Addis Ababa – 16 July 2015

Your Excellency Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and President of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to once again express our sincere gratitude to His Excellency Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn and the Government of Ethiopia for successfully hosting this Conference.

As we conclude our work today, we can all be proud of the results we have achieved together. I pay special tribute to the H.E. Prime Minister Dessalegn, in his capacity as President of the Conference, for his outstanding leadership. I wish to thank H.E. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, for leading the work of the Main Committee in his capacity as its Chairman.

I commend the Co-Facilitators, Ambassador George Talbot of Guyana and Ambassador Geir Pedersen of Norway for their hard work during the preparatory process. My appreciation also goes to the Permanent Representatives and delegates of Member States and Observers in New York who participated in the process over the last eight months. I also thank the Secretariat and all those who have worked behind the scene to make this Conference successful.

Excellencies,

I have listened to some Member States making reservations on some aspects of the Outcome including lack of explicit reference to the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), on intellectual property rights as they relate to technology transfer, and concerns of tobacco growing countries, among others.

While the interests of all countries may not be fully reflected in the Outcome of a Conference of this nature, it should be appreciated that the Outcome is a consensus by all.

By adopting the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, we have put in place a comprehensive framework for financing sustainable development with concrete deliverables, policies and actions to support the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. These include, among others:

i) Proposed establishment of a new forum to bridge the infrastructure gap and complement existing initiatives and multilateral mechanisms to facilitate access to long-term financing for projects at concessional and affordable rates;

ii) A commitment to invest more in promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development to boost economic growth and address major challenges such as unemployment;

iii) Enhancing domestic resource mobilization, and strengthening international cooperation on tax matters to combat tax evasion, corruption and illicit financial flows;

iv) Reaffirmation of ODA commitments by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 % of GNI and 0.15-0.20% to LDCs.

v) Policies to promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprizes (MSMEs), support entrepreneurship especially for women and youth, and enhance the contribution of the private sector and other stakeholders to sustainable development;

vi) Scaling-up investments and international cooperation to support early childhood, primary and secondary education including through strengthening initiatives such as the Global Partnership for Education;

vii) Establishment of a Technology Facilitation Mechanism which will comprise an online platform and a Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation. It will identify technology needs and gaps in order to facilitate the development, transfer and dissemination of technologies especially for developing countries;

viii) A dedicated, strengthened, and participatory follow-up process to track-progress of implementation using existing institutional arrangements, under the High-Level Political Forum. It will include a dedicated annual ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development.

In my view, these are major deliverables from this historic Conference. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development demonstrates our collective resolve to build a better future for all in a more equal and sustainable world.

As I said during the Opening Plenary, we have embarked on a momentous journey in a common pursuit to eradicate poverty, improve livelihoods for all and protect our planet.

It is now incumbent upon all of us to fully implement the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. With this outcome, we have a strong basis to build upon on our path towards historic Summits in New York in September and Paris in December. Let us all redouble our efforts to ensure an ambitious outcome for the post-2015 development agenda.

I thank you.