As we say, a map does not redraw the border of the world. It transforms the way we see the world ourselves. Togo now wishes to move from resolution to action. We propose the opening of a new phase of international cooperation, bringing together the Member States, the Agency of United Nations with a scientific and academic institution, geographer and cartographers, historian, educators, young people, and the innovators shaping the technologies of tomorrow, including artificial intelligence. Our objective is clear, dear friends, to make cartography an even more powerful instrument of knowledge, education, inclusion and mutual understanding amongst people. We must encourage research. We must develop also a new education tools for our generation.

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We want African cartographers to contribute. We want European cartographers to contribute. We want Asian cartographers to contribute. We want cartographers from America, from Arab world, Arab region, Pacific and every region in the world to contribute. Because the world belongs to all of us and because the way we represent our world should be a conversation open to all. Excellencies. Today, Togo launches an appeal, an appeal to all member states, an appeal to international organizations, an appeal to the scientific community, an appeal to educators, an appeal to innovators, an appeal to the young people of the world. Let us make correct the Map an international laboratory for reflection, research and innovation on the representation of our world. Let us transform this resolution into a program of cooperation. Let us transform an idea into knowledge. Let us transform knowledge into education and let us transform education into greater understanding among the people we say. We know now what we have to do for our generation. We are not here simply to correct a map. We are here to help correct a way of seeing, a way of seeing inherited from the past, a way of seeing that can be enriched by science, a way of seeing that can be rebalanced by our knowledge, and ultimately a way of seeing that reminds us of one simple truth we share our planet, we share our humanity, and we must learn to see our common world with greater occurrence, greater justice, and greater understanding. Let us correct the map. Let us broaden our perspective. Let us strengthen our understanding. Excellencies, the fact that a resolution called correct the map was adopted here on the 4th of September 2026, will go down in the history books. And we would like the history books to remember another thing: thanks to this resolution, the United Nations begun a global dialogue on the way humanity represents itself. Togo stands ready to continue this dialogue. And finally, we invite all member states to join us. We invite scientists to guide us. We invite educators to support us. We invite youth to hold us to account, and we invite innovators to help us to build the tools of the future. Correct the Map is not the end of the map. Correct the Map is the beginning of a new way of seeing the world. Thank you for your kind attention.

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It's only through providing those that young people and adults can enter the labour markets instead of being recruited by criminal groups. Consequently, our second challenge will be that of making education a tool for social transformation and a tool for the prevention of violence and crime. The quality of education and the depth of learning enjoyed by our children and young people is a predictor of a higher quality of life, because such education makes it possible to develop higher income, better health habits, and that serves the cause of social mobility. On the other hand, we've noted that shortcomings and weak points in our education system combine with other factors to predict crime and indeed, fuel crime. With that in mind, my government has launched a wholesale reform of the Peruvian education system. This reform will strengthen educational infrastructure. It will increase the provision of digital learning and the provision of educational material. We will also bolster the resources given to teachers to teach. At the heart of our reform will be the creation of a head teacher training school. The goal is to equip head teachers with the tools and skills they need to lead their schools independently, so that schools can become inspiring models that promote the participation of parents in this mission. That is, that of making every child as a citizen that stands in solidarity with others, respects them, and a citizen proud of their country. I must recognize that an ideological cultural agenda that is not in line with our reality and the imposition of it, has sowed confusion and disorder of such magnitude that today, teachers in our schools are not able to keep order in the classroom. They cannot discipline their classes because they cower under the threat of being reported. We need to re-establish the principle of respect for authority. We will make our classrooms safe spaces in which children go to learn and teachers go to teach without fear. This is our agenda. It is not that of anyone else being imposed. The role of a state is to withdraw unfair barriers, barriers that stymie people's development.

