Abu Dhabi, 15 January 2018?– The President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Mr.?Miroslav Laj?ák, addressed the 8th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly and attended the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, under this year’s theme “Driving the Global Energy Transformation”.
In his remarks to the IRENA Assembly, the President said, “With the right energy policies, we can provide energy to everyone without creating additional burden on our planet.”
“We live in a time of challenges, opportunities and high stakes. Our failure to act decisively and unequivocally at this critical moment in history will determine our future,” he added.
Recalling that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement already provided the necessary frameworks, he said, “The climate pledges manifest our collective promise to the people of this world, and it is the lives of these people that should spur us into action“
During his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the President met bilaterally with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and other UAE officials– including the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Climate Change and the Environment, Youth Affairs, and Human Resources and Emiratisation.
In his meetings, the President discussed his priorities for 2018, including migration, peace and prevention, United Nations reform proposals and his events on water, youth and financing the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as global and regional dynamics. He commended the UAE for its leadership role on sustainable development.
On the margins of the IRENA Assembly and Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the President exchanged views on renewable energy and global energy transformation with the Director General of IRENA. He also met with the United Nations Country Team to hear their analyses on the region, as well as the ideas and concerns they had in relation to their work. To learn more about science, sustainability and renewable energy in practice, the President visited Masdar City, a planned eco-city project in Abu Dhabi.
As one of Mr. Laj?ák’s priorities for the 72nd session is youth engagement, he met with students and future diplomats at the?Emirates Diplomatic Academy?and discussed with them the role of multilateral diplomacy today. Asked about what it took to become a successful diplomat, he said that diplomats have to be honest, credible, good observers and good communicators.
The President also visited the recently opened Louvre Abu Dhabi, whose exhibits show that people all over the world have a shared history based on dialogue.
Tonight, the President will travel to Kuwait for meetings with Kuwaiti officials.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Katharina Kandt, Communications Adviser to the President of the General Assembly,?Kandt@un.org, +1 917-244-3890
