And this is precisely why this conversation matters, because if AI is designed only for people who already have everything, it will never reach the people who could do the most with it. The Agenda 2030 calls us not to leave anyone behind, and in this age of AI, that should not mean designing AI and including people later. It must mean designing it from the start with those who have too often been left behind or overlooked included from the very beginning. So perhaps the question before us today It's not whether Global South is ready for AI future, but the real question is whether global AI future is ready to learn from the Global South. Thank you.

I thank, uh, Professor for her keynote speech and And for her testimony, very moving, very powerful testimony. We now move to the second keynote speaker. I now invite Professor Helmut Habersack, Professor and Head of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and River Research at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. Professor, you have the floor. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you for the invitation, dear Excellencies, dear delegates. It's really a pleasure to stand here. I come now from this world, what you correctly mentioned, should more cooperate and follow this Global South, and I will do my best to also talk about these things. The subject of my talk today is more to take only one, SDG 6, in the center because it's my work basically, and it was mentioned by the chair as well before, SDG So my title is Water is Life, and we all know this, and we have water in front of us. How is the importance of water science now in technology and innovation to be described for the SDGs? That's my topic. Now, this is rather small here on the screen, but what I wanted to show is not that only water is the most important here for this meeting, but it is touching every single SDG. It's touching, of course, all the SDGs in that sense That all these industries, for example, or when it goes to cities, or when it goes to technology, when it goes to business, when it goes to agriculture, all of it needs water. And I tried to pull out some of the issues in terms of the SDG, what is necessary. So I could say and finish already my talk saying without water, no SDG would be here, but you could say the same thing for the other ones, I guess. So energy, hydropower, we all Everywhere available, unfortunately. So we have to think, what does it mean now? In order to go through this, I structured my short talk only in 3 parts: water, the beauty of water, and all the nice things. The second one is more the negative things, risk. And the third one is— otherwise we could go home immediately if you have no hope— we want to talk about solutions. What can we do? First, water is a scarce resource. We are living on a very small planet. Which became very obvious with the new mission of NASA recently to the moon. But if you look at it, it looks quite blue as you will see in the next slide. But if we look into the water and compare the diameter, if you put all the water including oceans and rivers and groundwater and glaciers into a sphere, like the— or in the global sphere, like you see the diameter of the Earth is 12,700 kilometers. Yes. If you put it to the exhaustible renewable, but only all the rivers from the Mississippi to the Amazon to the Nile, to the Mekong and the other rivers, you end up with a sphere diameter of only 16 kilometers.

16.

That contains all the water what we have in terms of rivers of, let's say, drinkable water. Of course, if you take all the oceans, it's more, but still compare it, it's small. I mean, if you take that, so it's a very fragile resource and we are playing with it too much. But first, to start with the beauty. There are some new pictures here from the Earth observation and other technology. We can look into this globe from the space to the Earth and see the rivers we never saw before. Nice features, you look where is it and so on. There are creatures, fish, for example, we never would expect.

Fish.

Or if you look into this famous picture of the rising Earth with the blue color, it indicates how important water is. Everyone knows it, but I will come back to this one in a moment forward. Now, this means it is a fragile resource, and you don't have to read it because it's too small on the screen, as I told you. But we know that we have only a small proportion, 3% of water, to be drinkable. We know that water goes down because of climate change. We in Austria, where I come from, have a big drought now. The farmers cannot be optimistic this year because the plants will not grow. So we have here a lot of things around us. Also, we as a body, we consist about at least 60% of water. And if we don't drink water, that's the first thing we die, and not because of food. We get slim, maybe too slim, but the water is very much important. So at the other side, we have to look into this condition. And unfortunately, we have some hope for the future, but unfortunately, not too much is known about comparable water situation and trends for the future on a global scale. So we react instead of to act. Second chapter, risks. We know climate change. It's not a question of belief, I think. It's scientific evidence. That we have a warmer temperature. It's an overlay of natural and anthropogenically induced climate change. It doesn't matter, it doesn't help us, it gets warmer. So we have more water in the atmosphere and it comes down in big floods and thunderstorms. Now, if you look into that, we have too much water like in Spain and Germany and many other countries recently, also in the other continents. We have not enough water in one year, the same thing. Only a few days apart. We cannot live without water. Then we have changes of all the glaciers, and it's not a myth or kind of illusion, it's fact. The glaciers are going away. By 2050, we will lose over 90%. Oh, it's in the mountains somewhere. But 2 billion people live on the glacial water input. And what do we? We pollute the water, this fragile resource, with plastic, And acid, even acid rains come down sometimes. Now, if you put this together, and I have not time, of course, to go through all this, this is a contradiction. We get more and more people, like you see on the left picture here, but 2.2 billion people have not good water access. We have 66% of the population on a global scale that are, let's say, affected by droughts. We have an increase on the other side of water use by 14% in a certain time period of 20 years only. We see more water for the floods and so on and so forth. So at the end of the day, it's a little bit strange that all the SDGs are also competing with each other. And I can tell you, even in Europe, but even more, of course, in the Global South, we are now discussing, for example, in the Rhine Basin, in the future, who will get the water if the glacier is there? Can I go in Germany with ships or not in future? Can I use in some other places the cooling water because it's getting warmer? The water gets also warmer like the Danube where I come in Vienna from. It's 2 degrees warmer than 30 years ago. Not a good idea for cooling water. But it's also about fish biomass. I didn't mention this, but the biomass goes down. We have the 4th extinction wave. Why do we— extinct features as we are also part of this. So I think this risk is very high. And if we don't do anything, which is not the case fortunately, but if we wouldn't do anything, this would be a disaster for us. And I think we get us forward to our issue, our problem in the future. But there's hope. I think so. Last chapter, we have solutions or we should work on solutions more. It's not only scientific ones but also governing ones. Now, if you look into this, I put together not all organizations in this building that are working with water, and it's amazing. You can do this job and get more organizations, and I don't go into all of them, but I can say we talk about science, technology, and innovation. The water science is home-based in Paris at UNESCO IHP, which is called Intergovernmental Hydrological Program, which I'm also coming from in a way. Are working for, but also, of course, in sister ship or whatever, working together with the WMO, with the meteorological organization, all together under the head of the UN Water. And this is absolutely necessary. And when we think about UN80 or UNESCO80 as well, I think we must not forget to strengthen those bodies that work with water, but also to strengthen the need for cooperation between those. It's the same thing. Now if you just slice out here the UNESCO IHP, then what you can see is many things, many points. What I just want to highlight is that also OAI is of course taking part in water science. We use now better models, like was said by the chair, to transfer rainfall into discharge of rivers. It's amazing what they can do, but they can only use—

I'm sorry.

This information which I feed in. If I ask ChatGPT or other tools now about water, then you get nice things out, which is really good. But the question is, can it also look into the future? Can it take up changes which are not on the pathway from the past? Or in other words, can I get new ways? And that means we have to combine these things with other topics. There's also a water science report, by the way, that should be written to know every 6 years what is the condition. Not to forget to mention the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, which is a UN decade now, '25 to '34, on the glaciers, changes, and the water cycle, which is very much important for the UN system as well. Just a few other slides on concrete things to make it more visible. So within the UNESCO IHP, we work also on the World's Large Rivers Initiative. which takes up not only rivers which are large but important in the various countries. For example, the Niger was interesting enough, one river here we worked at, just 3 out of 300 we would like to work. Anyway, just to give you the Danube example, the Niger, and the Mekong in one slide here. We have many of these data done. You have to go back. Fortunately, we have some data to see how does the water change. This is time, very simple. And this is the mean annual discharge in the river, what you see with your free eye We can do statistics, AI analysis, whatever, but it doesn't change this picture. The picture is it goes down. You see the numbers here? That means we have less water in the Danube in certain time periods. We have less water even more in the Niger. We have less water in the Mekong as well, over the continents. This is not good news if I compare it with the next one. This is the Niger Basin population increase. You see it until 2020, it is 3 times more than before.

Wow.

So we have 120 million people, and that's why we have to look at it. The Human Development Index is also increasing, which is good news on a lower level, unfortunately. That means it's not about only to transfer knowledge or something like this. It's more about to work together in a joint way. So I fully support my colleague before. And finally, and we work with Africa a lot together, is we need still to put our finger into the water. AI cannot all explain an Earth observation. We have to do experiments because we have to get new knowledge. Just to give you 3 examples in the new lab we have in Vienna, just here, a click on them, you see a fish swimming, you see people in the water. We cannot replace ourselves and we will not be replaced because if we do these experiments with man, with fish, with vegetation, then we can get new equations. With the help of AI, but we need the experiment first in order to get the scientific knowledge. That's very much important to stress. Last picture. We experience a lot of interesting things when we invite school kids like those in all countries. They do this. It's very amazing how enthusiastic they are. They want to put a finger in the water and they want to stop. For the iPhone. You see a lot of iPhones here. Sometimes we sit in meetings and we look in our iPhone or whatever it is, it can be another one anyway, but smartphone, let's say. But it's really important to say we need to get to the real world. We cannot distract or disconnect living in a big city with only concrete. It's very much important. And the young generation, they like that, they love that. And we have secondly to say It is a future for you because otherwise depressions go around, you know, because of all these wars, unfortunate wars and things like that. We have the situation that there's a lot of negative energy there, but we think we have to transfer it. And this is the last comment from my side. I think this is a unique opportunity today and tomorrow to discuss exactly this. How can we combine the science, technology, innovation, including the AI? I'm not against it, including computers.

