Pedro Sánchez stresses the need for a fair and inclusive global economic recovery

New York (United States)

The meeting, convened by the President of the Government of Spain, the presidents of Costa Rica and Sierra Leone and the prime minister of Sweden, is taking place within the framework of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

During his speech, the President of the Government of Spain underlined: "The world has the opportunity to make a great transformation towards a better, greener, fairer future, leaving no one behind".

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaThe meeting was addressed by the heads of state and government of Bangladesh, Ireland and New Zealand, and leaders of multilateral organisations, the private sector and civil society, such as OXFAM. Other participants included leading figures from the academic world, such as Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, and from the cultural world, such as chef José Andrés and actor Forest Whitaker.

The high-level panel, recorded at the Cervantes Institute in New York, was part of the event focusing on tackling inequality and exclusion in the post-pandemic economic recovery. This meeting is an initiative of the network of leaders 'Together for a Strengthened Multilateralism', promoted by Spain and Sweden to support the objectives of the declaration for the 75th anniversary of the UN and the report 'Our Common Agenda', by its Secretary-General António Guterres.

Pedro Sánchez has argued that, "as an indispensable condition to begin post-pandemic recovery, rapid and universal access to vaccines must be ensured, regardless of the income level of citizens". Spain already has more than 75% of the population vaccinated. "The success of the Spanish vaccination campaign is based on universal access to the public health system, one of the main tools to ensure inclusion and equal opportunities in any society," said the president.

Green transition, digital transformation and gender equality

During his speech, Sánchez highlighted the three keys of the Government of Spain to achieve economic recovery after the pandemic: ecological transition, digital transformation and equality between men and women. These axes of the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan are based on permanent dialogue with all social actors and on "leaving no one behind". In this sense, social and economic measures have been implemented, such as the introduction of the minimum basic income or the increase in pensions, following an intensive consultation exercise with public administrations and civil society organisations.

The president pointed out that ecological transition, which offers great opportunities for economic development, "needs to be fair, based on public-private partnership, and involve all of society". Spain's commitment to this transformation is evidenced by the fact that 40% of the Plan's investments are directed towards the green economy. It is also estimated that this transition will create between 250,000 and 350,000 jobs in Spain per year.

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaFor this reason, the Government has already launched specific actions for the sectors that will be most affected by the adaptation effort. On the digital transformation and modernisation of our economy, the Government will invest 7.5 billion euros to boost productivity, reform the education system and train citizens in digital skills. All of this has the aim, as Sánchez stressed, of "making sure that jobs are created without excluding anyone".

The third key to the Government's strategic policy is to ensure gender equality. Sánchez pointed out that "by incorporating the talent and energy of women, who represent half of the world's population, we all benefit".

During the event, the results of the report carried out by the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies initiative on inequality and inclusion, of which Spain is a member, and in which the United Nations, the World Bank, the OECD and OXFAM have collaborated, were presented. The study argues for the need to develop a new social contract and points out that countries that have made progress have done so through policies that improve social protection, housing and wages, that base their decisions on solidarity and that fight corruption.

"We can learn two lessons from this terrible pandemic: we are stronger together, and to achieve a global economic recovery that is inclusive and equitable, we can leave no one behind," the president concluded.

Non official translation