Success, or failure, of new global goals to be measured by international cooperation: Timor-Leste

The success, or failure, of the UN's new Sustainable Development Goals will be measured by international cooperation, Rui Araujo, the prime minister of Timor-Leste, told the Sustainable Development Summit here Saturday.

"Our individual and collective success, or failure, will be judged on how we continue to work together, as national governments and the international community, to execute this new agenda," Araujo said at the UN summit, which entered its second day.

"If we all step beyond our national affiliations and come together for the common good, we can defeat the scourge of climate change, protect our oceans, and improve life on land," he said.

The 193 member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals here on Friday morning. The 17 goals cover economic, social and environmental aims including ending poverty in all its forms everywhere, achieving gender equality and tackling climate change.

However, Araujo warned that implementing the goals would be a difficult, and even perilous, journey given the current state of the world.

"We cannot seek applause just for putting in place a new suite of goals and targets," he said.

He added that the new development agenda represented a shift away from an aid-centric approach to development. The new goals apply to both developed and developing countries. Enditem