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It is also built when states continue to engage in dialogue. Switzerland is neutral. This neutrality goes hand in hand with a steadfast commitment to the UN charter, international law and the UN's three pillars peace and security, human rights and sustainable development. Our experience has also taught us that dialogue is not a sign of weakness. Engaging in dialogue does not mean glossing over disagreements or abandoning one's principles. Engaging in dialogue means maintaining contact when positions begin to diverge. A bridge does not require the two banks of a river to become alike. It simply allows us to cross from one to the other. In times of tension, this possibility often becomes essential. Dialogue is a tool for de-escalation when crises erupt. Above all, it can serve as a means of prevention before crises arise. It is in this spirit that Switzerland will continue to offer its good offices and provide spaces where those who are no longer on speaking terms can, when circumstances permit, resume dialogue.
I do not have a concrete solution which is very complex and difficult, but I wonder if it makes sense for all of us to be so dependent on speculation and the volatility of financial and futures markets, which affect the entire production sector, even when the instability originates only from a portion or a limited period of that production. Excellencies, we also bear the intergenerational responsibility to accelerate the energy transition in order to reduce dependencies and mitigate the effects of climate change. I will share with you that in Portugal, we feel the devastating impacts of climate change firsthand in the increase in forest fires, coastal erosion, and the degradation of marine ecosystems, and also and more frequently in extreme weather events, new such as storms, high winds and flash floods. That is why we take a strategic approach to the energy transition. More than 70% of our energy production comes from renewable sources. We have anticipated our carbon neutrality target to 2045. We maintain close collaboration and continued support for countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and we are investing in innovative solutions, such as agreements to convert debt into green investment, climate change and freedom of navigation share a common priority of our policy the sea and ocean protecting the marine environment and its biodiversity. Combating ocean warming, addressing the threat of sea level rise and ensuring universal freedom of navigation are essential priorities on the ocean agenda, which is an agenda we all have to pay attention to. These are shared responsibilities and opportunities that require a collective effort that must unite us all. Mr. President. Excellencies. Despite everything, despite everything.
One person out of 17 in my country is today a refugee. From this rostrum, I would like to solemnly reiterate and reaffirm Chad's position regarding the Sudanese conflict. Our country has observed since the very first day of the war strict, absolute and unchanged neutrality. I would like to say this very firmly my country does not support any of the parties to the conflict in Sudan, and in no way authorises the use of its territory or its infrastructure to their benefit Chad reiterates its commitment to peace in Sudan and reiterates its support for all initiatives, including those of the quad and the quintet, seeking to establish a ceasefire and to promote dialogue between the warring parties. Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I cannot now remain silent regarding the serious nature of that which is directly affecting our sovereignty over recent days. The Energy East Province within our country has been the theatre of airstrikes linked to the conflict in Sudan. Chad condemns in the strongest possible terms these new incursions. They are an unacceptable violation of our territorial integrity, and Chad reserves the right to take all necessary measures in line with international law to protect its population and its sovereignty. If this occurs again. Mr. President, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. I would also, from this rostrum, like to stress how concerned my country is with the crisis in the Gulf region and the repercussions of this on the global economy. Loyal to the principles of the charter, Chad rejects any act of aggression against a sovereign state and condemns. To this end the airstrikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran. And along the same lines. She very firmly condemns the Iranian attacks against the fraternal fraternal countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan, as well as the drone attack on the 29th of July in the Egyptian port of. We would urge all parties to demonstrate restraint and to promote dialogue regarding the Middle East. Chad remains seriously concerned by ongoing violence and humanitarian suffering in Gaza, sticking to its unwavering position, my country reiterates its unfailing commitment to the right of the Palestinian people to have their own state in the 1967 borders, alongside a state of Israel that lives in peace and security. As we do each year on this same occasion. We call once again for the lifting of the economic and trade embargo imposed on Cuba and on its people. Mr. president, Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the theme Restoring Trust, Managing transformation.
Italy believes in this institution, in its value, in its central role. We believe in peace, which remains our guiding star, the guiding principle of Italy's foreign policy. It is rooted in our history, enshrined in our constitution, and integral to our identity. Dialogue, however, is not a sign of weakness, nor does it mean neutrality. Italy knows where it stands. Our home is Europe. Our alliance is with the West, and our values are freedom, democracy, and the dignity of every human being. Yet belonging to the West does not mean retreating behind fortress walls.
