Intervention by PM Lee Hsien Loong on "Sustainable Development" at the G20 Rome Summit

Thank you Prime Minister Mario Draghi for Italy’s leadership in advancing the sustainable development agenda. We have less than a decade left to implement the 2030 Agenda. Even before the pandemic, we were already progressing too slowly on most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The pandemic has set us back further.

We need to mobilise collective action to achieve sustainable development for all in a balanced and integrated way. This includes giving equal emphasis to the three pillars of the 2030 Agenda. Economic development, environmental protection, and social inclusion. We touched on these earlier .

Let me to highlight two other areas that are equally important

First, is education. It is a pre-requisite for growth and sustainable development. We need to continue efforts to improve access to education for all groups.

Second, we must bridge the digital gap. The pandemic has underlined the importance of digitalisation but it has also widened the gulf between digital “haves” and “have-nots”. For recovery to be sustainable, we must empower people and improve lives through innovation and digital technologies. The G20 is well-placed to provide leadership on a global framework to maximise the opportunities of digitalisation while dealing with its challenges.

Singapore has partnered International Organisations and G20 members including Argentina, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, and the US to provide capacity building on sustainable development to developing countries. We will continue to do so.

We look forward to the G20’s active role in galvanising global action, and realising synergies between the G20’s priorities and the 2030 Agenda. Thank you.