Remarks by the President of the 78th session of the General Assembly, 

Mr. Dennis Francis, 

at the Closing of the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development

[As Delivered] 

20 September 2023 

 

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me begin by thanking you all for your active participation in today’s High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development. I also want to thank all keynote speakers, distinguished representatives of the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, as well as other stakeholders for their contributions.

As we come to the closing of this discussion, it is abundantly clear that we share a resounding consensus on the paramount importance of global collaboration and commitment to financing the solutions to the challenges that confront our world.

We stand at a crossroad – a seminal opportunity for substantive change.

We must take deliberate actions to remedy the injustices inherent in the current global financial architecture, ensure equitable access to resources, and to fulfil our promises on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

Today, we witnessed broad consensus on the need for reform of the international financial architecture – to promote a system that better represents and supports the United Nations’ Membership and that meaningfully addresses the current realities and needs.

We reasserted the need to continue exploring innovative approaches to financing and to sustainable public and private financing.

We saw how imperative it is that we take a hard look at how our credit agencies and international tax structures work.

And, we reaffirmed the need to address the debt crises, especially in developing countries.

I welcome and applaud the undertaking of those Member States that have made commitments to scale up financing for sustainable development, as well as to support the SDG Stimulus plan.

Today, we leave this dialogue with a shared vision—for a world of possibilities and progress, achieved through collective dedication and action.

It’s time to turn words into deeds, and together, let us renew our pledge to fund a world where no one, I repeat, no one, is left behind.

Thank you.