It is a pleasure to join you as we approach the conclusion of the World Humanitarian Summit.

The Secretary General and I thank you for your commitment to the humanitarian cause, in the face of many competing priorities, both domestic and international.

We are aware that many of you are under pressure at home to earmark funding, impose conditions, and go through lengthy bureaucratic procedures before allocating resources.

Thank you for addressing these concerns through your membership of the Good Humanitarian Donorship initiative.

Your flexibility and the speed of your response is fundamental to humanitarian action around the world.  It will be critical as we follow up on the commitments made here in Istanbul.

We will continue to call on you to prioritize needs over headlines in providing timely, flexible funding. 

We hope you will continue to push for changes. Humanitarian donors must play a major part in implementing the commitments made at this Summit.  These include improved risk management, multi-year planning – including strengthening the link between humanitarian action and development – and accountability to people affected by crises.

The Good Humanitarian Donor initiative will continue to be an important forum for dialogue and exchange.  We welcome your ideas on how we can improve it and provide everything you need to make the case for humanitarian funding to your own stakeholders.

Thank you, and I wish you a successful meeting.