Faced with the challenges of a constantly changing world, the Refoundation government that I lead places food sovereignty, health and education at the heart of its action. This priority commitment serves the entire population, particularly women and children, while providing our youth with a means to build their future with confidence and contribute to national development. With more than 55% of its population under the age of 25, Madagascar enjoys a tremendous demographic dividend, driven by a firm political determination to build a brighter future for this dynamic youth. We recognize the importance of an education system which is fully aligned with labour market realities, an essential condition for sustainable development, and we hope that cooperation in this area will move beyond a strictly quantitative approach, measured only by the volume of infrastructure built or the number of students enrolled, and instead adapt fully to economic realities on the ground. Our aim is to focus on future oriented sectors. While redefining our indicators of success. To prioritize the practical acquisition of skills and medium term employment outcomes. Mr. president, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Madagascar's foreign policy is guided above all by the imperatives of economic and social development for the well-being of its people. Madagascar has chosen a policy of engagement in all directions We are open to all international partnerships, capable of meeting the aspirations of our people and supporting the general policy of the state of the refoundation. Madagascar's position of neutrality with regard to global conflicts is consistent with its diplomatic tradition and its desire to preserve constructive relations with all its partners. This idea is not ideological, but is based on international partnership that can meet the aspirations of our people in an open spirit, without exclusivity, in full respect for national sovereignty, the achievement of our ambitions cannot be separated from the international context in which they are pursued.
The entry into force of the Agreement on Marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, which Monaco was one of the first countries to sign and ratify, is a victory of the law over seizure of cooperation over predation. We now need to translate these commitments into acts to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. To finally agree on an ambitious and binding agreement on plastics pollution and exercise extreme caution with regards to deep seabed mining. The ocean is nobody's property. It is everyone's responsibility. Monaco will continue to do its part in this vital task, relying on science, which is the only universal compass. And what goes for the ocean also goes for the climate The Paris Agreement remains our common framework. Monaco will honour its commitments by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 67.5% by 2030, and by achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
I feel indignation as a Panamanian. We are staunch defenders of sovereignty, after all. And we also have a treaty of neutrality for the canal, which is in our constitution and which ultimately is the guarantee of free trade and the equality for this passage for all nations of the world. As you can therefore see, Panama believes in these principles and actively works to ensure that this happens in practice.
Mr. president, I turn to my final point. No country of our size stands alone. Neither is a friend to all and an enemy to none. Naoero's partnerships are not all of one kind. Some are born of kinship, some of shared interests. Some have been built through decades of cooperation, and some are grounded in the conviction that when a wrong persists, it must be named and addressed. Each relationship matters. None is a substitute for another, and none comes at the expense of another. Mr. president, small states are increasingly asked to choose between partners, between blocs, between competing visions of the world. Naoero will not be made to choose. We will work with every partner who respects our sovereignty and our right to decide their own future. That is not neutrality. It is called independence. Partnership does not mean agreement on everything. It means standing together where interests align and standing on principle where they do not. A friend I speak for today has been waiting for justice. I am asking this assembly to honour its word. And I cannot then fall silent when that word is broken for someone else. For 33 consecutive years, this assembly has called for an end to the embargo against Cuba. Naoero reiterates that call and we encourage dialogue grounded in full respect for sovereignty because sovereign equality must be more than a principle written in the charter.
We will take the lead in shaping AI into a tool for solving the shared challenges we face, such as the climate crisis, public health, food insecurity, and refugee issues. Second, the green transformation. The climate crisis is often referred to as a global group project shared by all 8 billion people on earth. A single country cannot tackle this challenge alone. At the same time, abandoning growth cannot bring everyone on board. The Republic of Korea announced its 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions as part of its active participation in the Paris Agreement and UN Climate Action. The Korea Green Transformation Strategy aims to convert our industrial structure, creating a virtuous cycle in which carbon neutrality leads to new growth engines and decent jobs. We are ready to share our experience and best practices with the international community. Co-hosting the fourth UN Ocean Conference with Chile in 2028 reflects our commitment to leading discussions on the sustainable development of our oceans.
