PRESS RELEASE
United Nations hosts first Biennial Summit to unite multilateral efforts and the international financial system around sustainable development
Event acts on key commitment in Pact for the Future to reform the International Financial Architecture to reflect, and meet the needs of, today’s world
New York, 24 September 2025 – The United Nations Secretary-General will today host the first Biennial Summit for a sustainable, inclusive and resilient global economy – a major new event focused on financing the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Summit is one of several steps identified by Member States in the Pact for the Future to reform the International Financial Architecture. This unique gathering brings together heads of State leading major multilateral platforms such as the G7, G20 and COP30; heads of State representing country groupings including small island states and the least developed countries; and the principals of international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and IMF, in an inclusive dialogue.
The Summit addresses the critical challenges facing development finance, including widening gaps between available financing and needs – a gap now estimated at over $4 trillion a year – and widespread debt distress. With existing dialogue on finance spread across multiple institutions, developing countries under-represented in decision-making, and with multilateralism under strain, the Summit seeks to align and bolster global efforts.
“We have heard the voices of people loud and clear – struggling to make ends meet, falling further behind, and wondering if leaders will act for them,” the Secretary-General says in his opening remarks. “This Summit provides a space to discuss how we move forward – together.”
The Summit takes place three months after United Nations Member States completed negotiations on a new global financing framework at the Financing for Development conference in Seville. There, Member States agreed on a series of far-reaching actions.
The Biennial Summit will provide a stocktake of these and other commitments, and galvanize efforts around their implementation, building on the demonstration of unity and resolve exhibited by the global community in Sevilla.
About the Biennial Summit
The Biennial Summit was first proposed by the Secretary-General in his 2021 report, Our Common Agenda, at a time of major global upheaval during the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis highlighted the need for stronger, more networked, and inclusive global governance to support development finance.
Last year, in the Pact for the Future, Member States identified the Summit as one of a number of actions to reform the International Financial Architecture, enabling it to better reflect today’s world, and to respond to today’s financing needs.
The Summit will take place in the Chamber of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the principal UN organ coordinating economic, social, and environmental work and fostering sustainable development.
The event is open to accredited media and will be broadcast live on UN Web TV.
A chairperson’s summary of the event will be published shortly after the conclusion of the Summit.
Media Contacts:
Martina Donlon, UN Department of Global Communications | donlon@un.org
Francyne Harrigan, UN Office for Partnerships | harriganf@un.org