Chair:
Adoption of the Ministerial Declaration
Adoption of the procedural report of the HLPF
Presentations:
H.E. Mr. Krzysztof Szczerski (born April 15, 1973, in Kraków) is a distinguished Polish diplomat, political scientist, and professor of social sciences. He holds a Ph.D. and habilitation from Jagiellonian University, where he currently lectures. His postdoctoral work received the Prime Minister’s Award in Poland.
Ambassador Szczerski began his public service career in the late 1990s, holding advisory roles in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Health. He later served as Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office for European Integration. From 2011 to 2015, he was a member of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) representing the Law and Justice party. He then became Secretary of State and Chief of the Cabinet in the Presidential Chancellery under President Andrzej Duda.
Since August 18, 2021, he has served as Poland’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. On July 25, 2024, Ambassador Szczerski was elected Vice-President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), representing the Eastern European Group. In this role, he contributes to advancing sustainable development and global cooperation.
He is fluent in Polish, English, French, Spanish, and Russian, and continues to publish on European and transatlantic affairs.
Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs and director of the Economic and Political Development Concentration and co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue and Member of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University. He has occupied numerous positions at the United Nations and in his native Colombia, including United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Minister of Finance on two occasions, Minister of Agriculture and Director of the National Planning Office of Colombia, as well as Member of the Board of Banco de la República, Colombia’s central bank. In 2015–2016, he was also the head of Colombia’s Rural Development Commission. He has received numerous academic distinctions, including the 2012 Jaume Vicens Vives award of the Spanish Association of Economic History for the best book on Spanish or Latin American economic history, the 2008 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought and the 1988 Alejandro Ángel Escobar National Science Award of Colombia. He has published extensively on macroeconomic theory and policy, international financial issues, economic and social development, international trade and Colombian and Latin American economic history.
Mr. Li Junhua of China was appointed Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, effective 25 July 2022. Prior to this, he served as China’s Ambassador to Italy and San Marino, and previously as Ambassador to Myanmar.
Mr. Li brings over three decades of diplomatic experience, including extensive engagement in multilateral forums such as the UN General Assembly, ESCAP, G20, APEC, ASEM, and BRICS. He has held key roles in China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Director General of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences, and Minister Counselor at China’s Permanent Mission to the UN.
In his current role, Mr. Li leads UN DESA’s support for the implementation and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the High-level Political Forum. He oversees services to the General Assembly’s Second and Third Committees, ECOSOC meetings, and various intergovernmental processes. He also directs DESA’s policy analysis and capacity development work, serves as Convenor of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs, and advises the Secretary-General on development issues such as climate change and financing.
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