Assistant Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Batistić-Kos 9 July attended the ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum as a panellist at the ministerial dialogue titled “Charting Pathways to the Future We Want”, which also included UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo, Bolivian Minister of Development Planning Elba Viviana Caro Hinojosa, as well as Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, and Member of the German Bundestag Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter.
“Because of its irresponsible stance towards sustainable development, humanity is paying the price of climatic changes, which has resulted in unprecedented floods in Croatia and the neighbouring countries,” Batistić-Kos said. She underlined the importance of peace, security and the rule of law for sustainable development, adding that Croatia had reached the pre-war level of development as late as 2003. She said that the global sustainable development efforts needed to take into account regional priorities and contributions, which was the goal of the Dubrovnik meeting in October 2013, resulting in the Dubrovnik Declaration which has become an official UN document.
Batistić-Kos 8 July attended a ministerial round table organized by UNESCO and South Africa on the importance of science for sustainable development, as well as a ministerial meeting organized 9 July by UNESCO, UN Women and permanent missions of Denmark and Bangladesh on “Education and Gender Equality: Protecting Girls from Violence and Discrimination in Education”, which reiterated support for the Global Education First Initiative (GEFI), of which Croatia is one of the champion countries.