International Day of Peace 2022

• Prime Minister of Tanzania, Hon. Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa
• Senior Government of Tanzania Officials
• Development Partners, UN colleagues, Media representatives
• Invited Guests, Mabibi na Mbwana

Habari za Asubuhi.

Amani Oyee! Amani yetu!

I am pleased to be here today for the International Day of Peace. I thank the organizers for their commendable efforts in organizing this commemoration and all the activities that have preceded it.

I wish to congratulate everyone who has taken part in different activities, and especially those who took our Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on ‘Peace Justice and Strong Institutions’ to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Hongereni sana!

It is great to see a large group of diverse stakeholders continue to play a role in sustaining and promoting peace, in Kilimanjaro and across Tanzania. Recent global developments have shown us that we should not take peace for granted.

This is especially true for our current time and context, as the world is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, while experiencing high prices of oil, fertilizers, wheat, and maize, as well as various other damaging effects of the war in Ukraine, but also other factors, such as climate change. We have already seen examples of how these factors can lead to instability in different parts of the world.

There is a clear link between peace and development. When there is conflict, children cannot receive a proper education, hospitals are destroyed, markets are disrupted, and the economy slows down.

Whereas a peaceful society, such as Tanzania, can set its development priorities and work with other countries to align and implement them according to global and regional frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063.

Hon. Prime Minister,

As you will be aware, the UN and the Government of United Republic Tanzania recently launched the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022-2027, which we developed jointly to guide the support by the UN in Tanzania to implementation of the SDGs and national development priorities, for the next five years.

The UNSDCF has four overarching pillars. The first is PEOPLE, which seeks to improve the well-being of Tanzanians. The second is PROSPERITY, which focuses on increasing productivity, production and income. The third is PLANET, which aims to improve access to clean energy and sustainable management of Tanzania’s natural resources.

The fourth pillar is called ‘ENABLING ENVIRONMENT’. This pillar recognizes that to achieve the first three, we need an environment where: people access justice, human rights are upheld, society strives for gender equality, governance is inclusive and representative – to mention a few important conditions. This pillar also recognizes that nourishing peace is one of the key factors to ensure that Tanzanians can prosper and protect the country’s values and environment.

I wish to take this opportunity to commend the United Republic of Tanzania for being a beacon of peace and stability in East Africa and the rest of the continent for many decades!

It is no accident that Tanzania, COVID-19 notwithstanding, has had high rates of economic growth over the years. Peace is fundamental to this growth. It makes our job as development partners much easier, too! We are committed to continue working with the Government, civil society, international partners, and all peace stakeholders, to support Tanzania in sustaining its peace and accelerating its development.

I encourage everyone not to take peace for granted and to continue playing their role in sustaining peace, by promoting tolerance, respect, fairness, justice, sympathy and compassion.

Amani Yetu! Maendeleo Yetu!

Asanteni sana!