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Mr. President, Mongolia has consistently championed and supported numerous initiatives within the international community aimed at preserving and promoting cultural heritage traditional knowledge and the shared values of humanity. For instance, in 2025 at Mongolia's initiative, a United Nations General Assembly resolution proclaiming World Horse Day was adopted, which recognises the invaluable contribution of horses to the history, civilization and socio economic development of peoples around the world. Moreover, last July, the Cemetery Complexes of the Xiongnu Nobility, Mongolia's first statehood were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, reflecting international recognition of their historical and cultural significance. It is my pleasure to underline that Mongolia is serving for the first time as a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the term 2026 2029. Moreover, this year marks the 820th anniversary of the Great Mongol Empire, founded by Great Chinggis Khaan, Man of the Millennium, King of Kings. The United Nations General Assembly resolution, adopted on the occasion of the 800 years of Mongolian statehood, highly values and emphasizes the contribution of Mongols to the history of humankind by recognizing the richness of nomadic civilization and its important contribution to promoting dialogue and interaction among all forms of civilization, and that nomadic civilization influenced inter alia, societies across Asia and Europe, and in turn, absorbed influences from both East and west in a true interchange of human values, the important role in the development of extensive trade networks and the creation of large administrative, cultural, religious and commercial centres. This demonstrates that this historical contributions embodied progressive ideas that could serve as a foundation for today's collective efforts to safeguard peace and stability. For example, the renowned Mongolist Władysław Kotwicz in his work, Mongols are the promoters of the idea of global peace from the early 14th century, noted that Öljeitü, Il-Khan of the Mongol Empire, in his letter sent to King Philip the Fourth of France in 1305, eloquently underscored the value of harmonious relations among nations and peoples in the thoughtful words, what could be better than true concord? History is the foundation upon which we reflect on the past, shape the present, and build the future, and is the memory of our statehood. Scholars advise that studying the establishment of Pax Mongolica by Great Chinggis Khaan and his successors, as well as the history of its foreign policy and diplomacy, offers good practices and enduring lessons.

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Madam president, this brings me to a question that is very dear to my heart. What kind of world do we want to bequeath to future generations? We often talk about young people as if they came from the future. Truth be told, they are already shaping the present. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to ask ourselves if we're really preparing a future that is going to earn their trust. My personal experience has done nothing but reinforce this conviction. This year I had the privilege of succeeding His Majesty King Carl Gustaf of Sweden as honorary chair of the World Scout Foundation. My long standing commitment to the Scout movement has taught me a great deal about the power of intergenerational dialogue, solidarity, and the values of the Scout movement. It's also taught me something absolutely fundamental. Placing our trust in young people means giving them responsibilities, allowing them to take action. They are growing up in a world in which there are extraordinary possibilities. But it's also a world where uncertainty runs deep.

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Through different cultures and generations, I saw for myself everything that young people are capable of accomplishing when we give them our trust, we give them responsibilities and the necessary space to take action, as well as when we encourage them to work together. This is why Luxembourg supports the UN's youth delegate programme, as well as the United Nations Youth Office. It is also why our commitment to education, science and culture remains so important, in particular through our term on the Executive Board of UNESCO for the period 2025 2029. It is precisely these qualities which allow trust to flourish.

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Mr. president, Cambodia is pleased and honored to host in Phnom Penh on the 15th and 16th of November next, the 20th summit of La Francophonie. Nearly 30 years after the historic Hanoi summit, this new gathering of the French speaking community in Asia carries particular significance. It demonstrates the vitality of a Francophonie that transcends borders, continents, and cultural differences. The theme of the summit reinvesting in peace for Shared and Sustainable Prosperity, together with that of this year's session, reflects a common imperative. Restoring trust and reinvesting in peace reinforce one another. Beyond celebrating the French language Cambodia wishes to make this summit a moment of bringing together peoples from all continents around shared values peace, respect for diversity, dialogue among cultures, solidarity, mutual understanding and cooperation. The presence of heads of state and government will give this summit its full political and symbolic significance, and will make Phnom Penh a major venue for dialogue among nations. The Kingdom of the Angkor temples looks forward to welcoming everyone with the hospitality for which it is known. Mr. president, we cannot restore the world of yesterday, nor should that be our ambition.

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I welcome this opportunity for Bolivia to be with you and to express our concerns. I will conclude by talking about Pando and Santa Cruz, two departments, and Cochabamba as well, which in September, this is the anniversary of those, nine departments. But I would also like to express my fond affection to young Bolivians, young Bolivians, just like the young people in all of the nations of the United Nations needs to find the meaning and purpose of their lives. Our nations need to give our young people that purpose. There will be the United Nations, Bolivia and countries in the future if we give that meaning to our young people a meaning and a purpose in their lives, the very reason for being. I am here to be part of building a society. That is why in these difficult moments that we are experiencing now, we are working in particular to ensure that young people have a purpose. They want to build the fatherland. They want to build our nation and want to be part of the United Nations as a concept of United Nations, so that we can cooperate, work together. And to be firm in that conviction, to be able to carry out a form of transformation and bring change to our work as a nation. I believe we need to build a new agenda, an agenda of energy critical minerals, industrialization, infrastructure, digitalization, water, biodiversity, food security, education, health, gender science, technology, connectivity, and other things.

