H.E. Mr. Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the UN, and H.E. Mr. Jerry Matthews Matjila, Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa to the UN, were appointed, on 28 March 2017, by the President of ECOSOC to act as co-facilitators for the conclusions and recommendations of the 2017 FfD Forum.

In accordance with paragraph 132 of the Addis Agenda, the annual FfD Forum results in intergovernmentally agreed conclusions and recommendations that are fed into the overall follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.

The modalities towards a consensual outcome document of the FfD Forum are defined in General Assembly resolution 70/192. Accordingly, the President of ECOSOC is invited to consider appointing two co-facilitators, who prepare the draft conclusions and recommendations and facilitate consultations among Member States with a view to reaching intergovernmental agreement on that draft. More recently, General Assembly resolution 71/217 reconfirmed these modalities.

Once the consensus is reached on draft outcome document, the co-facilitators would transmit it, through a letter, to the President of ECOSOC. The draft intergovermentally agreed conclusions and recommendations are then adopted at the FfD Forum and transmitted to the HLPF through a procedural report of the Council.