 Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, two years into the SDG cycle, this conference has become a nexus point for people trying to find solutions to improve life for all. I'm delighted to see representatives of governments, civil society, business, academia, and NGOs come together to find solutions for our world's most pressing challenges under the SDG platform. The International Conference on Sustainable Development has become a rendezvous for those wanting to reflect on sustainability and explore innovative solutions. As an SDG advocate, I'm proud to address the gathering as committed as it is inclusive. If we are to overcome the existing emerging challenges we face today, we cannot act in isolation. It's so important that we reach out to each other, create moments in spaces such as this conference to connect and understand the growing complexity and urgency of the trials we face. Diversity and inclusion are values at the heart of the 2030 Agenda. Partnerships are vital to progress and are heralded as a pillar of sustainable development. These values of diversity, inclusion, and partnership underpin the most important enabler of sustainable development. Peace. The Millennium Development Goals have taught us that no country or province directly impacted by armed conflict could meet the development goals. No true development can happen when lives and countries are shattered, when people must abandon their homes and their jobs, when people live in fear and have no hope for the future. With the SDGs, we've started to visualize the ideal world as we conceive it, a world where no one is left behind, where every person matters and where we take care of our planet for our children and grandchildren. And with the SDGs, the international community has made a commitment to work together to realize this vision. We're witnessing a sea change in ideology and positive shift in thinking. World leaders have stated that peace is a cornerstone for sustainable development. And the 2030 Agenda, however, isn't just the absence of conflict. It calls for mutual trust, people-centered and effective institutions, dialogue amongst officials and communities and individuals. The foundations of lasting peace and sustainable development are one and the same. We must stand united in our prevention and reconciliation efforts. Reconciliation in particular is a demanding process. Work can only begin after the peace agreements have been signed. The painful wounds and memories of conflict are still alive for many, but we must be bold in these times. To say that we must build a future of peace and harmony. The development must be for all to be sustainable. This is justice. Last year, Mr. Juan Manuel Santos, president of Colombia, received the Nobel Peace Prize when he had the courage to declare his vision for peace. It takes courage to champion a future so truly different from the present. The world in 2050 will be very different from the present, but there is one thing that we can predict with certainty. It is that the young women and men of today will have grown into the caretakers of tomorrow. This sense of responsibility for future is really among the young women and men of this world. It is a seed for positive action that you will find anywhere. Even where the opportunities for peace and development are severely limited. This is a lesson I drew from my work with young women and men in the South Sudan. For 42 years, or the last 62 years, the country has been a dreadful civil war. Yet most of the youth I meet here, in the university or in rural communities, know that they can contribute to making their country a better place and that they can do so as of today. Some of our youth peacemakers have started rehabilitation programs for incarcerated teenagers, some are leading environmental awareness classes, literacy classes, some are teaching computer technologies, and others are starting small businesses that provide employment opportunities for at-risk youths. All of these things are contributing to building more peaceful and resilient communities. We cannot wait until 2030 or 2050 to pass the baton of sustainable development to young people. By amassing their collective knowledge for energy for the singular purpose of harmony, the youth have the power to create the light of peace in every corner of our world. By taking on the mantle of the Sustainable Development Goals to find solutions of improving life for all, will be a part of the change that helps us build a more healthy, more happy, and more prosperous society.