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Mr President,

It is not by sheer coincidence that I chose to attend the United Nations General
Assembly as my first trip outside Africa since I took office. I did so, out of my deep
sense of conviction and faith in multilateralism in solving a multitude of challenges that
our world faces today.
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I am here to assure you that, under my stewardship, Tanzania will remain a formidable
member of the United Nations and a dependable supporter of multilateralism. We will
keep our arms open to those who embrace us and engage with us. We will continue
to be the Tanzania that you have known and relied on. A Tanzania that peacefully and
respectfully co-existed and cooperated with all countries, big or small, mighty or weak,
rich or poor, to make this world, our world, a better place for all of us.

Mr President,

The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how vulnerable we are as individual
countries, regardless of our size, wealth or geography. As we meet here today, we have
less than a decade ahead to meet our collective commitment to achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). I note with great regret that, according to the Sustainable
Development Goals Report 2020, right now, the world is not on track to achieve the
2030 Agenda mainly due to the adverse impact of COVID-19.

The report further shows that, in some areas, this pandemic has even reversed the
progress that was already achieved years back. For instance, it is expected that around
71 million people who got out of extreme poverty will be pushed back into that situation
because of this pandemic. What is depressing is that these impacts are not felt evenly.
We, in the developing world, are the most affected. It is, therefore, imperative that
concerted efforts are undertaken to address this devastating situation.

Mr President,

Developing nations must be assisted in addressing the socio-economic impact of
COVID-19. On this note, we are thankful to multilateral financial institutions like the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) for their efforts in saving many economies from
collapsing. These kinds of interventions are important. We cannot afford to take refuge
on the onset of COVID-19 as an excuse for not making sufficient progress in achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr President,
Tanzania has not been spared by COVID-19. After the onset of the pandemic, we, in
Tanzania and I believe in many other developing countries, were stuck in the twilight of
protecting lives and protecting livelihoods. The measures advocated by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) were geared towards protecting lives. However, in an economy
like Tanzania’s consisting of a large proportion of people living on a subsistence economy,

Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) 19 Form Five

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