RC Remarks at the Agenda Item 9: “Multi-stakeholder dialogue: Partnerships to promote sustainable solutions in Asia and the Pacific”-6th AP Forum

It is my pleasure to join this dialogue on partnerships to promote sustainable solutions in the Asia-Pacific region. 
At its core lies a truth we cannot overlook: the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved by any single government, institution, community, or stakeholder.

The Pacific exemplifies both the magnitude of the challenge and the potential of collaboration. 
With ninety percent of the population living within five kilometers of the coast, and half of critical infrastructure located within just five hundred meters of the shore, the threat of sea level rise is immediate and existential. A single tropical cyclone can erase decades of progress, wiping out up to 50 percent of GDP at a time. 

In Vanuatu, UN support has helped shape community-driven recovery strategies after successive cyclones, in partnership with local institutions and organizations. In Tuvalu, partnerships with development partners and MDBs are advancing a landmark land reclamation initiative, creating new, climate-resilient land that will expand safe living space and protect communities against rising seas. Partnerships with the Pacific Islands Forum, and its CROP agencies, such as SPC and SPREP, are aligning global goals with local priorities.

Last month at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice/France, Pacific Island nations advanced global leadership once more by initiating the world’s largest Melanesian Ocean Reserve, an area larger than the Amazon rainforest, while Polynesian countries deepened commitments that place cultural heritage and community stewardship at the heart of marine protection.
This is a powerful reminder of what is possible when diverse actors work together. 

Asia presents a different but equally pressing frontier. Home to sixty percent of the global population, more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions, and most of the world’s polluted cities, Asia faces enormous environmental challenges. Yet partnerships are transforming possibilities into realities.
The region now drives half of global renewable energy growth, while biodiversity protection advances under the Kunming-Montreal Framework. Circular economy models and smart urban planning are beginning to curb pollution and waste. When linked to long-term visions such as ASEAN Vision 2045 and the Pacific 2050 Strategy, regional platforms can enable integrated solutions. 

Distinguished delegates, let us build on the momentum of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion of July 2025, which affirmed the obligation of states to safeguard the climate system for present and future generations. It strengthens accountability and amplifies the Pacific’s moral voice, especially the voices of youth who have long demanded justice. 

The complexity of our challenges requires multi-stakeholder partnerships that bridge knowledge, capacity, data, and resource gaps, and that respond to the common as well as diverse needs of communities, member states, and regions. 
The framework guiding our dialogue is clear. Multi-stakeholder partnerships are essential to accelerate SDG progress to strengthen resilience, and to move to integrated strategic responses that can be scaled. 

Partnerships are the engine that carries solutions from policy to practice, from pilots to scale, and from isolated successes to systemic transformation. That’s why UN agencies, funds, and programmes work as One UN at the country level, one team to support countries and regions and in close cooperation with national, regional,  and global partners.
 

Chair and Distinguished Delegates,
The path is clear, the frameworks are in hand, and the partnerships are imperative. 
The UN is committed to partnerships and brings value as a trusted convener, offering an impartial platform to bring actors together – be it with member states, civil society, and the private sector. Among the many issues facing our region, we seek to work in partnership to urgently address three environmental priorities. 

First, tackling plastic pollution by applying the 3R principle - reduce, reuse, recycle. Additionally, strengthening waste management and circularity by building city-to-city platforms that can scale proven solutions to safeguard public health and preserve coastal ecosystems. 

Second, advancing ocean health through the restoration of ecosystems that sustain livelihoods and shield communities from storms. 

And third, accelerating clean energy by unlocking bankable projects through blended finance and open technology.
In addition, the UN Development System is supporting governments to upgrade national financing frameworks and NDC so that policy, projects, and finance move in step, and to embed gender-responsive and youth-led delivery with trackable budget shares in national planning, monitoring, and reporting systems.

From the frontlines of the Pacific to the vast Asian continent, we know what works. Let us build on this momentum, let’s work together. 

Vinaka Vakalevu. Dhanjavaad. Thank you.