Kuwait Calls for Recalibrating the Mechanism for Implementing the Sustainable Development Plan
Kuwait's diplomatic attaché calls for transforming development commitments into tangible impact, emphasizing the role of the Kuwait Fund in supporting partner countries and the necessity of ensuring security and stability
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
This came in the statement delivered by Kuwait’s Diplomatic Attaché, Abdullah Boushkhar, during the general debate of the Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) of the United Nations General Assembly.
Boushkhar stated that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is no longer a test of intentions, but a benchmark for the international community’s ability to translate commitments into tangible impacts on people’s lives. He warned that the gap between what countries have pledged and what has been achieved on the ground remains wide and is widening in areas such as food security, decent work, clean energy, sustainable cities, and the building of resilient institutions.
He added that reducing development to numerical indicators without addressing the root causes of inequality, the cost of financing, and the fragility of supply chains would empty the Agenda of its substance. He emphasized the need to direct implementation toward clear priorities that yield tangible results in people’s lives.
On the domestic front, Boushkhar affirmed Kuwait’s continued translation of its commitment to the 2030 Agenda through “Kuwait 2035” Vision, which takes economic diversification, human capital development, and sound public financial management as fundamental pillars of national development.
He noted that Kuwait is also working to enhance resource efficiency, develop infrastructure, and encourage public-private partnerships in the fields of renewable energy, water management, and sustainable transport, thereby contributing to the construction of a more resilient and diversified economy.
On the external front, Boushkhar outlined Kuwait’s developmental contributions, which constitute an integral part of its foreign policy. He pointed out that the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, established in 1961, has financed more than a thousand development projects in 107 countries, covering sectors such as roads, electricity, water, agriculture, education, and health.
He further stated that the Fund provides its financing under concessional terms that take into account the needs of partner countries, while enhancing the impact of its projects through support for national capacity building, technology and expertise transfer, and leveraging local partnerships to ensure the sustainability of their outcomes.
In this context, Boushkhar stressed that the development path is inseparable from the requirements of security and stability. He reiterated Kuwait’s strongest condemnation of Iranian attacks targeting its territory, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2817 (2026).
He also condemned Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and threats to freedom of navigation there, as well as the continued obstruction and disruption of navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait by its proxies in the region, given the repercussions on food and energy security, the rising cost of basic commodities, and the hindrance to developing countries’ efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
In this regard, he called for ensuring freedom of navigation and its safety in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, thereby protecting developmental gains and supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Regarding the Palestinian issue, Boushkhar expressed Kuwait’s strongest condemnation of the systematic destruction policies carried out by the Israeli occupation in the occupied Palestinian territories, which have affected infrastructure, the environment, and the food system, alongside the imposition of a siege, closure of humanitarian corridors, obstruction of aid delivery, and targeting of fields, warehouses, mills, and hospitals.
Concluding his statement, Boushkhar reaffirmed Kuwait’s position that eradicating poverty in all its forms remains the overarching priority for the Second Committee. He called for equitable development, predictable sustainable financing, environmental protection, and the expansion of social protection systems.
He stressed that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda cannot be completed without respecting the sovereignty of states, halting aggression, ending occupation, and guaranteeing peoples’ right to security and development.
