President Uhuru Kenyatta Wednesday said the world can achieve prosperity by empowering women, youth and other neglected sections of society.
He urged all governments in the world to focus their policies to empowering women and youth in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“When I assumed the leadership of Kenya, my administration deliberately chose to champion the economic empowerment of women and youth, in recognition of the potential economic and social benefits we stand to achieve in our society by giving these two groups the requisite support,” said the President.
Uhuru, who made the statement when he officially opened a high-level meeting on development financing in Nairobi, said Kenya has put the interest of women and youth above the interest of other sectors of society.
The Head of State said the most neglected sections of the population are usually women, youth, people living with disabilities and children.
He said having a development plan that covers all sections of society will ensure acceleration of growth and eradication of extreme poverty.
The President spoke when he officially opened the 2nd High-Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation at the KICC.
The meeting – held for the first time on the African soil – aims to renew commitments to increasing the effectiveness of development cooperation.
The outcome of the meeting is also expected agreement on how global partnership can contribute to effective implementation of global development goals.
“I have every confidence that this meeting will produce initiatives and commitments that will accelerate the development of all our people across the world,” said Uhuru.
He said unity of purpose in dealing with poverty will send a message of hope and solidarity to those living in deprivation.
“Let us all join forces to move forward, because united we can make the promise of a better future for all humanity come true even earlier than 2030,” said President Kenyatta.
He called on participants to use the forum to identify innovative and successful approaches to sustainable development that can be scaled up.
“In this regard, I encourage partners from the south to upscale the South–South Co-operation to complement the North-South Cooperation,” said the President.
Outlining Kenya’s experience in global partnership, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said the Government has embraced the Sustainable Development Goals which have provided a framework that is transforming the lives of Kenyans.
“Our commitment to eradicate poverty, fast tracking inclusive and sustainable development including urgent action on climate change has been renewed in recent global conferences right from Addis Ababa, New York and recently in Marrakech, Morocco,” Mr Rotich said.
Mr Rotich emphasized that achieving rapid progress requires new approaches that include exploring innovative ways of financing development.
Other speakers included Malawi’s Finance, Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe, Netherlands Foreign Trade and Development Co-operation Minister Lilliane Ploumen, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu Salinas and United Nations Under Secretary-General Wu Hongbo, who read UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s message, among others.