In response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the annual ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development originally scheduled for 20-23 April, will be held in a new format.
A brief, virtual informal meeting will be convened on 23 April 2020 to acknowledge the outcome document on Financing for Development. Due to the lack of adequate technical solutions at this time, the outcome document will likely be adopted by silence procedure. At a later date, a very brief, formal meeting of the Forum would be convened to “take note” of the decision to approve the outcome document.
The SDG Investment Fair, originally scheduled for 20-22 April, has been cancelled.
The annual Forum on Financing for Development reviews trends in development finance and progress on the SDGs, and usually sees hundreds of ministers of finance, foreign affairs and development cooperation from around the world. Attendees also include executive level representatives from the World Bank and IMF, along with senior UN officials.
The SDG Investment Fair is normally held in tandem with the Forum, and brings governments, the private sector, and financial intermediaries to review specific investment opportunities, policies and regulations aimed at mobilizing resources for the SDGs.
Officials in the Financing for Sustainable Development Office of UN DESA, which organizes the Forum and the Fair, said that notwithstanding the Forum’s postponement, they remain hopeful that it will achieve its aims of mobilizing action and resources for sustainable development.