WORLD LEADERS ADOPT NEW DEVELOPMENT GOALS AT UN

New York, 13 Dzulhijjah 1436/27 September 2015 (MINA) – World leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly on Friday voted to adopt sustainable development goals that will shape global progress for the next 15 years.

The ambitious set of 17 development goals aim to end poverty, fight social inequality and fix climate change by 2030, World Bulletin quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Welcoming the adoption, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon termed the goals as “a blueprint for a better future, a to-do list for people and planet”.

“Now we must use the goals to transform the world. We will do that through partnership and through commitment”, he said.

The historic vote came hours after Pope Francis spoke out on poverty, environment and climate change in his address to the world body.

“A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged”, the pontiff said in remarks translated from Spanish.

The Sustainable Development Summit at the UN will last until Sunday, followed by the annual general debate of world leaders. Approximately 150 heads of state and government are attending the meetings.

The agenda and its adoption is among several watershed international events in 2015, including the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Ethiopia in July, and the upcoming UN climate change conference that will be held in Paris in December. (T/P006/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)