UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Volkan Bozkir, president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), on Friday called for recommitment to equal access to technology so as to help member states build back better in the post-COVID-19 recovery.
"We need to recommit to equal access to technology. This is particularly crucial for SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) 4: on Quality Education," said the president of the UNGA, or PGA, while addressing the UNGA's Second Committee.
"We must consider the potential of technology as an equalizing force," said the PGA.
"As it stands, the digital divide in urban and rural areas, and between developed and developing countries, continues to exacerbate inequalities," he added.
Bozkir said that for the 75th session of the UNGA, issues such as trade, debt, information technology and inclusion all have additional meaning and urgency in the context of the pandemic.
"We face the deepest global recession since the Great Depression preceding the Second World War; the broadest collapse in incomes since 1870; and approximately 100 million more people could be pushed into extreme poverty," the PGA noted.
To build back better, Bozkir called on the international community to stick to the SDGs, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing, together with the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
"I hope, an eventual Framework on Biodiversity, serve as a compass for the sustainable recovery," he added.
The Second Committee of the UNGA addresses the economic development of member states and the stability and growth of international financial and trade networks. The committee deals solely with the economic development of member states and state-to-state assistance.