Closing Statement

President Baalu, I want to congratulate you and express the United States’ full support of the Delhi Declaration.  COP-8, as a result of your leadership, hard work and painstaking efforts has reached a balanced consensus and successful outcome.  Throughout this process, the flexibility and strong commitment to achieving results demonstrated by all participants has been quite noteworthy and is to be commended.

Significantly, in the Delhi Declaration you have built upon a number of groundbreaking achievements reached at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, held only two months ago.  The relationship between sustainable development and climate change is an important one and its reference in the Declaration is most meaningful.  We also valued the holding of a roundtable on this topic.  It afforded all of us an opportunity to exchange our perspectives and have a full discussion on an issue that is not only relevant but interconnected.  Your vision in placing this topic in the proceedings is to be commended.

Again, thank you, Mr. President.  India and its people have been most gracious in hosting this conference.  The warm hospitality extended to all of us has been greatly appreciated.

Thank you.