Please.

with the real world, for example, water flowing somewhere. We have to bring these together. We have to work together with the Global South and North and East and West, and then we have a good future for the next generation for which we work. Thank you very much. That was my presentation.

Thank you very much, Professor, for your very insightful keynote address. Indeed, water is life. but it is under pressure. We need to work together for a sustainable and resilient future. So that said, the Forum will now hear statements on the results of the 28th session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development that was held just recently, and of the work of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism. I first invite the Forum to view a video message by the Chair of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development at its 29th session, Mr. Xiang Zhang. I think we have a video.

Thank you, Mr. President.

All right, so thank you so much. While they're putting up the video, allow us to use the time to allow our Assistant Secretary-General for DESA, for Policy Coordination and Development, Economic Social Affairs, to take the floor. Then we'll come back.

Thank you very much to the chair, to the 2 co-chairs of this session. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, and colleagues, as we've heard so clearly from the 2 keynotes, speeches. Science, technology, and innovation are manifestations of the human ingenuity we need to tackle the complex challenges before us. At a time of conflict, economic uncertainty, and intensifying climate impacts, the work of scientists such as the one we just heard from— the ones we just heard from— innovators, entrepreneurs, and policymakers offers something essential. It offers hope and the prospect of progress for people everywhere. As we are pressing on towards 2030 and the deadline for our Sustainable Development Goals, I wanted to draw your attention, distinguished delegates, today to the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, or the TFM, which is a practical platform to help accelerate SDG delivery and ensure that technological progress closes gaps rather than deepening them. The TFN is anchored in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. It was reinforced through the Sevilla Commitments, the Pact for the Future, and the Global Digital Compact. And with that, the TFN helps to connect national priorities with the UN system, scientists, innovators, and partners. Excellencies, with your permission, I would like to briefly highlight 4 areas where the TFM is translating commitments into concrete follow-up. The first area I would like to mention is that following the severe commitments, you know, on financing for development The UN Interagency Task Team on SDI for the SDGs, called the IATT, which is co-convened by us at DESA together with our good colleagues in UNCTAD. This has launched an assessment of the major obstacles that hamper the international diffusion of technologies for the SDGs. It focuses on zero and low emission technologies. The findings will be compiled into a public document to inform the STI Forum and key financing discussions. The second area I would like to mention is the TFM's flagship STI for SDG roadmaps and its associated program, which is scaling now beyond its initial pilots. In partnership with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, it is expanding across additional countries, including Small Island Developing States, through a new initiative called STI for Integrated Climate Action for SIDS. And these roadmaps help governments align national STI strategies with SDG priorities and leverage grassroots roots innovations. My third area, advancing gender equality in STI, which remains a core priority through the STI Forum and IATT work. Efforts continue to close the gender digital divide and ensure women and girls participate fully in STEM education, employment, and leadership. And my fourth and final area, the STI Forum's Call for Innovations, which showcases breakthrough scalable solutions, particularly from young people in low-resource settings, and it helps connect innovators with policymakers and partners. So, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, in a rapidly evolving technological landscape, Sustained international cooperation and political commitment are essential to ensure that innovation serves sustainability and inclusion. The TFM stands ready to support member states by identifying needs, convening partnerships, and helping to scale solutions that work.

Thank you.

I thank the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy and Coordination, and now we go to our video, so I invite your attention to the screen. Thank you. Yeah, I suppose we're having technological challenges at the STI Forum. All right then. Okay, so you have heard from us. I think it's time to now hear from member states and multi-stakeholders alike, and we'll start with our ministerial session, and we'll be inviting our honorable ministers and vice ministers to speak first, and we'll invite them to speak from the lectern, which is to your left— to your right. Before we give the floor to the first speaker on the list. I would like to remind speakers of the time limit of 4 minutes for statements on behalf of groups, and for statements at the level of minister or vice minister, 3 minutes for statements at the level of senior official or permanent representative will be strictly implemented. Our first speaker will be coming from Lesotho, then we'll have Uganda, China, Cambodia, then Zambia, and so kindly be prepared. Due to the limited time available, in case speakers exceed their time limit, the microphone will be automatically deactivated. We apologize in advance for the speakers that may get cut off. This measure is being taken to ensure that as many speakers as possible can deliver their statements in the limited time available. Nevertheless, I would like to request the speakers to deliver at a normal speaking speed for the purposes of our interpretation. And it is now my distinct honor to invite our first speaker from Lesotho, Her Excellency Ntate Emily Morosi, Minister of Information, Communications, Science, Technology, and Innovation. Honorable, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Thank you, Chairperson. Chairperson, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, the Kingdom of Lesotho is honored to address this forum, and it's for the first time in my capacity as the Minister are responsible for STI. We associate ourselves with the statements that will be delivered on behalf of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries and LDCs, Group of China— Group of 77 and China, and the African Group, and we wish to add the following remarks in our own capacity. We meet at a crucial juncture when the world is in the second half of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, yet progress remains deeply uneven. For Lesotho, at least a least developed country and a landlocked developing country confronting poverty, unemployment, and rural isolation, and climate vulnerability, science, technology, and innovation are not optional. They are essential instruments of resilience, inclusion, and sustainable development. It is the position of Lesotho that STI must serve as the foundation of our development response. Digital public infrastructure and artificial intelligence are accelerators. They are tools that can expand the reach, speed, and inclusivity of STI adoption across all SDG domains. We must deploy them purposefully and equitably. In this regard, Lesotho is taking concrete steps First, we have begun piloting digital identity systems as part of our digital public infrastructure agenda. Second, through the UN-India Development Partnership Fund, Lesotho is upgrading its national high-performance computing infrastructure, building the computational foundation for scientific research, data analytics and AI-enabled development solutions, and strengthening our capacity to engage with global STI systems on our own terms. On human capital, Lesotho is cooperating with the United Nations Development Programme on STEAM, the programs that prepare young Basotho for an innovation-driven economy. Through Sebapatswa, an innovation initiative convened under the leadership of the Right Honourable the Prime Minister, we are creating structured national space for Basotho innovators to develop solutions to our own most pressing development challenges. On data and artificial intelligence, Lesotho reaffirms its call for AI governance and capacity-building frameworks that reflect the realities of developing countries. Including the prevalence of unstructured, fragmented, and decentralized data. The African continent should not be required to wait for perfect data conditions before participating fully and meaningfully in the global STI and AI economy. Lesotho has formally submitted its position on this matter and will continue to advance it at the upcoming UN AI Dialogue. On connectivity, Lesotho recognizes the infrastructure alone is insufficient. Meaningful connectivity must be designed to serve STI objectives, linking researchers, scientists, and innovators across institutions and across borders, enabling students and educators to access global knowledge systems, and supporting open science, collaborative research, and technology transfer. Our national ambition of 100%—

Yeah, I thank the Honourable Minister for her statement. We'd welcome you to submit your written statement. We sincerely apologize. I now invite the— I now invite the Honorable Minister for Science and Technology and Innovation in Uganda, Her Excellency Monica Museneru Masanza. Honorable, the floor is yours.

Distinguished delegates, Uganda attaches great importance to science, technology, and innovation as a strategic driver of socioeconomic transformation and sustainable development. Recognizing its critical role, Uganda has positioned STI as a key pillar of national socioeconomic transformation in attaining our economic goal of USD 500 billion by 2040, which in summary is tenfold increase of GDP. Excellencies, the theme for this forum is both timely and compelling. As we approach 2030, STI must increasingly serve as a practical instrument for accelerating development outcomes, strengthening resilience, expanding opportunities for all. To achieve this, we must ensure that STI ecosystems are adequately financed, equitably accessible, and effectively coordinated at national, regional, and global levels. Excellencies, in Uganda, SDI is fully integrated in the 4th National Development Plan 2025-2026 to 2029-2030, which is over 96% aligned with SDGs. The plan prioritizes industrialization, value addition, productivity enhancement, and job creation as pathways to sustainable development. The Science, Technology, and Innovation Secretariat at Office of the President is coordinating the implementation of all STI interventions for this plan. Uganda's experience shows that with strong coordination and partnership, STI can accelerate SDG delivery. Your Excellencies, Uganda's key interventions to accelerate actions on SDG for in-depth review during the 2026 High-Level Political Forum include SDG 6, deployment of climate-smart technologies and data systems to strengthen water resilience and resource management. SDG 7, expansion of clean energy solutions, including the advancement of electric mobility, through Chira Motors Corporation. SDG 9, accelerating industrialization and value addition by developing prioritized end-to-end industrial value chains, including mobility, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, Industry 4.0+, and value addition to agriculture and mineral resources. SDG 11, application of digital business— digital solutions to support urban planning, Improve service delivery and enhance quality of life in cities. SDG 17, strengthening partnerships across government, private sector development partners, and relevant stakeholders. Uganda has also strengthened the data systems with SDG indicators, increasing from 92 in 2021 to 149 in 2025, to support evidence-based decision-making. However, most of our STI interventions have not yet achieved scale. This requires sustainable financing, including public-private partnerships, venture capital, and climate finance. Accelerated digital transformation and infrastructure development. And number 3, stronger global and regional partnerships. Your Excellencies, at the regional level, Uganda chaired the 11th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, which yielded the Kampala Declaration emphasizing STI as a key enabler. Subsequently, Uganda handed over to Ethiopia at the 12th ARFSD in Addis Ababa, where member states reaffirmed STI Central role in advancing Africa's development agenda. In conclusion, Uganda remains fully committed to the 2030 Agenda. We call upon the international community.

