Video Message
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
I am honored to share this message at the Inaugural Global Business Summit on Belt and Road Infrastructure Investment for Better Business, Better World and Sustainable Development Goals.
At the outset, I commend the organizers for convening leaders from governments, the private sector, and development fields. Your focus on enhancing infrastructure investment -- a key enabler of socio-economic progress and inclusive Sustainable Development – addresses a defining challenge of our time.
Infrastructure is more than roads, bridges, and power lines; it is about empowering people, fostering economic participation, enabling sustainable growth, and safeguarding our planet.
To achieve these objectives, the private sector has a crucial role to play -- ensuring that innovation, investment, and leadership are aligned with the SDGs vision.
The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact offer a useful framework for companies committed to upholding their responsibilities.
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Sustainable infrastructure must be low-carbon, resilient, and accessible to all. This includes integrated transport systems designed to reduce climate emissions, foster social inclusion, and support economic integration across regions. In alignment with sustainability principles and international standards, the Belt and Road Initiative can positively and significantly contribute to these goals.
The United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport, proclaimed by the General Assembly to begin next year (2026), is a timely response to the urgent need to reshape global mobility. Transport -- accounting for nearly a quarter of global carbon emissions -- must transform into a driver, not a barrier, of sustainable development.
In support of this vision, my Department – the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, is spearheading preparations for the Implementation Plan for the Decade, as mandated by the General Assembly.
We envision this UN Decade will provide a shared vision. It will elevate awareness about transport’s vital role in SDG implementation, and catalyze impactful new projects, investments, and partnerships.
In conclusion, let us seize this pivotal moment to align infrastructure investment with a better business model – one that firmly places people, planet, and prosperity at the heart of all development endeavors. We count on the private sector not just to invest, but to lead with responsibility, with ambition, and with purpose.
Thank you.