UNITED NATIONS - Representatives from about 140 countries continued here Tuesday to address the UN Speakers of Parliament Conference on a variety of topics, with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) taking the spotlight.

Nearly 70 people were listed on the second day of the meeting, which is held once every five years, with each speaker getting three to five minutes to take the floor at the world conference that kicked off Monday.

Next to parliament leaders, the conference also drew speakers from regional bodies and reports from its committees, sponsored by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The conference at the UN headquarters serves to prepare for a summit of more than 150 heads of state and government, which is set to formally announce the SDGs preceding the annual General Debate of the UN General Assembly.

Remarks about sustainable development dominated this year's conference, and among its topics were peace, development and democracy.

Donald Capelle, speaker of the Marshall Islands parliament, said his country "is one of the small countries in the Pacific with mixed results," facing "remoteness, smallness in size and capacities, limited resources, aid dependency and vulnerability to climate change and global economic shocks."

"Recognizing these challenges however, the burden is on us, the parliamentarians, to foster advancement, make concerted efforts and prioritize actions to fully realize sustainable development goals," he said. "We must make extraordinary efforts to build a better world not only for us, but for our children and our children's children. We have no time to waste but must act now."(Xinhua)