Guyana is building the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its national development strategies, public policies and budgets, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali told world leaders at the 81^st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday.

He delivered a wide-ranging address on several global matters, including the SDG goals. He urged other nations to take lessons from Guyana, as progress on the 2030 targets falters worldwide.

“One way to arrest the slippage is, as Guyana is doing, to mainstream the goals into our national development strategies, public policies, and budgets, so that they become embedded in the priorities we set and the resources we commit, rather than remaining aspirations,” he said.

According to the president, the goals are more than a reference point for good intentions. Instead, they must guide countries’ ambitions, their choices and “national priorities.”

Guyana’s own record was the evidence. Before the Assembly, President Ali pointed to several advances, including universal health care and free education, modern infrastructure, and faster access to affordable housing and opportunities for full employment.

He also highlighted financing for small and medium-sized enterprises and digitised public service delivery as further evidence.

“Development must not merely make our economies richer, it must make our societies better,” he went on to underscore.

With global momentum slipping, the president called for renewed commitment to the goals “not as an inventory of promises, but as a covenant with our peoples.”

That covenant, in his framing, means development that reaches every citizen, protects generations yet unborn and creates lasting, inclusive prosperity.

He applied the same test to the wave of new technologies, from artificial intelligence to biotechnology.

“Technology must not become the privilege of the few. It must become the servant of all humanity.”

On climate and nature, Guyana has already turned words into institutions.

“Two years ago, at this very podium, I committed Guyana to provide global leadership on biodiversity.”

That pledge produced the Global Biodiversity Alliance, established in July 2025 under Guyana’s leadership. In one year, its membership grew from 17 to 138. Members include governments, international organisations, the UN and development banks, indigenous peoples and local communities, scientists and universities, and importantly, the private sector.

The Alliance’s second conference, set for October 2026, will begin mobilising the resources and partnerships needed to deliver on its ambitions.

Alongside the Alliance, Guyana continues to advance its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030. The strategy is focused on “turning forest stewardship and climate action into a new model for sustainable development.”