Thank you. I thank the honorable minister from Uganda. The next 3 speakers are vice ministers from Cambodia— from China, sorry, Cambodia, then Zambia. So it's my distinct pleasure to invite His Excellency Jiang Changchen, Vice Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology, of the People's Republic of China. Your Excellency, you have the floor.

Thank you, co-chairs. Excellencies, dear delegates, good morning. The world today is undergoing accelerating transformations unseen in a century. Challenges in areas like climate change, food and energy security are intensifying. Meanwhile, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is making headway. In particular, the rapid advancement of cutting-edge technologies, including AI, has opened up new opportunities. We are now at a critical juncture to tackle pressing challenges and achieve common development together. More than ever before, countries need to harness STI as an engine to drive transformative solutions for a sustainable future together. China has been a staunch supporter of multilateralism, an active advocate for global innovation governance, and a committed actor in sustainable development. Chinese President, His Excellency Xi Jinping, has advanced the vision of a community with a shared future for humankind and introduced the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative. These initiatives offer China's approach to global transformations, global challenges, and sustainable development with Chinese wisdom and solutions. To enhance STI's contribution to global sustainable development, China has spearheaded the International Science and Technology Cooperation Initiative together with South Africa, Brazil, and the African Union. China has also launched the Initiative and Plan of Action on International Cooperation in Open Science to build a global community of science and technology and share STI benefits with the Global South. Drawing on its own experience in capacity building and development, China has advanced the high-end intelligent and green transformation of its manufacturing sector. We are developing sustainable cities and communities, as well as promoting green buildings and low-carbon transportation. Since 2016, China has established 11 national innovation demonstration zones for the 2030 Agenda, exploring region-specific solutions, including green development in key ecozones and the modernization of megacity governance. Focused on building global partnerships and mutual learning, China has in recent years actively participated in key international frameworks such as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development and launched over 20 flagship programs. China was the first to initiate International big science programs, including Deep Time, Digital Earth, Ocean Navigation, Negative Carbon Emission, and Human Proteo Navigation, and worked with all parties to provide scientific solutions— scientific solutions to major issues of global concern. Under the Belt and Road Science, Technology, Innovation Action Plan, China has carried out technology transfer for poverty alleviation to the Global South, sharing its experience sharing its experience as global public goods. Going forward, China is ready to work with all parties to take practical actions to find scientific solutions to challenges and to create synergy through cooperation to provide relief for food security, and other SDGs achievement to provide strong scientific buttress. That's the first point. Second point, we must promote the sharing of science, S&T benefits for the good of all by advancing cooperation in the governance development of frontier technologies to bridge the development divide. Third, we must deepen coordination in global governance by upholding true multilateralism, championing open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory international cooperation to offer— to foster stronger, greener, and healthier global development. Our meeting today offers an excellent opportunity to deepen policy dialogue, share experience, and advance cooperation.

Thank you, Father.

I thank the Honorable Vice Minister from China. Our next speaker is the Honorable Vice Minister from Cambodia, His Excellency Sobandith Pan, Secretary of State. Your Excellency, you have the floor.

Thank you, Excellency. Excellency's co-chairs, esteemed delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it is a privilege to represent the Kingdom of Cambodia at this multistakeholder forum. Approaching the 2030 deadline, policy driving sustainable development should rely more heavily on scientific evidence, and policies should provide directions and resources to push the boundaries of knowledge and foster new ideas and technical solutions. At the heart of Cambodia's approach to strengthening this nexus is the pentagonal strategy in which evidence-based knowledge is incorporated to inform and support policy formulation towards an economy that is of higher productivity and innovation-driven. Our National Council for Sustainable Development has a mandate to promote resource-efficient, climate-resilient, and low-carbon development anchored on research and scientific findings. The council is instrumental in bridging the supply and demand sides of knowledge. The National Council of Science, Technology, and Innovation is a driving force pushing forward the SDI agenda with Cambodia's SDI Roadmap 2030, emphasizing on enhancing SDI governance, developing skilled workforce in STEM disciplines, and strengthening R&D, fostering SDI collaboration, and building innovation capacity among SMEs. The intersection between the knowledge producers and users is further converged by the action of our Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology, and Innovation. Their tasks include coordinating the implementation of SDI policies within ministries and public institutions, and working in partnership with the National Institute of Statistics to propel data-driven policymaking, acting as a knowledge broker facilitate interactions between science expertise and policy needs, for instance, through the National SDI Day, and last but not least, promoting science diplomacy. To this end, South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation are of strategic importance. To conclude, Cambodia recognizes that the synergy between science and policy produces a positive result greater than the sum of their separate effects. We stand ready for and welcome a more expansive multi-stakeholder approach to partnership to strengthen this interface towards prosperity, sustainability, and enduring peace for the benefit of all people and our planet. With that, I thank you.

I thank Thank you, the Secretary of State of Cambodia. Our next speaker is from Zambia. I invite the Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the President, His Excellency Oliver Kalabo, to speak towards the forum. Your Excellency, the floor is yours.

Excellencies, we meet at a critical juncture in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, where science, technology, and innovation must move beyond aspiration to deliver tangible impact. The challenges before us— climate change, digital inequality, and structural economic vulnerabilities— cannot be addressed through isolated responses. They require coordinated, inclusive, and transformative action. The emergence of dynamism of STI and artificial intelligence presents opportunities to address these challenges and catalyze the pace of sustainable development. Therefore, STI and AI must be tools for inclusion, not exclusion. Against this background, Zambia has placed STI at the center of its development strategy under the 8th National Development Plan. Through targeted investment in digital public infrastructure, innovation, ecosystem and skills development, we are strengthening our capacity to harness emerging technologies for inclusive growth. However, these national efforts, while necessary, are not sufficient on their own. The pace and scale of technological change demands strengthened national cooperation. In this regard, and within the context of the key SDGs on focus during this Forum, Zambia highlights 3 priority areas where strengthening collaboration is essential. One, AI and digital capacity development, including regional centers of excellence, joint research platforms, and sustainable financing to support inclusive AI ecosystems. These should be tailored to developing countries' contexts. 2, clean energy and industrial transformation. Through partnerships that facilitate technology transfer, concessional financing, and investment of renewable energy to support sustainable industrialization. And 3, water security and climate resilience by leveraging innovation in smart water system, climate-resilient agriculture, and resource management. Beyond these areas, Zambia underscores the growth importance of space and satellite technologies in supporting agriculture, disaster risk management, environmental monitoring, and infrastructure planning. We call for broader access to space-based data applications. To translate these priorities into impact, scaled-up financing for STI should be pursued through multilateral and development finance institutions, strengthening the South-to-South and triangular cooperation, and enhanced private sector participation in innovation ecosystems. Zambia also notes the progress and retaliates the call for the effective implementation of the Global Digital Compact. Progressive efforts such as the Group of Friends of International Cooperation on Artificial Intelligence Capacity Building are providing a practical platform to advance equitable access to AI capabilities, technical expertise, and knowledge sharing, particularly for developing countries. We need to sustain these efforts with momentum. Excellencies, the achievement of our development aspiration will require genuine partnership, shared responsibility, and collective action. In the spirit of Ubuntu— I am because we are— let us work together to ensure that science, technology, and innovation serves all humanity's leaving no one behind. I thank you.

I thank His Excellency Calabo also for his spirit of Ubuntu, and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Saudi Arabia.

In the name of God, most gracious, most merciful, Excellencies, President of ECOSOC, co-chairs of the Forum, Excellencies, ministers, and ladies and gentlemen. First off, it is an honor for me to And technologies. These are all factors that are the bedrock of sustainable development. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of His Majesty and under the auspices of His Royal Highness, the Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the vision of our kingdom up until 2030 is now a lucid model that reflects a vision seeking to create change with tangible effects. In this regard, we've been working to promote artificial intelligence capacity to bolster the effectiveness, to bolster our effectiveness. In that regard, our kingdom has made tangible progress. We rank number 2 in terms of the World Bank ranking, in terms of the developments that we've achieved in artificial intelligence. This achievement was about promoting prosperity. Enter Aelia. We've made other strides in clean energy. Turning now to SDG 7. Here we've beefed up our energy capacity. We've done that in 76 public centers. What's more, we've used artificial intelligence to contribute to promoting our platform. We've also expanded partnerships with the private sector. These partnerships have brought about savings of 8 billion Saudi riyals.

The microphone has been cut off.

I thank the distinguished delegate from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the Russian Federation. In attendance, Austria, followed by Peru.