Generations move on. But the institutions and powers created on the pretext of those alleged emergencies remain. And if for a moment we allow ourselves to believe that the lesson had been learned after so many failures, the arrival of artificial intelligence demonstrates quite something else. The printing press, the steam engine, electricity, the internet— every great technological revolution has been accompanied by fears about what it would destroy, particularly jobs. There is no doubt that this is one of the most effective ways of instilling fear in human beings, given the role of work as a means of subsistence. Take the Industrial Revolution as an example. When it began, the world was home to some 800 million human beings. If, in keeping with the Luddites and the perennial pessimists, employment had at best remained constant, then, given that the world's population has since increased more than tenfold, the global employment rate today would be at 90%. That is absurd, something that few of us few seem to have stopped to consider, perhaps except perhaps those of us with a passion for reading Borges, who love his approach for testing an idea by taking it to its logical extreme. Ultimately, these technological advances have not only failed to produce any of the catastrophes, but in addition, all of these ended up bringing an end to what human beings were able to do. Today, we have built machines that are able to carry out tasks that only a few months ago seemed out of our reach. Where we many see a threat, we see a new frontier: artificial intelligence, or superintelligence, as Donald Trump said, can double our productivity in a way that we do not yet comprehend. To invoke Adam Smith, artificial intelligence will be the pin factory of the 21st century, and much more besides. It can transform our economies, our medicine, our education, even the way we govern. That calls for prudence, yes. But prudence doesn't mean fear. Moreover, under no circumstances should fear automatically translate into obedience. Indeed, the dystopian scenarios commonly invoked to instill fear and justify state control make no sense from an economic standpoint. The answer lies with Adam Smith. Artificial intelligence, like the division of labor in the case of the pin factory, is an accelerator of productivity growth. Smith noted, however, that the division of labor is limited by the extent of the market. Growth will therefore be constrained by its counterpart in genuine demand, without fiscal deficits or spurious money creation. But that's not all. Those projects must also be financed, and that should be done with the resources of human beings. That is, their initial endowments and level of wealth, which correspond to the side of the market. Moreover, the purpose of producing more is to achieve a higher level of consumption. Yet the satisfaction generated by consumption increases at a decreasing rate, while the loss of satisfaction involved in surrendering leisure in order to produce more rises disproportionately. Consequently, the point at which the gain from greater consumption is equal to the loss of leisure brings the system to an equilibrium, leaving no room for dystopian terror. That is why, when we hear that the state should control artificial intelligence, we should remember something basic. The state is not an abstract creature. It is made up of people, officials, and bureaucrats. Granting it control over innovation means granting some people, in the best and most naive of cases, the power to limit what everyone else can create. History gives us reason to scrutinize such power carefully. For centuries, fear over tomorrow has been used as an argument for restricting freedoms today, always with the same promise: give us a part of your freedom and we will protect you from this new threat. We will apply a different principle. In the face of uncertainty, we propose determination. In the face of fear, courage. In the face of decline, ambition. And in the face of resignation, we propose optimism. That is why I tell you that when it comes to artificial intelligence, Argentina will stand at the forefront of freedom. We have the critical minerals, the energy, the talent, and the capacity to compete at every link in that value chain. And we want to become the most competitive place in the world in which to develop it, with a cutting-edge legal framework, a commitment not to regulate preemptively, a commitment not to regulate preemptively, limited liability for companies operating with AI agents, and tax incentives. Because artificial intelligence is not geopolitically neutral. The West must lead the development of this technology to ensure that it is consistent with our fundamental libertarian values, namely respect for life, liberty, private property, and the notion of human dignity.
