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Ensuring that No One is Left Behind: Unlocking MOI for SDGs and creating an enabling environment
Monday, 18 July 2016
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Trusteeship Chamber

Official meeting

Biographies
The 2030 Agenda highlights that a critical element for the achievement of its Goals and targets and for ensuring that no one is left behind is the successful mobilization of both existing and additional resources, including financial resources, technology development, and capacity building. To meet the ambition of the SDGs, the Agenda set forth means of implementation targets under Goal 17 and under each of the other sixteen Goals. It also has the Addis Ababa Action Agenda as its integral part, which supports and complements to contextualize the 2030 Agenda’s means of implementation targets and outlines policies and actions that are critical for the realization of the SDGs.

The 2030 Agenda emphasizes that the SDGs can be met within the framework of a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. It reiterates that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development, and emphasizes that international public finance plays an important role in complementing the efforts of countries to mobilize public resources domestically, especially in the poorest and most vulnerable countries with limited domestic resources. At the same time, the Agenda emphasizes that national development efforts need to be supported by an enabling international economic environment, including coherent and mutually supporting world trade, monetary and financial systems, and strengthened and enhanced global economic governance. The Agenda also highlights the key role of private business activity, investment and innovation as major drivers of productivity, inclusive economic growth and job creation.

A dedicated follow-up and review for the financing for development outcomes as well as all the means of implementation of the SDGs is carried out by the Economic and Social Council forum on financing for development follow-up, whose inaugural session was held in New York from 18 to 20 April 2016. The forum affirmed a strong commitment to the full and timely implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. Also in the context of the follow-up and review of the implementation of 2030 Agenda, the first annual Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs was held in New York on 6 and 7 June 2016. The Forum highlighted that it is critical to assess how sciences and technology can be mobilized to provide solutions to our biggest challenges and repurposed to achieve the SDGs.

The session will highlight the efforts made since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda to mobilize the means for its implementation, particularly in the areas of finance, private business engagement, science, technology and innovation, and capacity building. The session will also discuss lessons learned, prospects and challenges in these areas, with an emphasis on how means of implementation can contribute to the objective of leaving no one behind. The session will be informed by the agreed conclusions from the ECOSOC forum on financing for development and by the Co-chairs’ summary of the first multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the sustainable development goals.

Possible questions for discussion:
  1. What has been the progress made since the adoption of the Agenda to mobilize means of implementation for all the SDGs?
  2. How can financing, science, technology and innovation, and capacity building be best mobilized to ensure that no one is left behind?
  3. Moving ahead, what are the main prospects and challenges with respect to the means of implementation in relation to the 2030 Agenda

Chair:
  • H.E. Mr. Hector Alejandro Palma Cerna, Deputy-Permanent Representative of Honduras to the UN and Vice President of ECOSOC

Moderator:
  • H.E. Mr. Ardalan Shekarabi, Minister for Public Administration of Sweden

Roundtable members:
  • H.E. Mr. Neven Mimica, EC Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development
  • H.E. Ms. Michelle Muschett, Vice Minister of of Social Development and technical secretary of social cabinet of Panama
  • Mr. Vaughan Turekian, Science and Technology Adviser to the US Secretary of State
  • Mr. Douglas Frantz, Deputy Secretary-General of OECD
  • Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda
  • Mr. Axel Bertuch-Samuels, Senior Advisor on Financing for Development and United Nations relations at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Biographies
Dr. Vaughan Turekian
Named Executive Director of Policy and Global Affairs, USA
Dr. Vaughan Turekian

Named Executive Director of Policy and Global Affairs, USA

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Vaughan C. Turekian to be the Executive Director of the Policy and Global Affairs Division (PGA), effective May 12, 2018.

Dr. Turekian is currently serving a joint appointment as Senior Director of the Program on Science and Technology for Sustainability (STS), a program within PGA for which he was hired August of 2017. Prior to joining the STS program, Dr. Turekian served as the fifth Science and Technology Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State. In this capacity, he advised the Secretary of State and other senior State Department officials on international environment, science, technology, and health matters affecting the foreign policy of the United States. From 2016 to 2017, he served as a country co-chair, along with the Kenyan Ambassador to the United Nations, for the Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, a high-level discussion at the United Nations designed to accelerate progress toward globally agreed upon development targets. In 2018, Dr. Turekian was appointed by the U.N. Secretary General as one of the ten international members to promote the role of science, technology, and innovation for achieving for the 17 SDGs.

Dr. Turekian drew upon his background in atmospheric chemistry and extensive policy experience to promote science, technology, and engineering as integral components of U.S. diplomacy. Previously, he was Chief International Officer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Director of AAAS's Center for Science Diplomacy (2006 - 2015). In this capacity, he worked to build bridges between nations based on shared scientific goals, placing special emphasis on regions where traditional political relationships are strained or do not exist. As Editor-in-Chief of Science & Diplomacy, an online quarterly publication, he published original policy pieces that have served to inform international science policy recommendations. In addition, Dr. Turekian worked at the State Department as a Special Assistant and Advisor to the Under Secretary for Global Affairs (2002 - 2006) on issues related to sustainable development, climate change, environment, energy, science, technology, and health. He also served as Program Director for the Committee on Global Change Research at the National Research Council (2000 - 2002), where he was study director for a White House report on climate change science.

