Distinguished colleagues and friends,

The SDGs are a significant accomplishment of multilateralism. The Goals reflect the aspirations and priorities of Member States and draw on the collective knowledge of governments, civil society, and academia. 

As individuals and collectives, we all have a role to play in ensuring we continue to take necessary steps in reaching these objectives and strive for them even more resolutely in times of instability and uncertainty. 

On the 24th of February, we all witnessed an attack by Russia on Ukraine. Israel is a country that has experienced many wars and, therefore, knows firsthand that war is not the way to resolve conflicts. War sows destruction, chaos and tragedy- not a brighter future. We call on Russia to stop its attack on Ukraine. Israel is concerned over the impact on civilians, including the rising number of civilian fatalities and mass displacement. We will continue to support the Ukrainian people. 

To that end, a field hospital was established to treat internally displaced people in the West of Ukraine, in the city of Mostyska. It is now fully operational with 100 medical staff members from Israel and equipped with all the necessary equipment and supplies. The hospital contains emergency and delivery wards and has already treated over a thousand patients.

Turning to the topic at hand, Quality health services are essential to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being. More than two years since the first SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported, the COVID-19 pandemic remains an acute global emergency.

The pandemic highlights the need to strengthen our national health systems and improve the ways in which we share knowledge in the region. Only when countries share data, resources, and best practices can we overcome threats of this scale. It is now up to all of us to strengthen our health systems, which have had their capacities overstretched, ensure their quick recovery, provide day-to-day services, and increase resilience to future shocks.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, it became clear that every aspect of our lives relies on our access to quality health services and treatments. It became clear that we need to base our decisions on reliable, science-based information and scientific research. We learned to appreciate the role of strong communities and our basic need to live in healthy environments and enjoy the nature surrounding us.  

In that regard, we must not forget the existential challenges facing our planet – climate change, as the latest IPCC report just published this week demonstrates, biodiversity loss, global water crisis, and pollution are all deeply interlinked. Therefore, we must address them in a holistic manner. 

Governments should work closely with local authorities to empower them to adopt nature-based strategies to cope with climate change. For example, the Israeli government recently approved a decision to plant nearly half a million trees in 100 cities, along 30,000 km of streets, with the objective of having 70% of our main sidewalks shaded by trees. Besides the direct economic benefit of this action, estimated in millions of dollars, there are many other benefits such improving real estate values, reducing sun exposure damage, reducing skin cancer risk, encouraging physical activity by reducing vehicle dependence and much more.

As the world is experiencing a growing need for practical solutions to the climate crisis, Israel has put Climate Change at the center of our government policies and is one of the world's leading countries in the field of climate change innovation. As a result, it has come a long way in addressing challenges in many areas, such as agriculture, food security, desertification, and water shortage. For example, a wide variety of technologies and methods to prevent water loss have been developed, minimizing water loss to around 7% - a world record. In addition to this, 90% of Israel's wastewater is purified and recycled for use in agriculture. 

Dear Colleagues, 

All of the global emergencies that I listed call for a much more sustainable path of development for all our societies, our planet, and our economies. It demands shifting the international discourse to a solution-centered approach based on practical and scalable solutions. We must work together towards finding innovative solutions to our common challenges, and Israel stands ready to share its good know-how and technologies.

I thank you for your attention.