Mr. President,

We thank the Chinese Presidency for organizing this open debate.

We also thank the Secretary-General, Ms Roussef, President of New Development Bank and Prof Sachs for their valuable insights.

At a time when the international community has come under increasing stress in terms of achieving sustainable development goals because of formidable challenges, including a multiplicity of devastating conflicts, natural and man-made disasters, terrorism, irregular migration and climate change, shedding light on the inter-connection between sustainable peace, security and development has become all the more important.

It will also be useful to take stock of the history of the last quarter of the Century; the way we responded or failed to respond to real or perceived threats to international peace and security and how our responses have had an impact on prospects for sustainable peace and development.

Such a stock-taking exercise can provide us with reliable guidelines as we navigate in a fluid international system under transformation.

As a country which has been in the close proximity of major upheavals and conflicts that happened in the time span that I mention, and directly affected by them, Turkiye believes that sustainable peace and development necessitate nurturing of inclusive, resilient and accountable institutions. It takes a holistic and integrated approach of poverty reduction, capacity-building, job-creation, facilitation of access to education and healthcare, greater economic opportunity and political participation. It takes bolstering socia cohesion and in some fractured societies, enacting new social contracts.

It takes national and regional ownership and international cooperation to tackle problems of terrorism, violence, irregular migration, environmental degradation that hold back economic development. Sustainable peace also requires effectively addressing the root causes of conflicts and perpetuated instability. It calls for facilitation of bottom up approaches based on national spesificities, rather than imposition of one-size-fits-all kind of models.

As we witness today in the Middle East, Europe and beyond, armed conflicts, grave violations of human rights law and humanitarian law, illegal occupation, oppression and lack of good governance are major threats for peace and security at national and international level. These factors are further exacerbated by poverty, double standarts and social and economic inequalities between and among nations.

Mr. President,

More than ever, we need a world where the benefits of development are shared by all, particularly the least developed countries.

Digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence deserves our special focus in development efforts. We should make sure that emerging technologies play a role in reducing, rather than widening the digital divide.

While we are astonished by rapid developments on AI, millions do not even have access to internet. We cannot let two seperate worlds living in different centuries.

Technology should be accessible and beneficial to all, where no one is left behind.

In this respect, the UN Technology Bank for LDCs that we host in Türkiye has an important role and should be supported by all.

In conclusion, I want to reiterate our committment to continue to actively contribute to international efforts to advance sustainable peace and development, taking into account the inter-connected and mutually reinforcing nature between these objectives.

I thank you.