South Korean president sees UN SDGs as "solemn pledge to next generation"

The Sustainable Development Goals, just adopted by world leaders here Friday, are a solemn pledge to the next generation, the president of the Republic of Korea, Park Geun-hye, said here Saturday.

"With a sense of historical responsibility that this is our solemn pledge to the next generation, we all need to do our best to implement in good faith the 17 development goals set out in the new Agenda," Park said at the UN Summit for Adoption of Post-2015 Development Agenda, the three-day event which entered its second day here Saturday.

"I believe the future envisaged in the 2030 Agenda should be more than mere ideals," she said. "It should be translated into practical goals that we must be sure to attain, both for our sake and for future generations."

The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of 17 economic, social and environmental goals that aim to end poverty and hunger, achieve gender equality, and tackle climate change, among other aims.

The 193 UN member states unanimously agreed to adopt the goals here Friday on the first day of the current summit. Countries are expected to work towards meeting the goals both through their national policies and through international cooperation between 2016 and 2030.

Park acknowledged the hard work of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon -- a national of the Republic of Korea -- and all governments in adopting the new sustainable development agenda.

"I pay tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and all the governments that have worked so hard to ... adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," she said.

She also announced the ROK's goals to contribute to the goals internationally including by increasing its financial commitments, and improving the quality and transparency of its aid.

"The Republic of Korea will steadily expand its financial contributions to help developing countries move further forward and work to improve the quality of its development cooperation," she said.

The South Korea's contributions would include 200 million U.S. dollars for the Better Life for Girls Initiative -- a health and education program for the most vulnerable girls in developing countries -- from 2016 and the "Saemaul Undong" rural development program, said Park. Endit