?he Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Costas Kadis expressed the appreciation of the government of Cyprus to the United Nations Environment Assembly for its contribution to the promotion of sustainable development worldwide at the Special Session of the Assembly held on 3-4 March in Nairobi.
According to an announcement by the Ministry, the Session was organised by the Government of Kenya to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and during the session the achievements of the Programme`s 50-year-long operation and its vision for the future were reviewed, with interventions by Heads of State and government representatives.
Kadispraised the work in promotion of sustainable development at the global level and stressed the important role the organisation in developing global initiatives and mobilising resources to design, develop and implement effective and innovative solutions that address the triple global crisis (climate change, loss of biodiversity, pollution).
The Political Declaration in support of the efforts of the Programme to address the world`s major environmental challenges was unanimously adopted at the end of the Special Session, with Heads of State and government representatives declaring their commitment to strengthening the Programme and recognising the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a basic human right.
The preceding United Nations Environment Assembly adopted 14 resolutions on strengthening actions to conserve nature and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, while the Assembly resulted in the unanimous adoption of the Ministerial Declaration to initiate processes to conclude the first international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution, which UNEP`s Executive Director described as “the most important multilateral agreement on the environment after the Paris agreement on climate change”.
On the sidelines of the Assembly Kadis held meetings with the Honorary Consul of Cyprus in Kenya and former Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka and Archbishop Makarios of Nairobi, with the Minister praising the humanitarian and educational work carried out by the Diocese of Kenya and assuring Archbishop Makarios that the Government of Cyprus will continue to support its work.
Source: Cyprus News Agency