Session 2.1 Pact for The Future and Opportunities for Sustainable Development
Resident Coordinators,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to join you today at this annual global gathering.
Member States have been clear in their commitment to SDG acceleration.
But financing challenges are at the heart of the sustainable development crisis.
Providing and mobilizing predictable and sustainable development finance to support implementation is key.
We continue to see calls for Member States to honour their commitments to Official Development Assistance.
Likewise, the international financial architecture has failed to adequately protect developing countries in this moment of crisis and has not allowed for the mobilization of adequate resources for the SDGs.
The reform of the International Financial Architecture featured prominently in discussions at the Summit of the Future. And the resulting Pact reflects the collective ambition of Member States to reshape the global financial architecture in a way that truly supports sustainable development.
First, the Pact takes important steps towards closing financing gaps, urging the Multilateral Development Banks to further draw out additional finance from their balance sheets, schedule general capital increases and enhance developing country access to finance.
Second, the Pact tasks the International Monetary Fund to conduct a review of the debt architecture, in collaboration with the United Nations, and commits to strengthen multilateral support for countries whose debt service burdens restrict SDG investment.
Third, the Pact calls on countries with unused special drawing rights to re-channel at least half of them.
Fourth, the Pact encourages international financial institutions to strengthen the voice and representation of developing countries, which has been a long-standing priority of Member States at the UN.
These reforms will be most impactful if complemented by actions at the national level.
I invite you to use your convening power to facilitate conversations among financial actors and the government in support of the national sustainable development priorities.
I also invite you to leverage UN system expertise to support countries in developing financing strategies and engaging with their donors and development banks, including through the Integrated National Financing Framework.
The upcoming fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in June 2025 can build on the Pact, and turn principled agreements into specific actions that yield tangible results and rebuild trust.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The task ahead is large but not insurmountable. All your UN system partners, including the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, stand ready to support the Resident Coordinators in translating global commitments into action on the ground.
Thank you!