Everyone is aware of it. Its name is Venezuela. Before coming to New York, I visited Caracas, despite the fact that the diplomatic relations between Paraguay and Venezuela have been suspended. My decision to visit the Caribbean country, therefore, surprised many, and many people have questioned, sometimes harshly, my decision. I therefore like to use this forum to say it loudly and clearly: I didn't go to Venezuela to legitimize a regime. I did not go there to legitimize or validate anything whatsoever. No, ladies and gentlemen, quite the opposite. Paraguay cherishes democracy, and we believe that the Venezuelan people also deserve democracy. The reason I went to Venezuela is because, for 25 years, South American leaders have issued fine, lyrical rhetoric, resounding statements, and countless slogans on Venezuela. For 25 years, we watched, we waited, and we condemned, from the comfort of this distance, without doing anything for the Venezuelan people. We watched. We talked. But we didn't act. We did nothing. In the meantime, our Venezuelan brothers and sisters suffered. That is why I went to Venezuela a few days ago, to take a second step following the first difficult but extremely important step that was represented by the fall of the dictator Maduro. Because Paraguay can play a useful role in the second step: Venezuela's transition towards a pluralistic democracy. Venezuela is now facing a new reality. Defending our values cannot mean standing indifferent to that reality. That is why Paraguay has opened a channel of dialogue with the Venezuelan authorities and is already taking action towards a Venezuela in which power resides with its one true sovereign, the Venezuelan people. Dialogue doesn't mean abandoning our principles or forgetting the past. It means having the courage to look ahead and to act. We cannot wait for the United States or some northern power to resolve our problems. We have to resolve them ourselves. Venezuela, what I want, is what my own country achieved after 35 years of dictatorship in 1989: a real, lasting democratic transition. I don't want a photo opportunity. I don't want a communiqué. I want, we want, a transition. With institutions, with security, with an economy, and with a people that are once again integrated into the international community and, in our region, integrated into Mercosur. Paraguayan leadership doesn't confuse dialogue with indifference. Dialogue, talking, is one way of standing with the Venezuelan people. It's also a way of jointly combating transnational crime, which knows no borders and which harms our entire region. Today I call on all my Latin American brothers and sisters, but also on these United Nations. Let us come together to help Venezuela, this beautiful country, to reintegrate into the world and achieve a democratic government that respects human rights. To borrow the words of the Latin poet Publius: I am human. Nothing human is alien to me. The suffering of the Venezuelan people is also the suffering of the Paraguayan people. It is the suffering of us all. And what applies to Venezuela applies, perhaps even more so, to Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti, countries that have lived for far too long in the darkness of authoritarianism, violence, and sorrow. Let us bring light to these sister nations. For where there are free elections, there is hope. But we mustn't stop at words. We must act. Let us do so. Let us do so together. Of course, problems are not confined to my region. There are problems all around the world. Paraguay is noting with deep concern what is happening in the Persian Gulf when the Strait of Hormuz is closed. It is not the great powers or the wealthiest who pay the price. It is the least protected who pay the price, the most vulnerable among our citizens. Food and energy security, the food and energy security of millions of people, depends on keeping that passage open. Therefore, today I make an urgent appeal for the immediate cessation of attacks, for the full reopening of and freedom of navigation through the Straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, and a return to negotiations. Human dignity, dear friends, does not change when we move from one continent to another. It is always the same. And it is that human dignity that must guide not only our words but also our actions. Hormuz is the problem we face today. But I wish to tell you here that tomorrow's problem could be far worse, infinitely worse. I'm referring to the ominous clouds gathering over the Indo-Pacific, particularly over the Taiwan Strait. What happens there is not merely a regional matter. No, ladies and gentlemen. It affects Japan, the whole of East and Southeast Asia, and above all, it affects the global economy. It affects the microchips that power industry, defense, and artificial intelligence. Anyone pretending that this is far off or too distant to matter simply has not understood the 21st century. If oil was the fuel of the 20th century, microchips are the fuel of the 21st. The stakes of this potential conflict could scarcely be higher. The very future of humanity is at stake. And I want to make one thing clear here: Paraguay is not neutral on this issue. Paraguay stands, and I say this loud and clear, with Taiwan. Not out of expediency, quite the opposite. We stand with Taiwan because of the profound values we share: democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and peace. Seventy years of uninterrupted diplomatic relations are not merely a number or the product of a mere calculation. They are a testament to the real friendship between our peoples. That is why today I reaffirm our support for the full and meaningful participation of the Republic of China, Taiwan, in the United Nations and its specialized agencies. Taiwan has concrete contributions to make to peace, development, and human rights. Excluding it doesn't serve to strengthen the system. It deprives the system of capacities that could benefit us all. And it is a stain on the United Nations. But let's make no mistake: the problem is not Taiwan alone. What's happening there, in that part of the world, is simply too dangerous for us all. Dear friends, let us not stop at words or slogans. Let us move to concrete action. I assure you that at this negotiating table, at the table for peace and concord, Paraguay will be on the front row, ready to help. But the world's problems do not end in a single region or place. They go to the very heart of the international system.