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The Pact for the Future reminds us of precisely this responsibility: that the decisions we make today must not undermine the possibilities of those who will live with their consequences tomorrow. But future generations should not only be the subject of our decisions. They should have a voice in making them. And Montenegro has heard the call from the young people to move from participation to real influence in decision-making. Young people are not simply beneficiaries of public policy. They are partners in shaping it. And education— education is our most powerful investment in young people— equipping them with knowledge, with critical thinking, with values they need to shape a better world. And this is very personal to me as well. I know what education can make possible. I was born and educated in Montenegro, and it was education, education, which gave me the opportunity to study and work abroad, to learn from other countries, from other institutions, and to ultimately return home to serve my own country. It shaped my belief that the place where a child is born should never define the limits of what that child can become. Coming from a small country, one can sometimes assume that greater size brings greater vision and greater wisdom. But the United Nations reminds us of a simple truth: vision and wisdom are not measured by the size of a country, but by the ideas we bring and the responsibility with which we act upon.

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This is the first Olympic event in history to be held in Africa. It will be held from the 31st of October to the 13th of November. It will welcome athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees. It will welcome young people from across the world. And in doing just that, Senegal will do much more than host a sporting competition. It will host a promise. We will host a generation that wish to come together rather than stand apart, one that wishes to build together rather than pit themselves against each other. That is our promise to those young people, and it is the Olympic promise. And ultimately that is the promise of the United Nations that is making strength out of our differences, making wealth out of our diversity, and making our human community the very bedrock of peace. In that Olympic spirit, I invite all Member states to attend the opening ceremony of the Youth Games on the 31st of October 2026 in Dakar, and I thank you for your kind attention.

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Mr. President. I would like to also express my deep gratitude for the inscription during the most recent session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan of six medinas of the historic Comorian Sultanates on UNESCO's World Heritage List. This historic recognition is the fruit of 20 years of work and it honours our nation. I would like to express our gratitude to all of the partners who helped us technically and financially, and ultimately made this possible. Furthermore, in one year's time the Union of the Comoros will host, for the first time in its history, the Indian Ocean Islands Games. This major youth sporting event promotes cohesion and personal development in a world far too often marked by division and rejection of diversity. On behalf of the Comorian people, I would like to thank all of the countries and partners whose support has helped make this national and regional undertaking possible.

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We continue to support its meaningful participation in the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and other relevant mechanisms, and reiterate that differences across the Taiwan Strait must be resolved peacefully. Mr. President, no generation has a greater stake in our decisions than young people. Half of the world's population is under 30. Yet 67 million young people were unemployed last year, and more than a quarter of a billion were neither in employment, education, nor training. AI, the green transition, and climate change are reshaping their future jobs. We must prepare them. Last year, our Prime Minister introduced this Assembly to our ASPIRE Program, achieving success through personal investment, resources, and education for citizens aged 5 to 18. Built on savings, investment, and financial education, ASPIRE has opened more than 4,000 savings accounts, with our government committing more than US$2 million to give children a financial foundation for adulthood. We are now piloting our financial education curriculum in schools and training teachers for national rollout. We are not simply giving children money. We are giving them the knowledge to make money work for them. Financial independence must not be reserved for those born into wealth.

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We remain committed to strengthening water security climate resilience and sustainable management of water resources while working with the international community to ensure that climate and water action delivers tangible benefits for our people and future generations. Mr. president. Africa's youthful population is one of our greatest assets and represents an enormous opportunity for global prosperity. According to demographic forecasts, one in every four youths on the globe will be African by 2050. We have a wealth of young Africans with potential to become entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, farmers, innovators and artists, and indeed future leaders. Our responsibility is to equip them with quality education, relevant skills, access to technology, entrepreneurship opportunities, and decent employment so that they can become active drivers of economic transformation and sustainable development. We are alive to the fact that we should ensure that we keep this youthful and productive population healthy in order to harness positive dividends. In the health sector, Zambia has increased domestic budgetary allocations from approximately 7% to over 10%, enabling the recruitment of health workers, expansion and modernization of health infrastructure, and improved availability of essential medical supplies.

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We see it not only as a place that showcases the past, but as a house of knowledge, thought, and enlightenment. Today, in an era when social networks and artificial intelligence are spreading hatred and stereotypes at a rapid pace, it is important to remind this truth once again. Uzbekistan will consistently continue international cooperation aimed at strengthening dialogue between cultures and religions, enlightenment and tolerance. Dear President, ladies and gentlemen, all of us want to live in a world where human dignity is the highest priority.

