Press Conference

Press conference of the President of Indonesia

UN Headquarters, New York, AS, 25-9-2012

Joint Press Conference by High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on The Post-2015 Development Agenda

TRANSCRIPT OF
JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE BY HIGH LEVEL PANEL OF
EMINENT PERSONS ON THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
WORKING VISIT TO USA
NEW YORK, USA
SEPTEMBER 25, 2012



Moderator:
We are very fortunate to have with us the three co-chairs of the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, from Indonesia; President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, from Liberia; and Prime Minister David Cameron, from United Kingdom. The 27 member panelists have concluded their first meeting and also have discussion on today with government representatives, senior UN officials and civil society representatives. The co-chairs will each make some remarks and then will be opening the floor to few questions.

Mr. President, please.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono:
Thank you.

My fellow co-chairs,
Members of the press,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am glad to share with you that we—the three Co-Chairs and all members of the Panel—have just concluded the first meeting of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Our meeting was very productive. We exchanged views on vision and guiding principles, and main elements of the Agenda. The views were rich, reflecting the diversity of experiences and expertise of the Panel members.

One thing is clear from our deliberations that our ultimate goal of the Post-2015 Development Agenda is to end world poverty, and to improve the well-being of our citizens. It is also clear that the agenda must be built upon the MDGs achievements, as it sets new goals and targets. On the working method, we will ensure that the process will be open, transparent, participatory and inclusive, with a view to attaining support and inputs from all stakeholders. In this regard, the Panel will work hand in hand and engage all stakeholders to participate in the process. The work of the Panel should provide meaningful inputs for an eventual intergovernmental process on the post-2015 development process.

On the vision for the Post-2015 Development Agenda, from the Indonesian point of view, the agenda should promote equitable development, sustainable growth with equity, and strengthened global partnership. The agenda should factor in the challenge of addressing the needs of 9 billion people by 2050. This means it must address a higher demand for food, energy, job creation, infrastructure and more pressure to the environment. The agenda should promote an optimal balance between economic growth, social equality and environmental sustainability. It should explore a variety of tools to achieve this balance.

We have a very challenging year ahead. It is my fervent hope that we will garner the strong support from member states and stakeholders in this historic journey. That’s my explanation about the result of this meeting.

Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you, Mr. President. Madame President?

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf:
Co-chairs,
Members of the press,

In Africa, we live with one of the greatest paradoxes. Our continent is endowed with natural resources the world desperately need and vise everyday. And yet, our people, the majority of our countries live at the bottom of economic ladder. For women, gender inequality is universal. And in most developing countries, it reaches a critical level. Even in countries that are referred to as developed, the issue of gender inequality is still prominent.

To resolve extreme poverty in Africa and other part of the world, and reverse gender inequality, we must redefine our priorities and change the nature of the debate. Having worked in the private sector in many years as a development economist and before coming to office, I believe that we cannot apply the same solutions and expect different results. The MDGs have come to focus also some critical issues. We must now asses what has happened and what needs to be done to achieve the objective of development.

As a member of this High Level Panel, we will join others to conduct wide-range consultations in Africa with our peers and wide across all continents. We will debate in dialogue with civil society organizations, with women around the world, and propose new consensual positions. There are issues that are universal to all countries: youth unemployment, environment, security, the threat of terrorism and the depletion of natural resources among others. And, we must look for common solutions. More than ever, our one world needs this kind of the new dialogue. That’s what the High Level Panel was all about today. We were debating around all those issues and many more, as we tried to find common solutions to work on issues that affect the world over. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you, Madame President. Prime Minister?

Prime Minister David Cameron:
Thank you very much. I thought too it was an excellent meeting and it’s a privilege to serve alongside my fellow co-chairs. I’ll make five very brief points.

The first is, I think we have a clear objective and that is the ending of global absolute poverty, the eradication of poverty. That is the goal we should set ourselves.

The second is, that in doing that, we’re not here to get rid of the Millennium Development Goals. We’re here to urge countries to complete and meet the Millennium Development Goals and to meet the promises that countries have made about how they will help to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

The third point I would make, which I think is vital to our deliberations today and I hope in the future, is that we must look at the causes of poverty, not just the symptoms of poverty. And, we know what it is that makes countries move from poverty to wealth. It’s what I call “The golden thread of the absence of conflict, the absence of corruption; the presence of the rule of law, of property rights, of properly functioning markets of good governance.” And, those things are essential as we look to refresh the Millennium Developments Goals and look to the eradication of poverty for the future.

