BAN KI-MOON, LAUREATE OF THE ORDER OF CHINGGIS KHAAN, DELIVERS A PUBLIC LECTURE
Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, Laureate of the Order of Chinggis Khaan, delivered a public lecture titled ‘Addressing Global Challenges: Mongolia and the Republic of Korea’ at the Chinggis Khaan national museum.
At the beginning of his lecture, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon remarked that he was incredibly honored to receive the Supreme Decoration of the Mongolian State, the Order of Chinggis Khaan, from His Excellency Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia.
Mr. Ban Ki-Moon expressed his pleasure with the opportunity to address key stakeholders like the people of Mongolia at a time of great significance for accelerating the implementation of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals through partnership and action.
He mentioned that global crises such as conflicts, pandemics, and climate change had underlined our interconnectedness and had also made it clear that we need global solutions in response.
He noted that such solutions must be rooted in partnership and inclusiveness; and centered on enhancing health, security, sustainability, and prosperity for all people, everywhere.
The former United Nations Secretary-General pointed out that we could achieve this through sound policies and action, the power of cooperation and partnerships, building peace and sustainability in our communities, and a driving sense of global citizenship and solidarity with others. In this regard, he highlighted the following points:
- The importance of accelerating the implementation of the UN SDGs.
- The urgency of decisive climate action.
- The necessity of elevated women’s empowerment to overcome the global challenges we face.
He specified that the key areas of future cooperation between Mongolia and the Republic of Korea lie in the aforementioned spheres.
Furthermore, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon stated that the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by 193 countries in New York in 2015, offer us a way forward to solve the most critical issues of our time.
He continued, the SDGs had made notable progress in the nine years since their adoption, however, at the moment, the new Global Sustainable Development Report 2024 summarized that, “only 16% of the SDG targets are on track to be met globally by 2030, with the remaining 84% showing limited progress or a reversal of progress.”
With this in mind, we truly need an “all hands-on deck” approach to get us back on track to achieve the SDGs, he said.
The former United Nations Secretary-General also spoke about the urgency of fighting climate change which must be the overarching task of our lifetimes, and that there was no other way than to drastically slash the planet’s carbon emissions on the road to net zero emissions and ensure a just transition.
Mr. Ban Ki-Moon noted that accelerating the green transition was the most crucial way to combat climate change, and in this regard, he commended the ongoing efforts of the Mongolian government to plant one billion trees under the leadership of His Excellency Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia.