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Mr. President, Africa has the youngest population on Earth. That is an extraordinary asset if we invest in it. But what is a demographic dividend today can become a demographic crisis tomorrow if opportunity does not keep pace with aspiration. Youth unemployment remains one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Managing it is a shared responsibility. Botswana calls upon the United Nations Development Programme, the International Labour Organization, and all relevant multilateral institutions to make technology transfer, skills development, and capacity building funded priorities. As we will all agree, the credibility of our multilateral commitments will be properly tested in development finance. When countries have the means to invest in their people, and when international institutions respond effectively to shared threats, trust is strengthened.

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Third, we should advance exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and rebuild unity and mutual trust through communication and dialogue. Diversity has created splendor in the world. Condescension and the self-centered mindset have no place in the interactions among different cultures. Promoting mutual trust, mutual respect, solidarity, and harmonious coexistence is the right approach to take. We need to use the UN platform to boost international people to people exchanges, and take the celebration of the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations as an occasion to promote mutual understanding and amity among all peoples and the common development of diverse civilizations.

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This greater representativeness of the UN and its bodies must also extend to language. Portuguese is the most widely spoken language in the southern hemisphere, with nearly 300 million speakers worldwide. It therefore deserves a more prominent role in the United Nations. It is a language of culture and business that, across four continents, unites the members of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, which celebrates this year its 30th anniversary and serves as a forum for dialogue and cooperation, founded on a common history and a shared language.

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In consistently promoting education and scientific cooperation as important pillars of peacebuilding, Turkmenistan will continue its engagement with the United Nations on the initiative to establish a University of Peace and Neutrality. As a practical first step, we will begin consultations on the establishment of an academic center for peace, neutrality and Preventive Diplomacy at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. Distinguished participants. Digital transformation is becoming an increasingly important factor in sustainability and development. Artificial intelligence offers broad opportunities while also requiring responsible international governance to prevent its use to the detriment of peace, security and trust.

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This is a fundamental flaw. We must remember the past so as not to repeat it. That is why Lithuania is promoting the concept of historical remembrance. My personal wish is to see the Pan-European Memorial to all victims of 20th century totalitarian regimes, unveiled in Brussels as soon as possible. There is one lesson Lithuania, having survived and overcome numerous occupations and the waves of repression, can share with international community. Freedom can be delayed, but it cannot be extinguished. Justice can be challenged, but it cannot be defeated.

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Next year, Japan will host a World Horticultural Exposition 2027 in Yokohama, which is an industrial trade fair showcasing green technologies and approaches to sustainable development. We sincerely hope that many of you will come to join this Expo. There are also challenges arising from technological innovation. Whilst advances in AI bring tremendous opportunities for humanity, they also pose challenges including those related to national security. We also urgently need measures to tackle the spread of information not based on facts as well as the spread of propaganda. Japan took the initiative to launch the Hiroshima AI process, establishing the world's first international principles and code of conduct to govern generative AI. In parallel, Japan has been working with like minded partners and Global South partners to co-create a safe, secure, and trustworthy AI ecosystem and will enhance cooperation on safety to respond to the risks of highly capable frontier AI. To accelerate these efforts, we intend to host an AI summit in Japan at the earliest opportunity.

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Our plan is to increase budgetary allocation to education to 5% of GDP within next five years. A curriculum has been developed with emphasis on technical and practical education to ensure an employment oriented education system with strong ethical values. From the first grade, primary school students are being provided with school bags and clothing that is, school uniforms as well as free lunch. The government hopes that this will increase school enrollment and improve the quality of education. To establish sports as a profession, sports has been included as a subject in the education curriculum for the first time. As part of this initiative, more than 2 million students participated in a month long nationwide football tournament for school students held last June. Mr. president. Science and technology will shape the future of the world.

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Azerbaijan's own experience reflects these principles. Our society is inherently multicultural and multi-confessional, shaped by centuries of peaceful co-existence of diverse ethnic, cultural and religious communities. This tradition is reflected in Azerbaijan's international initiatives, including the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue. Launched in 2008 in the framework of the Baku Process, the forum has evolved into a prominent global platform for advancing intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity receiving international recognition, including through a series of United Nations General Assembly resolutions. Building upon these values under the leadership of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has taken important steps to strengthen international solidarity, to build bridges and to mobilize collective responses.

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It's just the departure point. In El Salvador, we have placed education at the very heart of our national transformation, and we've done this because we believe that transforming a school ultimately leads to transforming someone's life, transforming our homeland. And with initiatives like the Two Schools per Day initiative, we are overhauling public education comprehensively from early childhood to middle school and in healthcare. We've renewed infrastructure, modernized equipment and created digital care through Doctor SV and we have managed to reach the length and breadth of our country, even the most forgotten corners, and providing immediate care for anyone who needs it, regardless of whether of wherever they live.

