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Government officials, corporate leaders, NGOs and investors from around the world gathered at the United Nations on 23 May 2017 to engage in a focused dialogue on

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): Member State Initiatives to Ensure the Success
of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

hosted by the Permanent Mission of Suriname, in cooperation with the World Development Foundation.

“Good, far-reaching policies earning sincere endorsement, will not grow nor endure without private investment” said Henry Mac Donald, Permanent Representative of Suriname to the United Nations, to open the conference. Ambassador Mac Donald went on to further explain that private sector investors have been successfully able to obtain financial returns on their bottom lines while at the same time benefitting the bottom half of the world as they struggle for sustainability.

 The session was inaugurated by the President of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson, followed by an in depth speech on the topic by the Principal Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the Caribbean and Latin America.   

 The morning panel sessions underscored the importance of the United Nations, in its role as a global convener and catalyzer of people, to serve as a platform to bring the private and public sectors together in an effort to harness the power of all stakeholders. A highlight of the morning included a candid discussion between Michel Martelly, former President of Haiti, and Amir Dossal, Founder and President of the Global Partnerships Forum. President Martelly emphasized that poverty serves as the ultimate obstruction to development and it is outside investment, through public-private partnerships, that can serve as the first link in the chain to improving lives.

 In the afternoon panel sessions Ambassador Mac Donald along with His Excellency Rudolph Michael Ten-Pow, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, unveiled a new sustainable eco-tourism plan for the Caribbean Guyana Shield Area in recognition of the UN International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017. Ambassador Ten-Pow, quoting a sentiment made earlier by Mr. Dossal, stressed that it was time “to start doing what we need to do” and encouraged countries to create bankable projects that will be able to attract the investment sector. In a later panel corporate leaders echoed this same notion and instructed both sectors to focus on their own core competences, while also recognizing that a shared mission is not necessary so long as the goals remain complementary.

 Since the private sector accounts for roughly 90% of jobs globally, public-private partnerships will be integral to implanting and verifying the success of the U.N. 2030 Agenda. In line with SDG 17 (the Revitalization of Global Partnerships), private industry and civil society will need to share the responsibility of building new economies. The public and private sectors, along with governments, must come together to set standards and goals in order to drive this global initiative.

 China Special Guests Plenary:
 A Conversation on Public Private Partnerships

 Pan Yuejian, President, Shenzhen Qianhai E-Commerce, China
 Alfred R. Berkeley, Former President, NASDAQ

Followed by Q&A Chair Thank You’s and closing comments.

Lunch. Reconvene at 3PM. ** END OF MORNING SESSION **
 

Afternoon Session • 3:00 PM–5:45 PM • Conference Room 4, United Nations

Bruce Knotts, Co-Chair
 Overview for the afternoon session Executive Committee,
 NGO DPI

Presentation:
 UN INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM FOR DEVELOPMENT, 2017 (www.tourism4development2017.org)

 – RECOGNIZING THE YEAR: PREMIERE OF ‘THE CARIBBEAN GUYANA SHIELD AREA,’ A NEW, SUSTAINABLE, ECO-TOURISM PLAN

Discussion, Permanent Representatives: His Excellency Rudolph Michael Ten-Pow
 His Excellency Henry MacDonald Suriname and Guyana Missions
 to the United Nations
 Mr. Kazi Afzalur Rahman, UNWTO Deputy Special Representative
to the United Nations

 4 Videos: Guyana, Suriname, & French Guyana Tourism; and UNWTO video: Travel.Enjoy.
Respect Special Guests: A
“Conversation on Public Private Partnerships”
 (Q&A) Jeff Smith, Moderator, Fordham University Law School, Sustainability Initiative David Post, IBM Watson
 Tara Nathan, MasterCard
 Scott C. Ratzan, President, ABInBev Foundation

Followed by a short view from Watson / South Africa: SDGs 3, 7, 9, and 11 and the Private Sector (Presented by Goeffrey Siwo, IBM Watson, SA)

Special Guests
 A Globalization Dialogue with The New Economy Panel 1
While Building Regional Relations, How Should Public-Private Partnerships Proceed?
Antonio Rodrigue, Haiti Minister of Foreign Affairs
Wilson Laleau, Chief of Cabinet, President Moise,

 Haiti Special Guests – A Globalization Dialogue with The New Economy Panel 2
 While Building Regional Relations, How Should Public-Private Partnerships Proceed?
 

 Mei Dehui, President, Zhongjinsheng Investment,
China Dr. Li Chengyi, President, Beijing Chengyi Medical Institute,
China Chen Qingkui, President, Jinan Keming, China

“First Lady” Funds and The Economic Empowerment of Women
Pilar Stella, First Ladies of the World Summit, Co-Founder
Natalie Gonnella-Platts, Deputy Director, Women's Initiative, Bush Institute
 Matthew Swift, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO

Final Thoughts, further Q/A or Statements
Co-Chairs Bruce Knotts & Ambassador Henry MacDonald
Close

Very Special Thanks to our interpreters: Mirriam Gauvin, Abdoulaye Maïga, Mirriam Gauvin, Bertrand Sciberras, Huaihai Wang , Jiansheng Tang, Jiangzhong Mei , and Weiqun Guo

Print FriendlyPDF  Bio of Speakers Click this link

Dr. Xingang Guo, Co-Chair, Chairman and President, World Development Foundation,
H. E. Peter Thompson, President of the General Assembly
Amir Dossal, Founder and Chairman,  Global Partnership Forum
His Excellency, Michel Martelly, Former President of Haiti,
Jessica Falaeta,   Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
 

Scott C. Ratzan, President of the  ABin Bev Foundation
Daivd Post, IBM Global Enterprise Government and Health Care Leader
Tara Nathan , Executive vice president of Public-Private Partnerships at Mastercard

Wilson Laleau, Chief of Cabinet, President Moise, Haiti
Bruce Knotts, Chair, The Executive Committee of Non-governmental Organizations Associated with the United Nations, Department of Public Information.
Antonio Rodrigue, Haiti Minister of Foreign Affairs

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