Distinguished colleagues, I welcome you on behalf of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Today we're on the path to the SDGs. Historically, we've been a world science power, and as such, our country has made a great contribution to their achievement. We want to note that equality, open dialogue, and respect for national sovereignty and mutual benefit should be key elements for multilateral cooperation. These principles underpinned our new concept of international scientific and technological cooperation, which was adopted last year. Today, Russia is among the world's leaders on scientific research and development. The total budget in Russia for science is $15 billion. Speaking of artificial intelligence, I want to say that digitalization has become a key element to accompany the entire scientific cycle. But to ensure that resources are accessible, we think it's necessary to work on a common ecosystem for AI. That ecosystem should serve the interests of sustainable development at the global level. There's a key stage for development of science. It is efficient cooperation between the R&D sector and the economy. Key tools for achieving the synergy of these 2 sectors in Russia our national projects. We've created engineering centers, world-class science centers, STI centers, and we've transferred technologies, and we have state-of-the-art engineering schools. We also have a unique mega-science infrastructure. It's important, though, to train researchers with special skills. Today, over a third of the studies in Russia are carried out by researchers under the age of 39, which is important. And around 40% of the total studies in Russia are from women. So it's important to ensure good conditions for students and young trainers. We have 25,000 of them. 5,500 of them have children. We're also working to bring young people into research. And this year will be the 6th Young Scientists Congress. That will be in Sochi, and we're going to be welcoming a large number of foreign guests. Another important tool is the Prize for Future Technologies called VUIZOV, and the prize recognizes breakthrough science-intensive achievements, and it's open to scientists throughout the world. Ensuring the— we reach the SDGs is possible only with work on equal footing and mutual respect, and Russia is always ready to engage in cooperation.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate from the Russian Federation. You just made it in good time. And now I hand the floor to the distinguished delegate of Austria.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to address you at this multi-stakeholder forum for science, technology, and innovation on behalf of Austria. We must make greater use of STI in order to speed up progress towards the achievement of the SDGs. Which lessons learned will get us there? First, STI is not a nice-to-have. Science, technology, and innovation are essential drivers of economic growth and provide us with the tools needed to address the challenges in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Second, STI does not thrive in a vacuum. It needs enabling environments for business, including the rule of law, human rights, as well as fair competition and adequate funding. Public-private partnerships will help to speed up the transfer of research into practical application. Third, STI needs to serve humanity. Technology needs to put human security and human rights at its core, as it is only as effective as the trust it inspires. Innovation without inclusion will fail. Fourth, we must close persisting divides and ensure fair access to technology, including digital technologies. International cooperation plays a crucial role in this endeavor. Excellencies, Austria advocates for the strengthening of partnerships, especially with developing countries. We support the EU Global Gateway initiative to foster investments in emerging markets. With our Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education and Research for Development, called APPEAR, and through AfricaUninet, We built genuine academic partnerships between Austria and the Global South. Through our many years of financial contributions to the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centers, Austria also supports the expansion of sustainable energy, particularly in small island developing states and in Africa. To conclude, Austria stands steadfast by multilateral commitments. like the Sevilla Commitment and the Pact for the Future with its Global Digital Compact. Our strong commitment to effective multilateralism is also at the core of Austria's candidacy for the Security Council for the term 2027-2028. Elections are less than a month away. We count on you. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Austria, dear Ulrike. Now hand the floor to the distinguished delegate of Peru in attendance, Cyprus, and the European Union.

Muchas gracias, señor.

Thank you very much, Chairman. Peru, distinguished colleagues, congratulates the Chair for convening this 11th session at a moment of great relevance for the links between science, technology, and sustainable development. We take note of the special joint meeting of the General Assembly and ECOSOC on digital innovation, which underscored the urgent ensuring consistency of the multilateral agenda on STI. Allow me here to stress 2 priority areas. In terms of artificial intelligence and digital transformation, Peru has over the last few weeks consolidated a comprehensive national legal framework in AI. This includes a framework law adopted in 2023 and a regulation that takes a risk-based approach, and the obligatory adoption of international internationally aligned standards. We— it also includes a new offense in our criminal procedure on the undue use of AI. At the beginning of May, we also adopted a strategy for the use of AI going up to 2030. I'm sharing this not only as a declaration of aspirations, but rather evidence that developing countries are building the institutional frameworks that international governance frameworks should recognize and support in terms of science, technology, and innovation for the energy transition. Peru is one of the main international producers of copper, zinc, and other vital minerals for technologies that are driving forward the global technological revolution. We are committed to being more than a mere provider and becoming a strategic partner looking at the origin and inclusive development of materials. Allow me to conclude with a more broad-based reflection. The Pact for the Future, the results of FFD4, and the results of this conference show us that science, technology, and innovation need to be truly transformative, genuinely equitable, and genuinely coordinated. For Peru, These aren't aspirational adjectives. They are the very standard by which we measure the outcomes of this forum. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate from Peru and now give the floor to distinguished delegate of Cyprus in attendance, European Union, followed by Azerbaijan.

Thank you, co-chairs, excellencies, distinguished delegates. Cyprus aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the European Union and wishes to add the following in its national capacity. Science, technology, and innovation are not only enablers but key drivers in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and at a time of rapid technological change, effectively mobilizing knowledge and innovation is essential to building resilient and sustainable societies. Cyprus places strong emphasis on science-based solutions to address critical challenges, particularly in sustainable water management, an urgent issue in our region. Research initiatives led by national institutions support advanced monitoring, modeling, and efficient use of water resources through smart technologies and data-driven tools. At the same time, Cyprus is actively advancing the clean energy transition. Through dedicated research centers and facilities, we are supporting the development and testing of innovative renewable energy solutions, strengthening both sustainability and energy security. In promoting sustainable industrialization and innovation, Cyprus is investing in modern research and digital infrastructure. This includes the development of high-performance computing capabilities and initiatives that expand access to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence for businesses and researchers. Equally important is ensuring that technological progress is inclusive. Cyprus is implementing an ambitious digitalization agenda, investing in digital skills, education, and workforce development. To ensure that all citizens can participate in and benefit from the digital economy. We are also advancing smart and sustainable urban development through integrated digital solutions that improve efficiency, decision-making, and quality of life across our cities. Finally, Cyprus recognizes the importance of partnerships in achieving the SDGs. By fostering collaboration across public and private sectors and engaging with international networks, we aim to strengthen innovation ecosystems and expand opportunities for growth and impact. These efforts reflect Cyprus's strong commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda and translating the Sustainable Development Goals into tangible actions that benefit all.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Cyprus and now hand the floor to the distinguished delegate of the European Union.

My mic isn't on. Is the mic on?

Yes.

Excellencies, dear colleagues, thank you, honorable co-chairs of Austria and Zambia, for convening us today. We all, I think, agree that science, technology, and innovation are vital to achieve the SDGs. Amid rapid rapid technological change and geopolitical divisions, we all look to the UN to provide strategic leadership in safeguarding the SDI ecosystem, in particular also the efforts of the UN Technology and Facilitation Mechanism. The EU remains committed to the effective implementation of the Pact for the Future. We are leveraging science and technology for the delivery of sustainable, resilient, rights-based and innovative solutions to achieve the SDGs, while championing at the same time an open, fair, and inclusive environment for scientific and technological development. One example of these commitments is Horizon Europe, the EU's research framework programme, which allocates over 60% of its budgets to projects that are relevant to sustainable development. And encourages international participation to find solutions that address global challenges. The ERC, for which I serve as the president, is part of the Horizon Europe funding programme. It is dedicated to frontier science research, and it funds individual top scientists in all areas of research, including social sciences and humanities. Several of our grantees are here with me today, and we had a session this morning on how to turn breakthrough research into global action for implementing the SDGs. They include Jorita Gupta, co-chair of the UN 10-member group established to promote STI for the SDG, and Professor Phoebe Condori, co-chair of the UN Independent Group of Scientists, a body appointed by the UN Secretary-General to draft the Quadrennial Global Sustainable Development Report. It is clear that science has shaped the architecture of the SDGs and continues to drive their implementation by generating the data, technologies, innovations, and frameworks. This morning's session made it clear that action needs to happen at local level, with the engagement of local people and citizens to reach the— to co-develop pathways. And accelerating SDG implementation requires the mobilization of frontier research, innovation systems, and scientific data as the backbone of sustainable development. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of the European Union and now hand the floor to the distinguished delegate of Azerbaijan on behalf of a group of states. Dear Tufik, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Co-Chair. I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and my country Azerbaijan. The report of the Secretary General on science, technology, and innovation for sustainable development highlights the important role of science, technology, and innovation in addressing multiple crises and reducing poverty, and underscores the need to enhance global support mechanisms in this field. The Organization of Turkic States is actively advancing science, technology, and innovation, recognizing them as critical drivers of sustainable development and a key pillar for the implementation of intergovernmentally agreed development outcomes, including the 2030 Agenda. The Organization attaches particular importance to developing a common innovation ecosystem and promoting the transfer of technology among its member states, as reflected in the Turkic World Vision 2040 policy document adopted at the 8th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in 2021. The 1st and 2nd Ministerial Meetings on Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Organization of Turkic States, held in 2024 in Istanbul, Türkiye, and in 2025 in Baku, Azerbaijan, respectively, Established and advanced a comprehensive framework for cooperation. This framework encompasses areas such as research and development, small and medium-sized enterprises, innovation ecosystems, and digital transformation, including through the adoption of the Istanbul Declaration, its implementation plan, and a joint declaration. The third ministerial meeting is scheduled to take place in. Astana, Kazakhstan, later this year. In conclusion, cooperation within the science, technology, and innovation framework of the Organization of Turkic States aims to foster joint research, innovation, and industrial development, advance digital and green transformation, and build a strong— stronger innovation ecosystem that supports sustainable growth and competitiveness. The Organization remains committed to expanding cooperation in new and emerging areas of common interest in science, technology, and innovation, both among its Member States and with regional and international partners. Lastly, Mr. Kocher, on a procedural matter, I wish to place on record our strong protest against the removal of the reference to the Organization of Turkic States from the list of speakers following an objection by a single delegation. This decision is entirely unfounded and discriminatory. We reserve the right to respond accordingly. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Azerbaijan, and I give now the floor to the distinguished representative of Bangladesh on behalf of LDCs.