Timor-Leste, joined with the vast majority of U.N. member states, to reaffirm our belief that the two-state solution is the only viable solution for Israelis to live in peace with themselves and with the Palestinians, and for the Palestinians to live in peace with themselves and with the Israelis. The risks are too high to continue an unstable status quo. The opportunity to better sit before us, and the choice is an international order: falling to pieces or rising to peace. Regarding Western Sahara, we welcome the Moroccan proposal and the recent Security Council resolution as an opportunity for dialogue. As with any situation of this nature, the people directly interested must be consulted on the future status. We hope that a just, comprehensive settlement is reached between Moroccan authorities and the Polisario Front. Excellencies, please take some time to look at the situation in Sudan, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. Look at the situation in South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Yemen. These are not abstract. They are people. They are women. They are children, youth in their best years. They are parents. They are grandparents. And they are a grand jury of humanity, indicting us all, leaders and business, of death. For you have celebrated the tens of billions of dollars in profits from wars and deaths that you are accomplishers too. How is it that we can scroll past the end of the wall before finishing our coffee? How is it that a child pulling pieces of his family from the rubble has become a deadline, a headline so we quickly skip, a notification we silence? A Tuesday. Behind each of the dead is not a statistic. It is a mother who will spend the rest of her life searching for a face in a crowd that will never appear. It is a boy hiding in silence, learning before he can read that the wall outside his door wants him dead. It is a girl, pregnant by the man who came to destroy her home, carrying inside her both the violence done to her and the life she never shows. We tell ourselves we would never look away if we truly saw it. And yet we saw Rwanda and Bosnia happen right under U.N. watch. We see it every day, live in our pockets, in vivid color, and still, somehow, life goes on normally. We finish our meetings, we plan our weekends, we grow inure to the killings of Palestinians. This is not a lack of information. We are drowning in information. We can live. We can livestream as it all happens. This is a lack of feeling, a numbness we have allowed to settle over us like dust. All this happened before our eyes, but from the powers that can make the difference between life and death, there is no response. And worse, we witness diplomatic acrobatics to brush off the bombing of a school or a hospital, saying that it does not really violate international law because the terrorists, quote unquote, may be hiding in the basement of the building. I'm worried. Worried that we have started treating a catastrophe as something we can simply coexist with. Worried that the killing of civilians is casually being justified. Worried that total force now sounds more viable than diplomacy. This very institution was founded on a promise, all through the archives here. Resolutions say a ceasefire must hold, a border must not be crossed, a civilian must not be a target. Many of those promises remain unmet, raising concern that the phrase" never again" has lost meaning. I do not have a plan that will end a war by tonight. But I know this: numbness is not neutral. Silence is not safety. Every time we let the suffering of people become background noise, we let ourselves forget how small the distance really is, how little separates your daughter, granddaughter, niece from the girl in the refugee camp you saw on the news last night. How many children right now are learning that a wall at war is normality. The more we linger in this fog, the harder it becomes for the hiding child to believe the wall is not his enemy. These tragedies are not somebody else's tragedy.
It's what we also tried to do, acting together. And we did it. Just look at the oceans. A few years ago, everybody said it was impossible to craft agreements so as to protect marine areas, protect the oceans. Just look at what we've done over the last few years, protecting 30% of our landmass and our seas. We've crafted this agreement and implementation is improving year in, year out. Some also told us that we wouldn't be able to conserve two thirds of our oceans, the high seas. We undertook those negotiations, working hand in hand with the great powers. That's the BBNJ agreement. And in a matter of months we achieved over 60 ratifications, which means that the treaty has now entered into force. That agreement, the Nice treaty, the United Nations Ocean Conference, the third Oceans Conference last year, helped us to accelerate that work, and the first oceans will be held in a few months time in January. This is tremendous evidence of our ability to achieve concrete results when we mobilize, when we act in concert. So let's not give in to fatalism. Let's defend what we've achieved, but also our principles. We must defend free and independent science. Let's protect the IPCC, IPBES. We need scientists who measure, who analyze, who assess. Let's uphold our commitment to the Paris Agreement, to our decarbonization pathways, to our 2050 carbon neutrality target. Let's shoulder our share of responsibility. We need to innovate, cooperate, restart, work on biodiversity credits, and achieve our objectives on forests and oceans. We have many decisions to take. We cannot give in to fatalism.