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We count on your support. Doamnelor. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to conclude by welcoming the initiatives of the First Ladies and First Gentlemen concerning children and education, innovation, digital education, and children's safety. Romania has joined the initiatives launched by Melania Trump, Emine Erdoğan, and Olena Zelenska. By building accessible education and creating a more innovative and safer environment for our children, we are building a better future for our societies. Thank you.

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Not only do they protect knowledge and identity, they also allow people to adapt and to create. Bulgaria will continue to uphold this agreement at the international level as well. Our election as a member of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage for 2026-2030 is an opportunity to make this commitment an even more active contribution. Excellencies, all of these efforts lead toward a common goal: a world in which peace, security, human rights, and development are supported and upheld, in which international law protects human dignity.

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Mr. President, as you have understood, the transformation we're calling for at the UN is one we have chosen to launch first at home, convinced that by investing in our people, the main source of wealth of our nation, we will be paving the way toward renewed trust and lasting prosperity. Since 2019, we have had free primary education, enabling more than 5 million additional children to attend school. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 21 million children were enrolled in primary school, compared with 14.7 million four years earlier. This quantitative progress must now be transformed into quality. We are continuing to build and rehabilitate schools, and recently we've begun to roll out school cafeterias because access is not enough. Every child must be able to learn in a school that is safe, inclusive, well-equipped, and open to the tools of our time. This requirement applies especially to girls, children with disabilities, displaced children, and those whose schooling has been jeopardized by conflict. The same ambition guides our health policy.

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We thank our partners and look forward to advancing our shared interests under the Forum’s Outcome document, the Kiritimati Partnership Accord 2026. Mr. President, ultimately, development depends on people, our most valuable resource, making education a vital investment. Kiribati is committed to expanding access to quality, inclusive, relevant education while strengthening skills development, vocational training, digital learning, and opportunities for young people.

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The Science for Development Summit 2026 was held in Dili, August 2026, under the theme" Science in Service of Life." This was an initiative of myself and my brother, the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão. We brought into Timor-Leste more than 20 Nobel laureates, scientists from around the world, leading thinkers to explore how science, technology, and innovation can be placed at the service of humanity and sustainable development. The same spirit of using knowledge, education, and human potential in the service of peace will also guide the chess for peace tournament planned for Dili Timor-Leste in January 2027, jointly sponsored by my office and Mr. Kirsan, former President of FIDE, International Chess Federation.

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Their creativity, energy and ideas are among our greatest national and global assets. Our responsibility is to give them the education, skills, technology and opportunities necessary to shape the world they will inherit. Digital transformation and emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, offer enormous possibilities for education, health care, agriculture, public administration, and economic development. But access must be equitable.

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And that attitude is best fostered by an appreciation of each other's culture, heritage and traditions. In a globalised world, we must continuously and vigorously promote international understanding. Economic rebalancing is well underway. The political one is also visible, and the third facet cultural rebalancing must now be taken forward.

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And too often, the creditor, debt service, is paid first. And it is our children who inherit the consequences. Today, 251 million children and young people remain out of school. Millions more enter classrooms without teachers, books, meals, and facilities they need to learn. When debt service displaces investment in education, we are not merely balancing budgets. We are transferring the cost of today's financial burden to the next generation of citizens. Kenya has chosen to invest in the next generation.

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Education is free and mandatory for all children in public schools. What's more, a 20% reduction in school fees in private schools was decided upon in July 2025. These instructions that are contained in the programme for the Refoundation of the Republic 2025 to 2029 make up the reference framework for all of the state's actions in pursuit of the structural transformation of our economy. These results are very encouraging despite the scale of the challenges, because they are our results that we have achieved through our own means and resources.

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Culture, science, sport, technology, business, and young people from all parts of the world will come together in Belgrade, and I look forward to our hosting a large number of the states represented in this hall today. At the outset, I spoke about trust and responsibility, and that is where I wish to conclude. We will not restore trust through grand declarations if we then continue to act as before. Each of us must begin with our own decisions.

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Our national basketball team, the Bright Stars, demonstrated this before the world. South Sudanese, whose journey had taken them across different countries and continents, came together under one flag. Under the leadership of Luol Deng and the South Sudan Basketball Federation, South Sudan qualified for the Basketball World Cup and subsequently the Olympic Games. They showed the world the image of South Sudan not conflict, not displacement, but talent, discipline, unity and excellence.

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