Thank you, distinguished co-chair. I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Least Developed Countries. The group aligns itself with the statement of G77 China. Science, technology, and innovation are central to advancing 2030 Agenda and achieving the ambitious plan of the Doha Programme of Action. For LDCs, STI is not only a driver of sustainable development but a powerful engine of transformation, enabling them to overcome structural constraints. It expands productive capacity, builds resilience, allows inclusive growth, and accelerates progress towards SDGs. As LDCs approach the midterm review of the Doha Programme of Action, this forum is more critical than ever. This serves as an urgent platform to address widening digital and AI divides that risk further enhancing entrenching global inequalities. LDCs are home to 1.22 billion people, nearly 60% of whom are under the age of 25. This is a powerful demographic force with the potential to drive science, technology, and innovation-led transformation at scale. However, realizing the opportunity demands decisive efforts to dismantle entrenched structural barriers and invest in inclusive, future-ready systems. Yet the digital foundation required for such transformation remains uneven. Even in 2024, only 35% of people had access to internet in LDCs, compared to 93% in high-income countries. They are constrained by high costs, uneven quality of access, persistent gender divide, and continued marginalization of rural communities. In this context, we would like to highlight several key issues. First, scaling up investment in digital and energy infrastructure is essential to ensure universal access to reliable electricity, affordable connectivity and secure digital public infrastructure. Second, targeted financing mechanisms and policy interventions are needed to reduce the cost of connectivity for inclusive digital transformation. Third, increasing investment in STEM education, research systems, and innovation ecosystems is key to building sustainable STI capacity. Strengthening human capital and research infrastructure is essential in enabling LDCs— for enabling LDCs to absorb and adapt to emerging technologies. Fourth, strengthening support for micro and small and medium enterprises, which are essential to create jobs and economic diversification in LDCs. Finally, stronger global partnership alongside increased and coordinated financing are essential to sustaining progress and preventing setbacks. We must ensure that LDCs do not miss out on rapid technological change, including advances in artificial intelligence. Excellencies, STI is fundamental to delivering on the promise of 2030 Agenda. Ensuring equitable access to technology, strengthening human capital, and mobilizing adequate financing are essential to leaving no one behind. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Bangladesh, the Numan, and I now hand the floor to the distinguished delegate of Rwanda, followed by Armenia.

Excellencies, distinguished co-chairs, ladies and gentlemen, I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries in Rwanda's capacity as thematic coordinator on science, technology, innovation, and innovation for the group. At the outset, the group expresses its appreciation to the President of ECOSOC for convening this important forum. The theme of this year's forum, Transformative, Equitable, and Coordinated Science, Technology, and Innovation for 2030 Agenda and a Sustainable Future for All, speaks directly to the priorities of landlocked countries. For LDCs, science, technology, and innovation are not abstract ambitions. They are practical instruments for overcoming structural constraints, reducing the costs of landlockedness, expanding productive opportunities, strengthening resilience, and achieving sustainable development in its 3 dimensions. The AWASA Programme of Action of Landlocked Countries— Landlocked Developing Countries for the decade 2024 and 2034 recognizes this clearly.

Its first priority area places structural transformation and science, technology and innovation at the centre of development agenda for LRDs.

This reflects a simple reality: landlockedness cannot be overcome only through physical infrastructure. It must also be addressed through digital infrastructure, data systems, technological capacities, innovation ecosystems and human skills. The Group 86% of people in LRDs are covered by a mobile broadband signal, but only 39% use the internet. This shows that coverage alone is not enough. For LRDs, universal, affordable, and meaningful connectivity is a central development priority that requires digital skills, relevant content, reliable electricity, supportive regulation and policies, and investment in last-mile access. Second, we must ensure that digital transformation is inclusive. In rural areas, 43% of men use the internet, compared with only 36% of women. Youth are more connected than the overall population, but is still far less connected than their peers globally. The Group therefore calls for stronger support for women and youth in STEM education, digital entrepreneurship, and technology-enabled employment. We must also call for targeted measures to connect rural communities, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, persons with disabilities, and innovators.

Mr.—

Excellence Chair, time is catching up with me, so the full statement will be filed for the records.

Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished delegate from Rwanda on behalf of LLTC and now give the floor to Armenia, to be followed by Uruguay.

Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, at the outset I thank the co-chairs for convening this timely discussion on strengthening the science-policy nexus to advance sustainable development. Discussions at the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development confirm that while science, technology and innovation are key drivers of sustainable development, Their benefits remain unevenly distributed. Gaps in digital infrastructure, access to data, and human capacities limit the ability of many countries to harness emerging technologies, with a growing risk of widening inequalities, including in areas such as artificial intelligence. And progress is strongest where science is effectively integrated into policymaking and supported by coherent whole-of-government strategies. In Armenia, we are advancing digital transformation and innovation policies to improve public services, strengthen transparency, and expand access. Investments in education and skills, including through the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, equip young people with practical competencies, while innovation ecosystems support entrepreneurship, and the application of research. Looking ahead, we must strengthen evidence-based policymaking as well as capacities in technology foresight, data governance, and impact assessment. We must also promote open science and ensure that innovation systems are inclusive and responsive to development priorities. This requires stronger international cooperation and partnerships to scale solutions and ensure accessibility. In parallel, STI must help address structural challenges, including financing gaps, connectivity constraints, and vulnerability to external shocks, particularly for countries in special situations, including landlocked and middle-income countries. Excellencies, strengthening the science-policy nexus means closing the gap between innovation and implementation, ensuring that science informs policy and that policy enables innovation to deliver tangible, measurable results. Armenia will continue to advance this agenda and support efforts to ensure that STI delivers for sustainable development. I thank you.

I thank, I thank the distinguished delegate from Armenia, and then I'll give the floor I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Uruguay, to be followed by Oman.

Mr. President, co-chairs, Excellencies, and colleagues, I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. At the outset, the group wishes to express its highest appreciation to the President of ECOSOC and the co-chairs, Permanent Representatives of Zambia and Austria, for convening this year's forum under the theme Transformative, Equitable, and Coordinated Science, Technology, and Innovation for the 2030 Agenda and a Sustainable Future for All. The global community is navigating a moment of profound challenges. The dramatic and simultaneous increase in extreme poverty and wealth, climate change, geopolitical tensions, food and energy insecurity, fragile health and education systems, debt distress, inflation, conflicts, and systemic inequalities continue to impede the achievement of sustainable development with a disproportionate impact on developing countries. In this context, science, technology, and innovation, including information and communication technologies, are key tools to address these these global challenges and constitute driving mechanisms to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the SDGs. Harnessing ICTs for inclusive development is no longer optional. It is essential for resilience and prosperity. We recall the leaders' political declaration adopted at the G77 and China Summit on current development challenges, the role of science, technology, and innovation, held in Havana, Cuba, from 15 to 16 September 2023. We welcome in this regard, as initiatives arising from this summit, the proclamation of 16 September as International Day of Science, Technology and Innovation for the South, as well as the convening of the high-level meeting that will take place this 5th of May under the theme From Digital Inclusion to Innovation: Advancing Science, Technology, and Youth Entrepreneurship for Development. Mr. President, as developing countries, we recognize the advances and progress achieved. However, it is undeniable that we continue to face deep and multifaceted digital divides within and among countries, while technologies continue to rapidly evolve. The group underscores the urgent need to support developing countries in building their digital capacities. This includes scaled-up investments in infrastructure, education and training systems, and national institutions that can design and implement inclusive digital policies tailored to local development needs. Technology transfer is fundamental for the progress of developing countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Therefore, we reiterate the need to accelerate the transfer of technology in favorable terms, including concessional preferential terms. In this sense, it is key to strengthen strategic partnerships between the countries of the North and the South to contribute to the sharing of knowledge, innovation, and technology. Furthermore, the group urged developed countries to fulfill their unmet official development assistance commitments and emphasizes the need to increase ODA for scientific, technological, and innovative capacities. The group also reiterates that States are strongly urged to refrain from promulgating and applying any unilateral economic, financial, or trade measures not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations, which impede the full achievement of economic and social development, particularly in developing countries, and hinder progress in science, technology, and innovation. The group is encouraged by the forward-looking section on science, technology, and innovation in the Davos Agreement, as well as by the potential opportunities that the implementation of the Global Digital Compact, especially its global dialogue on AI governance, offers to developing countries.

I thank the distinguished representative of Uruguay. On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Oman, to be followed by Ecuador.

