Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the United Nations Secretariat, allow me to first thank our hosts, the Governments of Mexico, Germany, and Switzerland, for organizing this Sixth Retreat in partnership with Armenia, Bangladesh, Chile, Ethiopia, Indonesia and St. Lucia.
The retreat of the Group of Friends of Monterrey has become a fixture in the annual financing for development calendar of the United Nations, and I am delighted to join you again this year.
Distinguished delegates,
Our discussions this year are more important than ever before. Global economic prospects are already uncertain in the third year of global recovery from the pandemic, and now are more fragile due to the Ukraine crisis and heightened geopolitical risks. While the situation is highly fluid, its economic impact is already substantial. Energy, commodity, and food prices have risen sharply, which is compounding existing supply disruptions and elevated inflation, and causing worsening food insecurity and hunger. The high degree of uncertainty is also exacerbating volatility in financial markets. For many developing countries, a potential sharp tightening of global financial conditions could lead to even higher risks of debt distress. A pandemic resurgence also remains a downside risk for many countries.
Distinguished delegates,
The advance unedited version of the 2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report, which was released earlier this month, highlighted the enormous challenges faced by developing countries, and the increasing risk of a diverging world that could lead to a lost decade for sustainable development for many. While my colleagues will brief you in detail on the analyses and key recommendations of the report, I would like to highlight three main messages:
• First, financing gaps and rising debts must be addressed urgently.
• Second, all financing flows must be aligned with sustainable development; and
• Third, enhanced transparency and improved information ecosystems will help countries to better manage risks and use resources more effectively.
Distinguished delegates,
Let me close by thanking you for the comments and feedback on the report. Last week, my department, UN DESA, organized a series of technical briefings on the report and have already received excellent feedback from many of you.
Members of my team and the contributing agencies of the Inter-Agency Task Force are here to answer any follow-up questions. They will guide your discussions tomorrow, in the parallel sessions on each of the action areas of the Addis Ababa Agenda.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for their contributions to our joint work. As you know, the Task Force brings together expertise from throughout the UN system and beyond. The major institutional stakeholders – the IMF and the World Bank, WTO, UNCTAD and UNDP – all play a key role. The collaboration itself has helped to increase the coherence of the international system on financing issues.
My department and I will continue to support you in the preparations for the Financing for Development Forum.
I wish you a successful and productive retreat.
Thank you.