The fourth point I’d make is that I think we have an opportunity as we do this work, not to hand down tablets of stone to others in the world, but actually consult the poorest in the world and to ask, what it is that they want, as we go about this process, and we should use all the new media and technology that we can to do just that.

Fifth and final point is, I think, we all agree: we must try to be bold and ambitious. If we write a complicated report, we won’t be held to account for the conclusions that we reach. We want something simple, straight forward, bold and ambitious that can unite the world, and that the politicians of the world and the leaders of the world can be held to account over.

I also had the opportunity to invite all of the panelists to come to London for the next meeting of the High Level Panel on the 1st of November, which I hope will take place in London.

That’s all I wanted to say, but I think it was an excellent meeting and a very good start.

Moderator:
Thank you very much, Prime Minister. We now open the floor to a couple of questions. So, identify yourself, your media organization as well as to whom you’re addressing your question. Please.

Courtney Brooks, Reporter of Radio Free Europe:
Thank you. Mr. President, I have a question. You made a recent statement about how the OIC and the UN should mull over how to prevent such an anti-Islam video from circulating again. Were you speaking specifically about anti-blasphemy law? Could you elaborate a little bit on that?

I’m sorry; I’m Courtney Brooks from Radio Free Europe. I don’t know; about how the UN and the OIC should mull over how to prevent such an anti-Islamic video from circulating. And, I was wondering if you can elaborate a little bit on international regulation on that.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono:
Well, I think it’s not closely connected to the message of the panel to prepare the new global collaboration in combating poverty, and reducing poverty. There are many factors of course. But, I have to say that we did not discuss on that issue. And, I have made my statement before. And, I have delivered my speech before the General Assembly on that matter.

One thing that we have to learn to work together in this world by respecting other beliefs, and faiths and religions. But, if something happen, then I do hope that we could solve the problem peacefully, without using violence and any other thing that can only create another problem.

Reporter of BBC:
Prime Minister, first of all, what you said about *** you say, know, it is time like this *** not the moment to increase aid spending at home. I would like to get more domestic matter. Why do you believe ***? And not?

Prime Minister David Cameron:
On the issue of aid, I think it is important that countries that make promises, keep their promises. We made promises to the poorest people in the world. And, it’s a promise that we made and a promise that we should keep. To those who are skeptical, I would say it is not only a moral obligation that the better-off countries now have to tackle poverty in our world when we still have over a billion people living on less than a dollar a day.

But, it's also in our interests that we build a more prosperous world because, if we don’t, the problems of conflict, the problems of migration, the problems of uncontrollable climate change, we know the problems would come and visit us at home. So, I think it is the right thing for us to do morally and to keep our policy. But, I think it is also in our interest that we do so.

On the issue of ***, as I said very clearly, he gave an apology, his wife did apologize, what happened was wrong and shouldn’t have happened and will never happen again. On the base that he has given an apology, the police have decided not to pursue that any further ***.

Reporter:
Prime Minister, ***. Do you think that *** can *** your government, given the official record of *** with the police ***? And if it does, are you suggesting the police are lying?

Prime Minister David Cameron:
What I’m saying very clearly is that what happened was wrong, it shouldn’t have happened, and it was deeply regretful. That is why *** has made a very public and clear apology and he’s right. He did that. On the base of that apology, on the base of the fact ***.

Bagus Budi Tama Saragih, Reporter of The Jakarta Post:
Excellencies,

I believe Prime Minister Cameron and President Sirleaf have learnt about President Yudhoyono’s concept about sustainable growth with equity. What do you think this concept will help countries to achieve the MDGs, the Post-2015 and beyond? Do you agree with the concept or what is your other comment?

Prime Minister David Cameron:
I very much agree with what both panelists have said. I mean there’s a very, very clear common ground that we all want to achieve the eradication of poverty. And in eradicating poverty, there are certain building blocks to eradicate the poverty. One of which is to make sure that development is sustainable. We won’t eradicate poverty if we have unsustainable development. So, I think these two themes absolutely go together.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf:
If you are going to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development, growth has to be at the base of that effort. One has to be able to grow the economy through solid economic policies and improving infrastructures that increase the mobility of goods and services. That is the fundamental ingredient to be able to achieve that sustainable development.

Moderator:
Thank you to the three co-chairs and thank you to the press to come by.

*****

Bureau for Press, Media and Information Affairs
Presidential Secretariat