Excellencies,Distinguished Delegates,Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to be with you all. I wish to welcome representatives of Member States, members of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development, and other stakeholders present, to discuss progress on Financing for Development and means of implementation for the SDGs.
The Inter-agency Task Force brings together the financing expertise of more than 50 agencies and offices, including the major institutional stakeholders of the FfD process – the World Bank, IMF, WTO, UNCTAD and UNDP. It was established to report annually on progress in implementing the Addis Agenda and the means of implementation of the SDGs.
My hope is that we can accomplish two tasks today.
First, we want to take this opportunity to present the main findings of the 2017 report of the Task Force.
Second, we want to hear from you about how we can make the work of the Task Force even more relevant to deliberations at the High-level Political Forum.
The 2017 report of the Inter-agency Task Force of Financing for Development – which we officially launched during the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development follow-up in May – provides a first assessment of progress in implementing the Addis Agenda and means of implementation of the SDGs.
I wish to highlight two key findings from the report.
First, we are pleased to report progress across the agenda. Countries have taken early actions on many of the commitments they have made. They have also started to bring these actions together into coherent implementation frameworks.
However – and this is my second point – a difficult global environment has impacted national implementation. Many implementation gaps remain. International cooperation is therefore as vital as ever.
The Task Force report proposes a combination of national and international actions to change the trajectory of the global economy, and support countries in achieving the SDGs.
One set of recommendations focuses on long-term and quality investments, in particular in sustainable infrastructure. Such investment would also help revive global economic growth. This needs to be complemented by more targeted measures to ensure that no one is left behind, such as social protection floors.
The policy recommendations aimed at increased infrastructure investment and social protection, are highly relevant to SDG implementation. In particular, SDG 1 on poverty eradication, and SDG 9 on infrastructure development, are under in-depth review this year.
Excellencies,
This assessment by the Task Force provided the basis for the intergovernmentally-agreed conclusions and recommendations of the FfD Forum. These will be presented at the HLPF during the thematic review of SDG 17 later this afternoon. They also contain new mandates for Task Force work in eight focus areas, to be included in next year’s report.
In fact, we see next year’s report as another opportunity to strengthen the Task Force’s work for SDG implementation. Indeed, several of our focus areas – such as the creation of a sustainable financial system to give one example – speak directly to the theme of the 2018 HLPF: ‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies’.
The Task Force could also increase its engagement with SDG follow-up through the thematic focus of our annual report. This could be linked to the theme of the HLPF and to those SDGs that are under in-depth review. I hope we will be able to explore this and other ideas in today’s discussion.
Let me conclude by reiterating that we welcome your feedback and guidance for our work going forward. The Task Force has become a lively platform for inter-agency collaboration on financing for development issues.
Indeed, I believe it has helped to increase coherence in the United Nations system on financing issues. We encourage you to take advantage of this infrastructure and to call on the Task Force whenever the combined analytical capacity of the UN system on financing issues can be of service.
Thank you.
It is a pleasure to be with you all. I wish to welcome representatives of Member States, members of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development, and other stakeholders present, to discuss progress on Financing for Development and means of implementation for the SDGs.
The Inter-agency Task Force brings together the financing expertise of more than 50 agencies and offices, including the major institutional stakeholders of the FfD process – the World Bank, IMF, WTO, UNCTAD and UNDP. It was established to report annually on progress in implementing the Addis Agenda and the means of implementation of the SDGs.
My hope is that we can accomplish two tasks today.
First, we want to take this opportunity to present the main findings of the 2017 report of the Task Force.
Second, we want to hear from you about how we can make the work of the Task Force even more relevant to deliberations at the High-level Political Forum.
The 2017 report of the Inter-agency Task Force of Financing for Development – which we officially launched during the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development follow-up in May – provides a first assessment of progress in implementing the Addis Agenda and means of implementation of the SDGs.
I wish to highlight two key findings from the report.
First, we are pleased to report progress across the agenda. Countries have taken early actions on many of the commitments they have made. They have also started to bring these actions together into coherent implementation frameworks.
However – and this is my second point – a difficult global environment has impacted national implementation. Many implementation gaps remain. International cooperation is therefore as vital as ever.
The Task Force report proposes a combination of national and international actions to change the trajectory of the global economy, and support countries in achieving the SDGs.
One set of recommendations focuses on long-term and quality investments, in particular in sustainable infrastructure. Such investment would also help revive global economic growth. This needs to be complemented by more targeted measures to ensure that no one is left behind, such as social protection floors.
The policy recommendations aimed at increased infrastructure investment and social protection, are highly relevant to SDG implementation. In particular, SDG 1 on poverty eradication, and SDG 9 on infrastructure development, are under in-depth review this year.
Excellencies,
This assessment by the Task Force provided the basis for the intergovernmentally-agreed conclusions and recommendations of the FfD Forum. These will be presented at the HLPF during the thematic review of SDG 17 later this afternoon. They also contain new mandates for Task Force work in eight focus areas, to be included in next year’s report.
In fact, we see next year’s report as another opportunity to strengthen the Task Force’s work for SDG implementation. Indeed, several of our focus areas – such as the creation of a sustainable financial system to give one example – speak directly to the theme of the 2018 HLPF: ‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies’.
The Task Force could also increase its engagement with SDG follow-up through the thematic focus of our annual report. This could be linked to the theme of the HLPF and to those SDGs that are under in-depth review. I hope we will be able to explore this and other ideas in today’s discussion.
Let me conclude by reiterating that we welcome your feedback and guidance for our work going forward. The Task Force has become a lively platform for inter-agency collaboration on financing for development issues.
Indeed, I believe it has helped to increase coherence in the United Nations system on financing issues. We encourage you to take advantage of this infrastructure and to call on the Task Force whenever the combined analytical capacity of the UN system on financing issues can be of service.
Thank you.
File date:
Thursday, Julio 13, 2017