STATEMENT BY HO JIAN KAI, DELEGATE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. UNHQ, TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL CHAMBER 13 JULY 2026

Mr. President,

1                    The latest SDG report offers a sobering assessment: the world remains dangerously off-track in achieving the SDGs. Yet the gap between commitment and delivery is not due to a lack of solutions. When long-term planning, financing, technology and partnerships converge, progress follows.

 2                   Singapore’s development journey is testament to this. As a Small Island Developing State with no natural resources, we have had to pursue sustainable development as one integrated system. We closed our water loop through our Four National Taps strategy. We are scaling up solar power and importing low-carbon electricity through regional grids, including the Lao PDR–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore Power Integration Project, and charting a path to net zero by 2050. And we plan land use, housing, transport and greenery as a single whole to keep our dense city-state liveable and resilient.

3                     Innovation and technology have been our catalyst and accelerator. Membrane technology enabled large-scale recycling of used water. Digitalisation and artificial intelligence now help us manage our utilities, optimise our energy grid and plan our city. Sustained investment in research and innovation keeps building the resilient infrastructure and industries on which long-term growth depends.

4                      None of this was achieved alone, and it cannot be sustained alone. Partnerships must work at every level. Government-to-government, we share our development experience with fellow developing countries through the Singapore Cooperation Programme, in which more than 165,000 officials from more than 180 countries have participated. Business-to-business, commercial partnerships can deploy capital, technology and expertise at a scale no government can match. Platforms like the Singapore International Water Week and World Cities Summit exist precisely to broker them.

Mr. President,

5                    With only four years to 2030, it is also timely to begin shaping the contours of what comes next. Beyond a candid stocktake, we must identify: (a) which metrics have helped Member States prioritise and sequence the SDGs; (b) where cross-SDG synergies have delivered results; and (c) where our frameworks have fallen short. We must create space to address these questions well before the next SDG Summit, so that it can build on, not begin, these reflections.

6                  Singapore stands ready to work with all partners and stakeholders to accelerate the full and effective implementation of the SDGs.

 7                  Thank you.