Hi, thank you, Your Excellency.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, at the outset, I align— we align ourselves with the statement delivered by the representative of Uruguay on behalf of the G77 and China. Furthermore, I thank the organizers of this important forum on the topic of science, technology, and transformative and coordinated innovation for the 2030 Agenda for a Better Future for Everyone. This topic clearly shows that the implementation of the SDGs hinges on our capacity to leverage innovation for practical solutions to development challenges. We firmly believe that investments in research, science, and innovation is an investment in the future. High-level directives of His Majesty the Sultan— may God protect him— have led to the prioritization of this sector at the national level. We've created a national entity for scientific research, which is a national entity to support innovation and in accordance with the Oman vision up until 2020. Our approach has allowed us to garner progress toward the SDGs. In terms of water, the Sultanate of Oman has ensured universal access to sanitation and drinking water. We've ensured the inclusive management of water resources while drawing on desalination services. In terms of innovation, we've financed hundreds of research— applied research projects while bolstering partnerships with universities and the private sector. What's more, we set up good conditions for the work of innovators and researchers to ensure that their knowledge can be converted into economic value and value for development. We've also attached great importance to the empowerment of young people. We're supporting businesses and open science, and we're aiming to strengthen capacity-building programs. and international partnerships. Ladies and gentlemen, the achievements of the Sultanate of Oman show that STI that is leveraged for sustainable development and effective investments in human resources, that this is all— these are all levers for more inclusive sustainable development. So we reiterate our support to strengthening international cooperation in this area and to fostering technology changes and leveraging STI for common objectives to ensure a better future for the coming generations.

Thank you. Thank you, distinguished representative of Oman. And now give— now give the floor to distinguished representative of Ecuador, to be followed by Colombia, in preparation Philippines.

Gracias.

Thank you for giving me the floor and for convening this important event. There's a common element that has informed all of the statements that we've heard up to now that we concur with. Science, technology, and innovation are all key tools to address crises, reduce poverty, and improve the quality of public decision-making. That is, to address the interdependent complex challenges at the international level. Having access to much of what daily life needs at the tangible level, as was mentioned by Rita Oraji, is particularly important. We have a robust public policy in STI going out to 2030 reflected in our National Economy of Knowledge Plan. This instrument guides our public action towards a knowledge-based economy focusing on the development of the human being. For country, a mega-diverse, multi-ethnic, and multicultural country, this vision allows us to coordinate scientific evidence with the realities of our territories, with productive innovation, with protecting biodiversity, and with showcasing our ancestral knowledge. The digital transformation agenda promoted by the national government seeks to close gaps build capacities and promote an ethical and responsible use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. Co-chairs, colleagues, the scale of the contemporary challenges demands a more favorable international environment. For developing countries, this means having a broader cooperation based on the transfer of technology and capacity building. Increasing the provision of ODA dedicated to SDI is also important, as well as creating mechanisms for international cooperation for projects that benefit those that need it most. Only in this way will we be able to effectively contribute to closing gaps rather than entrenching them. In conclusion, I reaffirm Ecuador's commitment to promote science, technology, and innovation focused on people, geared towards the common good, and capable of leaving no one behind. Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished representative of Ecuador. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Colombia, to be followed by the Philippines and Chile.

Excellencies, distinguished ministers, colleagues, and representatives of civil society, it's an honor for Colombia to participate in this 11th Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals. 5 years out from the end of the 2030 Agenda, the challenges We face are urgent and complex. In this context, science, technology, and innovation are not neutral; they are political decisions. They can either entrench inequalities or help us to overcome them. They can help speed up the climate crisis or be part of the solution. The theme of this forum: transformative, equitable, coordinated SDG. Requires guiding our innovation towards specific outcomes under the SDGs: water, energy, infrastructure, cities, and partnerships. For Colombia, this means moving towards making peace with nature, reconciling our production systems with the environmental limits of the planet. Science and technology should serve to that end. They should speed up decarbonization and enable a just and orderly energy transition moving beyond fossil fuels, one that integrates social and environmental justice, protects biodiversity, and guarantees human rights. In this context, it's a priority that we recognize how structural and territorial inequalities have worsened limiting equitable access to the benefits of innovation. Added to that, we see emerging challenges, the swift digital transformation and the development of artificial intelligence that are reconfiguring urban systems and the way in which we govern. Along these lines, access to safe water, to clean energy, and to resilient infrastructure cannot depend solely on the market. They demand innovation focused on the public good, the building of national scientific capacities, and effective international cooperation, particularly for developing and middle-income countries. None of the aforementioned areas of progress will be possible without robust partnerships, the mobilization of means of implementation, financing, the exchange of knowledge, and enhanced international cooperation are all vital. In this regard, Colombia stresses the strategic value of South-South and triangular cooperation to share solutions and technologies tailored to the realities of developing countries. Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Colombia. And I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the Philippines. The floor is yours.

Thank you very much, and thank you, co-chairs. The Philippines supports the statement of Uruguay on behalf of the G77 and China, and underscores that science, technology, and innovation remain critical enablers in accelerating progress across the SDGs, especially Goals 6, 7, 9, 11, and 17. The Philippines also recognizes that STI must be people-centered, inclusive, and responsive to national context. Community-based digital approaches have proven effective in addressing development challenges. In the Philippines, these have strengthened water management and sanitation planning, contributing to SDG 6, including through community empowerment through S&T programs. Policy coherence and sustained investment in innovation ecosystems are also important. Efforts to expand renewable energy and support technology adoption by micro, small, and medium enterprises have contributed to progress under SDGs 7 and 9, including through the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program. Partnerships likewise are essential. Cooperation among governments, academia, the private sector, and civil society enable more integrated and scalable solutions, especially in advancing sustainable and resilient urban development under SDG 11. The Philippines also sees room for further action. These include strengthening the science-policy nexus, improving data systems and interoperability, scaling up digital infrastructure, and investing in skills and innovation. International cooperation under SDG 17 is especially in technology transfer, capacity building, and financing, must also be deepened. Co-chairs, allow me to highlight a number of national initiatives and good practices. First, the Philippines has strengthened data systems and disaster-related statistics through tools such as GeoRisk PH, Hazard Hunter PH, and PlanSmart: Ready to Rebuild. These provide accurate and efficient hazards exposure, and risk information to communities and local governments. These contain early warning systems, hazard maps, as well as plans for recovery from disasters. Second, renewable and decentralized energy solutions. Thirdly, digital and geospatial tools are being integrated into urban planning. Fourthly, the Philippines continues to strengthen its innovation ecosystem, supporting research and technology adoption. Finally, we continue to work with partners to scale solutions and mobilize resources consistent with SDG 17. In closing, the Philippines underscores the importance of translating these lessons into concrete and coordinated action, and of advancing STI as a driver of inclusive and sustainable development.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate Thank you, Mr. President, from the Philippines. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Slovenia, to be followed by Tunisia.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Rapid advances in science, technology, and innovation offer enormous potential to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. I therefore welcome the opportunity to contribute to today's discussion.

Mr.

Chair, a strengthened science-policy nexus enables decision-makers to design more effective, more transparent and forward-looking policies, aligned with long-term sustainability objectives. In doing so, it is also important to apply SDI with a full understanding of the political, socio-economic and environmental context. Ensuring that scientific knowledge is accessible, trusted, and responsive to societal needs. We therefore emphasize the importance of engaging a wide range of stakeholders in this nexus, including the scientific community, policymakers, the private sector, and civil society. At the same time, recognizing that STI advances are often unevenly distributed and may even deepen divides, we attach great importance to advocating for an inclusive, human rights-based approach that leaves no one behind. To illustrate, at the national level, Slovenia actively promotes the integration of scientific knowledge into policymaking as part of its broader SDI approach. In cooperation with international partners, the Slovenian Centre of Excellence for Space Science and Technologies uses satellite data and digital ecosystem models to enhance resilience to climate change. These efforts include the prediction of climate-induced risks on transboundary rivers in Africa, with a strong focus on cooperation with local universities and companies, as well as on knowledge transfer and capacity building. So let me highlight that this example shows that data-driven, evidence-based policymaking is critical to addressing today's complex and interconnected challenges. Slovenia will continue to promote such policymaking, contributing to global efforts to achieve the SDGs through STIs. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Slovenia. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Tunisia, followed by Ethiopia.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

At the outset, we express our appreciation to the President of ECOSOC and to the co-chairs for convening this forum under the timely theme. Tunisia aligns itself with the statement delivered by Uruguay on behalf of Group G77+China and wishes to deliver this statement on its national capacity. Today, the global community is navigating compounding crises conflicts, climate disruption, geopolitical tensions, food, energy insecurity, and systemic inequality. In this landscape, science, technology, and innovation are prerequisites for development, prosperity, and the condition for the survival of multilateralism. In this context, my country holds firm to this conviction. We have pursued a national AI strategy centered on open data, innovation ecosystems, and the deployment of AI in health, transport, education, and public administration sectors. Our pioneering Startup Act has conferred recognition on more than 1,000 enterprises generating $300 million in cumulative sales. In 2025, Tunisia integrated an AI innovation hub to advance AI skills in North Africa, deploying advanced computing infrastructure, and providing training for over 1,000 developers in a single year. In addition to that, in January 2026, my country hosted the 2nd edition of the Mediterranean Forum on AI, reaffirming our commitment to regional cooperation and positioning Tunisia as a hub for research, innovation, and strategic AI partnerships. We are finalizing now the implementation plan for our national AI strategy, accelerating accelerating the comprehensive digitalization of public institutions, and launching the National Cybersecurity Strategy for the period 2026-2030. Mr. Chair, progress at the national level cannot compensate for the structural deficiencies in the international system. Deep and multifaceted digital divides persist within and among countries, even as technologies evolve at unprecedented speed. Tunisia therefore reiterates the urgent call to accelerate technology transfer on favorable concessional and preferential terms. To conclude, Mr. Chair, we call upon developing countries to fulfill their development assistance commitments for scientific and technology capacity building, and we reiterate our commitment to ensuring that technology serves peace, that innovation advances human dignity, and that science remains a bridge toward shared prosperity. And I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Tunisia. Now I'll hand the floor to the distinguished representative of Ethiopia, to be followed by Namibia.

