Queen Mathilde, defender of Sustainable Development Goals
Queen Mathilde is now part of a group of fifteen eminent personalities who have been selected by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. These leading figures will help the United Nations to mobilize the international community for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) by 2030.
The 2030 Agenda that includes 17 ODD was adopted in September 2015 in New York by all countries and includes the world's most important challenges. The Agenda recognizes the close link between the people, the planet, peace, and prosperity. Therefore, the Agenda is indivisible and universal and calls for an inclusive approach. Achieving this ambitious programme of sustainable development requires the collaboration of governments, the private sector and civil society as a whole .
Belgium played an important role in the adoption of ODD and fully subscribed to it. The Belgian international cooperation policy now supports, as a priority, the least developed countries (LDCs) with the objective to devote at least 50% of our official development assistance to them. The private sector and the potential leverage of digitization on development will play a central role.
The appointment of Queen Mathilde is an important international recognition of her role as a Queen and of our country in the fight against poverty, injustice and the consequences of climate change.