National statement of the Republic of Latvia
Informal dialogue on Building global resilience and promoting sustainable development through regional and interregional infrastructure connectivity
Sustainability week, UN Headquarters, New York
18 April 2024
Mister President, Distinguished excellencies and delegates,
We would like to thank the President of General Assembly for convening the Sustainability Week and paying attention to crucial sustainable development topics and the President of Poland, His Excellency Andrzej Duda for addressing the Member States on infrastructure connectivity.
Latvia aligns itself with the statement delivered earlier by the European Union and would like to use this opportunity to add its national remarks.
Latvia strongly supports the vision of enhancing sustainable connectivity. This fosters stronger individual countries, better connected regions, and a global environment of sustainable and trusted partnerships. In this regard, we would like to address three main points:
First: Last year, Latvia was part of core group of the cross-regional initiative for the UN General Assembly resolution titled “Building global resilience and promoting sustainable development through regional and interregional infrastructure connectivity”.
It calls for enhancing infrastructure connectivity and resilience at all levels, through development of cross-border infrastructure in transport, energy, and digital sectors. Countries in special situation like LLDCs and SIDS have untapped potential of sustainable infrastructure development. In particular, SDG 9 provides an opportunity for these countries to enhance connectivity.
The current geopolitical situation calls for prioritization of the resilience of our connections, and it’s also time to strengthen the relationship between the public and private sector to secure funding and financing of infrastructure.
To remain competitive, we must accelerate smart investments in infrastructure that meet the highest social and environmental standards. This will foster the development of resilient connections with the global community.
Second: To achieve tangible results, close collaboration between countries, regions, partners, financial institutions, and the private sector is crucial. The successful Three Seas Initiative exemplifies a valuable cooperation platform that bridges the gap between geopolitics and business.
The recent Three Seas Summit in our neighbouring country Lithuania underscored the Initiative's strategic importance. Summit welcomed the participation of high-level representatives from Türkiye, the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, Georgia, Montenegro in addition to regular member states. We were also delighted to welcome Japan as a new strategic partner for the Three Seas Initiative, joining the United States, Germany, and the European Commission. Our sincerest wish for all the success to Poland as the organizer of the next year’s Three Seas Initiative Summit and Business Forum.
Third: The Baltic region's commitment to connectivity manifests in the Rail Baltica project, a high-speed railway line connecting Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania with Warsaw, Poland. Today's challenges necessitate strong cooperation and investments in a more interconnected, efficient, sustainable, and secure infrastructure network. This connectivity will serve as both a fortress and a growth catalyst for the Baltic region.
In conclusion, let me underline that the reinforcement of interregional connectivity serves as a cornerstone for bolstering global resilience and sustainability. In this spirit, we must strive for continued progress, building upon past achievements and fostering continued collaboration to achieve our shared objectives. Through such collaborative efforts, we can effectively bridge the gap between vision and action.
I thank you!