Mr.

Chair, Ethiopia aligns itself with the statement made on behalf of the Group of 77 and China by Uruguay. Let me begin by expressing our appreciation to the President of ECOSOC and the co-chairs, Permanent Representatives of Zambia and Australia, for organizing this year's forum. The role of science, technology, and innovation goes beyond accelerating progress toward the SDGs. It is a critical force multiplier that offers unprecedented opportunity for economic transformation. Since the 2015 Addis Ababa Agenda that envisioned Collaborative Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals, the world has undergone profound transformation in the STI sector. With four years left to SDGs, emerging technologies emerging technologies provide a major opportunity to reduce poverty, address the climate crisis, and advance inclusive development. In Ethiopia, we have integrated the role of STI. As a foundational pillar of our economic transformation strategy that advances a people-centered, inclusive, and sustainable development. Ethiopia's government, under the leadership of His Excellency Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has made investment in human capital, digital transformation, and innovation as a centerpiece of our economic, social, and political transformation. To mention some of the strides, more than 2,200 260 public services have integrated into a single digital platform called MESOP. These services are delivered fully digitally. Furthermore, digital national ID, digital payments, accessible justice through smart courts, and digital policing are expanding by the day. The 5 Million Ethiopian Coders initiative, nationwide digital infrastructure upgrades, and the nurturing policy environment for technology startups have started paying off. Ethiopia's Digital 2030 vision aims to make inclusive digital services accessible to all while building a citizen-centered digital government and foster homegrown technological innovation. However, there are multiple structural challenges that limit development, narrow opportunities, and widen the digital divide. These include limited digital literacy, as well as financial and technical constraints, in building essential infrastructure, which hinder the digital economy's contribution to the GDP. In conclusion, national efforts alone are insufficient to bridge the ever-growing digital divide. Stronger international cooperation is essential. Ethiopia stands ready to work with all partners in full utilization of the immense potential of STI in the implementation of the SDGs. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Ethiopia and now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Namibia, to be followed by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates.

Distinguished co-chairs, congratulations on your brilliant nomination to preside over this forum. Namibia aligns itself with the statement delivered on behalf of G77 and China. Science, technology, and innovation are central to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. As underscored in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, STI serves as a key means of implementation, enabling sustainable development across all sectors. However, persistent inequalities in access to technology, financing, and capacity continue to hinder progress for developing countries. For Namibia, STI is a strategic priority in advancing inclusive growth and resilience. Guided by our national development priorities and our Vision 2030, we are investing in digital transformation, expanding connectivity, and promoting innovation ecosystems that empower youth, women, and those in rural communities. We recognize that locally driven innovation, grounded in indigenous knowledge and tailored to national context, is essential for sustainable transformation. However, national efforts alone are not sufficient. To truly realize transformative, equitable, and coordinated STI, we must strengthen international cooperation. This includes scaling up technology transfer on mutually agreed terms enhancing capacity building, and ensuring predictable and accessible financing for STI systems in developing countries. In addition, we also underscore the need to close data gaps and improve access to digital public infrastructure as a global public good. In this regard, Namibia reiterates the emphasis placed on STI within the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact and calls for its full and timely implementation at the global, regional, and national levels. We further stress the importance of aligning STI efforts within the outcomes of the High-Level Political Forum, ensuring that innovation directly supports SDG delivery where progress is most lagging. Co-chairs, as we look ahead to the 2026 High-Level Political For forum review, Namibia calls for renewed global commitment to: one, bridge the digital divide and ensure equitable access to emerging technologies; two, invest in human capital, particularly STEM education and skills for youth; three, foster inclusive innovation ecosystems that leave no one behind; and four, strengthen multilateral cooperation to align STI sustainable development priorities. In conclusion, Namibia reaffirms that a sustainable future for all will only be achieved if science, technology, and innovation are accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of all countries. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Namibia. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Senegal to be followed by the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.

Monsieur le Président.

Mr. President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Senegal aligns itself with the statement delivered by Uruguay on behalf of the G77 in China, and we endorse the statement of Bangladesh on behalf of the LDCs. Technological progress, especially the rapid increase in artificial intelligence, it is vital to promote inclusive, equitable, and responsible international governance to ensure that positive achievements or results being achieved are genuinely beneficial and profitable to absolutely everyone. However, we can't help pointing out that the situation of developing countries, including African countries falls short of their aspirations, which are legitimate considering the persistent major challenges— challenges like the lack of financing, especially in research and development, and the persistent brain drain, as well as gaps in digital infrastructure and educational and training systems that are adapted to the requirements of the knowledge economy. Thus, the international community must redouble its efforts to bring tangible responses that are well adapted to these problems to create conditions to deliver on the 2030 Agenda, especially in developing countries. Fully aware of these challenges, we've made science, technology, and innovation into strategic priorities under the Senegal Vision 2050, which is our major development reference framework. With that in mind, our state has strengthened the National Academy of Sciences and Technology of Senegal by granting it the status of a constitutional body to make sure it can better carry out its role. What's more, on the 24th of February 2025, we launched a new digital strategy called New Deal— a New Technological Deal, which has to do with 4 main areas: digital sovereignty, digitalization of public services, development of the digital economy, and positioning Senegal as a digital leader. Our vision rests on the desire to contribute to local solutions and to ensure the protective, uh, uh, affection, uh, protect the effective protection of data. We wish to express our appreciation for measures to promote world AI governance. and ethical norms.

Thank you.

To the distinguished delegate of Senegal, I now hand the floor to the distinguished delegate of the United Arab Emirates, to be followed by South Africa.

Excellencies, colleagues, let me first thank and congratulate Ambassador Kessler of Austria, Ambassador Milambo of Zambia, and Under-Secretary-General Lee and UNDESA for convening this year's STI Forum. The UAE has made significant strides toward achieving the UN SDGs, and there is no doubt that one of the main drivers of this progress has been our commitment to science, technology, and innovation. The bedrock of the UAE economy is fast transitioning to sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech, and digital services, logistics and supply chains, renewable energy, healthtech, and modern tourism. This has come not coincidentally alongside our determination to foster centers of academic excellence, including technology-focused establishments like the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. We particularly see potential in AI for its sustainable development solutions in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and climate adaptation. We're also keenly exploring how we can collaborate on AI for development solutions across borders, especially through South-South collaboration. Indeed, last year the UAE announced a $1 billion investment to expand AI infrastructure and AI-enabled services across African countries. As we approach the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance, 80% of the SDGs are off track globally. We must consider how we can advance mechanisms that will support the infrastructure capacity and governance of AI internationally so as to safely and responsibly unlock its potential to accelerate progress. At the same time, we must consider how to advance technological progress without risking our momentum on climate action. As we look forward to hosting this year's UN Water Conference with Senegal, we hope to have a strong focus on innovative water technologies. But another important priority is how to sustainably fulfill the demanding water and energy needs of data centers and other AI infrastructure. It was very welcome to see a focus on water technology already this morning. and we look forward to discussing this further through a productive 2 days ahead. Thank you.

Shukran. I thank the distinguished delegate of the United Arab Emirates. I now hand the floor to the distinguished delegate of South Africa, to be followed by Sudan.

South Africa extends its appreciation to you, co-chairs, convening us today under the theme Transformative, Equitable, and Coordinated Science, Technology, and Innovation for the 2030 Agenda and a Sustainable Future for All. As a point of departure, South Africa aligns itself with the statement delivered by Uruguay on behalf of the G77 in China and would like to add the following in its national capacity. It is prescient that this year's STI Forum focuses on transformative, equitable, and coordinated STI to achieve the 2030 Agenda, because STI represents the means of implementation for the catalytic realization of the 2030 Agenda. Regrettably, the catalytic potential of STI is undercut by STI divides between and within countries and amongst the population, such as gender divides. Lack of funding for STI initiatives especially from the Global South, in particular in Africa, further compounds STI divides. To address these challenges, South Africa proposes the following. First, the development and nurturing of cross-regional international research and development partnerships whose premise rests on capacity building for the optimal function. International North-South cooperation on research and innovation remains vital. Initiatives like the BRICS R&D Center and the South-South Cooperation Center aim to encourage greater and healthier global development through international STI cooperation. Second, to address STI funding shortages, South Africa proposes the ring-fencing of 0.2% of GNI for STI ecosystem development and support. It is through such innovative funding initiatives that geographic regions, such as Africa, can fulfill their own research agendas focused on addressing the unique developmental challenges. Third, South Africa strongly supports capacity building for women empowerment, which greatly contributes to closing STI gender divides. To advance women's participation and leadership in STI, South Africa reiterates its proposal for national efforts aimed at increasing girls' participation in STEM education. It is for this reason that South Africa champions national STI ecosystems that empower girls to participate and excel in STEM education. To conclude, Co-Chairs, in leading up to the HLPF, this morning South Africa hosted a virtual side event Spotlighting, spotlighting the role of STI in advancing SDG 6 on water and sanitation. We are encouraged by the active participation at this event, which identified initiatives that contribute to mitigating the challenges that jeopardize the catalytic potential of STI in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

I thank the distinguished delegate of South Africa. Now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Sudan, to be followed by Kenya.