Dr. Turekian holds a B.S. in Geology and Geophysics and International Studies from Yale University and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia where he focused on the transport and chemistry of atmospheric aerosols in marine environments. Dr. Turekian not only brings both technical expertise and over 15 years of policy experience to the position, but also a decorated track-record and steadfast commitment to utilizing our nation's capital science and technology innovation to advance the long-term sustainability and U.S. diplomacy.

H.E. Mr. Ardalan Shekarabi
Minister for Public Administration of Sweden
H.E. Mr. Ardalan Shekarabi

Minister for Public Administration of Sweden

Minister Shekarabi is Minister for Public Administration of Sweden. He is responsible in the Swedish government for eGovernment and the national implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He is also responsible for state administration, local authorities, central government employer issues, public procurement and gambling markets. Minister Shekarabi was member of the Riksdag from 2013 to 2014 and Chair of Swedish Social Democratic Party election analysis from 2010 to 2011. He was also the Chair of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League from 2003 to 2005. Since 2013 he is alternate member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party Executive Committee. He has a Law degree from Uppsala University and has conducted research in the field of public law. He also has a degree in Journalism.

H.E. Mr. Neven Mimica
EC Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development
H.E. Mr. Neven Mimica

EC Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development

Mr. Neven Mimica is the Commissioner in charge of International cooperation and Development, responsible, among others, for working with national governments in a way that makes the EU's development aid more effective. For almost three decades, he has been active in politics, public policy-making and government; carrying out various diplomatic, state administration and political functions at the national and since last year at the European level. Prior to becoming EC Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Mr. Mimica participated in Croatia’s integration into the European Union, in particular as chief negotiator for the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the Union, as Minister for European Integration, as chairman of the European Integration Committee of the Croatian Parliament, as member of the National Committee for monitoring the accession negotiations with the Union, and as Deputy Prime Minister for Internal, Foreign and European Policy. Mr. Mimica holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Zagreb.

H.E. Ms. Michelle Muschett
Vice Minister of of Social Development, Panama
H.E. Ms. Michelle Muschett

Vice Minister of of Social Development, Panama

Ms. Muschett has a broad career in the legal, cultural and social fields. As a practicing lawyer, she focused on issues related to commercial and corporate law local and international arbitration processes and participated in drafting and discussion of national laws. She served as Legal Adviser to the National Coalition for Development and was founder and director of Solution Culture, an organization dedicated to the design and management of projects aimed at promoting human development. As Vice Minister, she has promoted initiatives aimed at institutional strengthening through management by results; multisectoral articulation of social policies through the Social Cabinet; the adoption of tools aimed at better targeting and measurement of social policies and the inclusion of the intercultural dimension in the design of social interventions.

Mr. Axel Bertuch-Samuels
Senior Advisor on Financing for Development and United Nations relations at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Mr. Axel Bertuch-Samuels

Senior Advisor on Financing for Development and United Nations relations at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Mr. Bertuch-Samuels is the Senior Advisor on Financing for Development and United Nations relations at the IMF. Prior to that, he was the Special Representative of the IMF to the United Nations and the Deputy Director of the Strategy, Policy and Review Department of the IMF. He has been at the IMF since 1985 and has served as Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, Deputy Director and Senior Advisor of the International Capital Markets Department, Special Advisor to the Managing Director, Alternate Executive Director and Assistant to Executive Director. Outside of the IMF, Mr. Bertuch-Samuels has served as Director and Head of the President’s Office at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London, as Director of the Economics and Financial Markets Department at the German Savings Banks and Giro Association in Bonn, and Senior Advisor to the Deputy Minister and to the Minister of Finance of Germany. Mr. Bertuch-Samuels holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Cologne in Germany.

Mr. Douglas Frantz
Deputy Secretary-General of OECD
Mr. Douglas Frantz

Deputy Secretary-General of OECD

Mr. Douglas Frantz took up his duties as Deputy Secretary-General on 2 November 2015. In this role, he contributes to the strategic direction of the OECD’s development agenda, notably in the context of the cooperation with the United Nations toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Prior to becoming Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Frantz was Assistant Secretary of State of Public Affairs of the U.S. State Department, responsible for communications and social media worldwide. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and was a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 35 years, reporting from 40 countries and covering major conflicts including both Gulf wars and the Afghan war. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the aftermath of 9/11 while at the New York Times.

Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin
Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin

Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Dr. Mohieldin, is an economist with more than 30 years of experience in international finance and development. He is the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda.

He was the former Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004-2010, and most recently, served as the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships. His roles at the World Bank also included Managing Director, responsible for Human Development, Sustainable Development, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, Finance and Private Sector Development, and the World Bank Institute; World Bank President's Special Envoy on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Post-2015 Development Agenda (later, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)), and Financing for Development; and Corporate Secretary and Executive Secretary to the Development Committee of the World Bank Group's Board of Governors.

Mr. Mohieldin also served on several Boards of Directors in the Central Bank of Egypt and the corporate sector. He was a member of the Commission on Growth and Development and selected a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2005. His professional experience extends into the academic arena as a Professor of Economics and Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University and as a Visiting Professor at several renowned Universities in Egypt, Korea, the UAE, the UK and the USA. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of Durham University Business School. He also holds leading positions in national, regional and international research centers and economic associations.

Mr. Mohieldin holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; a Master’s in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, United Kingdom; a Diploma of Development Economics from the University of Warwick; and a B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University. He also participated in high-level certification programmes at Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University. In 2018, the American University in Cairo conferred upon him the honorary degree of doctor of Humane Letters “in recognition of renowned attainments and achievements”.

He has authored numerous publications and articles in leading journals in the fields of economics, finance and development in English and Arabic.

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