Thank you, Chairman. Sudan aligns itself with the statements made by the Group of 77 and China and the African group, and we'd like to make the following statement in our national capacity. For us, it's an honor to participate in this important forum. We welcome its theme, which clearly reflects the urgency of this collective phase as we approach 2030. Indeed, the integration of science and R&D innovation into development strategies is no longer a choice, but rather an overwhelming need. Sudan fully aligns with the vision that STI must serve all people in all countries without leaving anyone behind. We particularly stress the emphasis on strengthening the science-policy interface, as we believe that evidence-based policymaking is the foundation for sustainable development. Despite the challenges of war, Sudan is participating with a unique national experience in digital transformation based on a genuine will to build an inclusive and sustainable digital future. In terms of digital infrastructure, the country continues its efforts to rehabilitate and restore its digital systems based on solid foundations and clear strategic plans. At the institutional and governance level, several specialized bodies have been established, including the Data and AI Authority, the Digital Transformation Authority, and the Cybersecurity Authority. All of these bodies bear out the serious national direction towards a digital economy. On digital government services, the Baladna data exchange platform has been launched. It currently links 50 government entities. In the first quarter alone, approximately 100,000 electronic transactions transactions were carried out through the electronic payment system. In cybersecurity, we have a cybersecurity strategy for 2026 to 2030 to ensure a safe and reliable digital environment. On the legislative front, Sudan grants the highest priority to building a legal framework that supports digital transformation. We are currently processing, the Digital Transformation Law, the Data and AI Authority Law, and other laws. Sudan's experience clearly shows that political will combined with strategic planning and international cooperation can achieve a qualitative leap even under the most difficult circumstances. To conclude, Sudan reaffirms its commitment to international cooperation in emerging technologies, including AI, and its readiness to partner with all stakeholders to translate global commitments into actionable pathways. Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Sudan. Now give the floor to distinguished delegate of Kenya, to be followed by Belarus.

Thank you, Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates. For Kenya and the many developing countries, we are at a critical juncture, remaining with less than 5 years to the 2030 target of achieving sustainable development. However, progress remains uneven and insufficient. SDG remains a practical and indispensable tool for driving inclusive growth, building resilience, and addressing systematic challenges across sectors such as water, energy, agriculture, health, and digital transformation. In the area of water and sanitation, Kenya recognizes the critical role of STR in addressing water scarcity, improving infrastructure, and building climate resilience, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Under the National STR Investment Framework, A proposed $2.8 billion annual investment, which is about 2% of Kenya's GDP, is earmarked for STI with targeted allocation for water priorities. We are leveraging innovation solutions such as a smart management system, smart water management system, smart agriculture system, nature-based approaches, and community-driven technologies to expand access and and sustainability, in line with ongoing preparation for the 2026 UN Water Conference. On energy, Kenya continues to demonstrate leadership in clean energy transition, with over 90% of our electricity generated from renewable sources, including geothermal, wind, and solar. We are investing in major projects such as the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, which is the the largest wind farm in Kenya, providing 310 megawatts to the national grid. The government's future focus is on expanding energy access, improving efficiency, and promoting green hydrogen and waste-to-energy solutions. Kenya is leveraging science, technology, and innovation as a key enabler for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11, by integrating digital solutions, smart infrastructure, and data-driven planning into urban development. Through initiatives such as Konza Technologies, the country is promoting smart city models that incorporate intelligent transport systems, green energy, and efficient service delivery. The country continues to implement technology solutions in health and education for enhanced access to and the delivery of services. Through major strides— though major strides have been made in advancing SDI, developing countries continue to face persistent constraints in accessing finance, technology, and the capacity-building opportunities necessary to upscale innovation.

Bridging the digital divide, strengthening

I thank the distinguished delegate of Kenya. Now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Belarus.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Belarus agrees with the opinion that science, technology, and innovation are fundamental elements for achievement of the 2030 Agenda and for the development of the international community. Turning now to the national level, in Belarus we've adopted a number of strategic measures and programmatic documents. The aim of these was to strengthen our scientific education and production capacity. We've created the necessary conditions to back up with science the process of achieving the SDGs. Today, Belarus is among the countries with a high level of scientific and technological development. Through the years of our sovereignty, that level was not only maintained, but it was substantially increased, which is borne out by our high position in international ratings. That is why it is— supporting the international cooperation seeking to strengthen scientific and technological capacity of states is for us an important component of development. We think a key priority of this interaction should be bridging the digital divide by broadening assistance to developing countries, which all includes the transfer of innovation and technologies and guaranteeing that all states have equal, non-discriminatory access to high technology. There's no doubt that speaking of science and technology in the current time, you can't ignore AI. We reaffirm our readiness to contribute to the global dialogue on AI governance while stressing that the priority should be given to creating simple and viable decisions. We need to prevent a situation when this area is monopolized by a narrow group of states that already have dominating capacity and resources in information and communications technologies. Mr. Chairman, we are convinced that science, technology, and innovation will help countries come to the next level in terms of sustainable development in all areas of life, and this will help achieve the development indicators in SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11, and 17. However, sanctions and selective cooperation have a very corrosive impact on the development of global science and technology. They lead to a fragmentation of the research space, and they slow technological progress, and they push up the costs for technological development. Restrictions on financial logistics and on academia undermine the international basis of knowledge.

But the—

we want to note that successful achievement of the SDGs is critically important, and for that we must our efforts and set aside sanctions and political pressure and partnerships, including in science and technology. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Belarus, and now give the floor to distinguished delegate of Morocco.

Thank you, Chairman. The delegation of Morocco would like to thank the co-chairs and welcomes the continuity that this forum brings to the commitments previously made. The theme covers an approach that Morocco has been following for several years now. We have science research which is particularly important at the governmental level. I would like to now give 3 illustrations at the national level here. We have dedicated particularly in energy. We have a solar energy research institute established in 2011. This has allowed us to adapt our technology to the Saharan climate and target. 52% solar energy in our matrix by 2030. We also have a 2030 digital strategy developed with the academia— academic sector and private sector. This approach is particularly aligned with the UN framework, which provides a space that countries of the South need to need to fill with their own institutions. We note that the Seville Declaration recognizes science as the bedrock of sustainable development. Today, this means that we would like to make the following 2 recommendations. Firstly, the science-politics nexus is based— is underpinned by institutions. We call on the SDI Forum and the HLPF to recognize the role of international applied science institutes and recognize the efforts that they make. This nexus calls us for— to change at the international level. Science cooperation continues to be focused around individual fellowships. Therefore, we invite partners to foster pluriannual visits to African universities, centers of excellence, and other research centers. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Morocco. Since there is no good future without some risk, we will try one more time to play the video statement now.

Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, Good morning. It's a great honor for me to share with you the outcomes of the 29th Annual Session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, held from 20th to 24th April in Geneva, Switzerland. The Annual Session was well attended, with over 700 registered participants from 95 countries. At the Ministerial Roundtable aimed at contributing to this year's High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, speakers who were mainly ministers and deputy ministers highlighted the role of STI in driving transformative, equitable, innovative, and coordinated actions for 2030 Agenda. We also examined the priority theme, Science, Technology, and Innovation in the Age of AI, to explore the transformative impact of AI on STI and the significant risks it entails. And more importantly, to support policymakers in developing countries to design responsible innovative policies to seize AI's benefits. Participants underscored the importance of capacity building and international cooperation to ensure that developing countries can effectively participate in and benefit from AI advancements. Particular attention was given to governance issues, including the need for agile and adaptive policy frameworks, ethical standards, and robust AI and data governance to address challenges such as digital divide and the concentration of technological power. Discussions on preparations for the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, scheduled for July 2026 in Geneva, further emphasized the importance of an inclusive, action-oriented process to foster convergence and synergy across existing initiatives. Speakers stressed that AI is not a neutral technology and that it trajectory will be shaped by policy choices, governance frameworks, and international cooperation. They called for greater investment in infrastructure, skills, and local innovation ecosystem, as well as strengthened international cooperation to ensure that AI is human-centered, inclusive, and well-governed, promoting sustainable and equitable development. CSD was recognized as a key platform in facilitating dialogue, coordination, and knowledge exchange on those issues, contributing to a more inclusive global AI ecosystem. Looking ahead, the 30th Annual Session of the CSDG, tentatively scheduled to take place from 19th to 23rd April 2027 in Geneva, will consider the priority theme Data Governance for Development: From Assembly to Equitable Stewardship. This will explore how equitable data governance can support shared prosperity and sustainable development. As usual, the intersessional panel will be held in November in Geneva as a key platform for strategic planning, sharing lessons learned and best practice in the STI field. We hope you can join us in the 30th Annual Session of the CSDD.

Thank you.

Thank you. I thank the Chair of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, Mr. Xiang Zhang. With this, we have just heard the last speaker in the ministerial session. We have therefore reached the end of the ministerial session. We are very glad both co-chairs, that we were able to accommodate all speakers who wish to speak and who were present. And I would just before closing thank all the participants, especially our panelists and ministers, for having made the effort. The forum will reconvene at 3 PM in this chamber to continue with its program of work. The meeting is herewith adjourned.