Financing for Development and the Spirit of Monterrey: A Beacon of Multilateralism for Improving Global Economic Governance

The historical roots of the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development – the outcome of the International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey, Mexico, from 18 to 22 March 2002 – can be traced back to the very Charter of the United Nations, which assigned a key role to the United Nations in promoting the economic and social advancement of all peoples through international cooperation, as an integral part of building a peaceful world grounded in respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. On that path, as the decolonization and globalization processes were unfolding, there were several precedents to the 2002 Monterrey Conference, such as the 1970s call for a New International Economic Order and the 1981 North-South Dialogue at the Cancun Summit.

But it was not until the birth of the Monterrey process, inspired by this rich legacy, that we finally opened up a viable path for the United Nations to fulfil its potential as the spearhead for improved global economic governance that fully supports equitable and sustainable development.

The Monterrey path

The historical conditions had matured for the delegates who initiated the Monterrey process to imagine and forge this new path. Galvanized by this nucleus of committed individuals, Monterrey emerged organically from the floor of the Second (Economic and Financial) Committee of the United Nations General Assembly as a bottom-up, democratic process – driven by an ambitious transformative vision – that built itself up from its foundations between 1999 and 2002, developing its own conceptual frameworks and political lexicon, and ultimately consolidating into the Monterrey Consensus.

Two main factors made the call for the Monterrey Conference urgent and shaped its substantive proposals. First, from the systemic perspective, the negative social impacts of the late 1990s international financial crises highlighted the need to lead globalization with more equity and fairness.

And second, complementing the series of United Nations conferences of the 1990s, Monterrey aimed to provide a much-needed cross-cutting platform to address the financing for the implementation of the emerging global sustainable development agenda.

On both accounts, a paradigm shift was needed, which is why the path to Monterrey emerged as an innovative multilateral and multi-stakeholder process, under the leadership of the United Nations, pioneering two main avenues towards an improved global economic governance: first by proposing its holistic agenda to address the interconnected national, international and systemic dimensions of financing for development; and second by promoting the convergence of efforts of all relevant stakeholders towards agreed strategic transformative actions.

The key historical contribution of the Monterrey process was to fully leverage the legitimacy and convening power of the United Nations – as the most universal organization with the broadest mandate – to provide the fully inclusive consensus-building table that we need to effectively incorporate the equitable and sustainable development perspective into the key economic policy debates of our times.

This essential point can perhaps be best illustrated by one of the most iconic moments of the Monterrey process. In one of our debates, the delegate of Chile, Eduardo Galvez, one of the champions of the process, recalled the poem L'Albatros by Baudelaire. A metaphor for the potential of the human spirit, the poem contrasts the graceless stumble of an albatross on land with its majestic beauty in flight, soaring on its wings. The delegate compared the albatross of the poem with our debates at the United Nations: when we focus on transient, selfish interests, we are clumsy; but when we put the values and ideals of the Organization at the centre, we can unite to change the world for the better. Coming at the end of an intense and heated discussion, that image stuck with us as it perfectly encapsulated the whole sense of our efforts. The albatross became the emblem of our process and its image remained in the header of the United Nations financing for development (FfD) website until the summit of Monterrey. This symbol became part of the mystique of Monterrey, indeed, the very banner of the “Spirit of Monterrey”.

In terms of policymaking, in transcendence of the conventional boundaries of the North-South dichotomy, the central message of Monterrey was that collective and coherent action is needed in each interrelated area of the global financing for development agenda, involving all stakeholders in an active global partnership.

That is why Monterrey was innovative not only in its substantive proposals but also in its democratic and trust-building forms of dialogue, outreach, consultation and consensus-building. This was supported by a democratically elected facilitator whose mandate spanned the entire three-year process and who was fully accountable to the floor and responsive to its demands. This ensured all parties had an effective voice, contributing to fair negotiations.

As integral elements, the process included brainstorming sessions and in-depth discussions, while also fostering the participation of key national ministries and central banks, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization and other international bodies, as well as representatives from the private sector and civil society.

Thus, while reaffirming the central role of the United Nations, the Monterrey process deliberately and strategically positioned itself as a blueprint to advance a global partnership for improved global economic governance.

It was not easy, however. On the contrary, the process was a highly contested endeavour. In several instances, tensions emerged sharply between the forces of power politics and multilateralism. Every step forward required intense diplomatic efforts.

Ultimately, after overcoming resistance that once seemed insurmountable, the Monterrey process culminated in a landmark summit. The Monterrey Consensus was a robust and innovative outcome, unanimously endorsed by United Nations membership, including more than 50 Heads of State and Government. We succeeded in articulating the foundational strategic vision to guide global FfD efforts and put forward several calls and leading actions that, among other results, reversed the downward trajectory of official development assistance. Through the Consensus, we also encouraged institutional and normative changes, including a broadening of the space for developing countries at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, as pilots for more far-reaching measures in the future. At the follow-up FfD ministerial conferences in Doha (2008), Addis Ababa (2015) and Sevilla (2025), further progress was made.

At its core, the Monterrey Conference was conceived as the first step on a challenging path towards innovating global economic governance for the common good. Perhaps its most lasting legacy lies in this visionary transformative drive – the Spirit of Monterrey – and its enduring call to continue advancing on this path collectively, through inclusive dialogue, mutual understanding and consensus-building.

The current juncture

Today, in an increasingly multipolar and diverse international landscape, the challenges and opportunities that gave birth to Monterrey and its ambition continue to exist, acquiring new dimensions and a renewed strategic urgency.

The current technological revolution – driven by artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, robotics and other pivotal emerging technologies – is rapidly gaining momentum. It offers tremendous opportunities to elevate human development but also poses unprecedented ethical and civilizational challenges and threatens to widen global digital and socioeconomic divides.

Paradoxically, despite our immense scientific and technological progress, poverty and social exclusion persist. Global environmental crises – particularly climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss – are intensifying, driven by unsustainable production and consumption patterns. Our experiences with COVID-19, food insecurity and natural disasters have laid bare avoidable failures of collective action in confronting global emergencies effectively and fairly. Systemic financial and economic weaknesses also remain a fundamental risk.

With the stakes higher than ever, the next steps will be extremely challenging, given the current state of multilateralism amid escalating geopolitical tensions and military confrontations, which deeply complicate the prospects for international cooperation. Overcoming these odds will demand both political resolve and diplomatic ingenuity – in this endeavour, mobilizing the Spirit of Monterrey may prove crucial to success.

Looking ahead

A most critical challenge is to relaunch our FfD process as a global leadership undertaking, to once again put into full play the legitimacy and convening power of the United Nations to galvanize political will and to foster multi-actor cooperation on our holistic agenda to address systemic dysfunctions globally, while opening new pathways to equitable and sustainable development and prosperity in the context of the ongoing technological revolution.

To advance in this direction, it is necessary to fully leverage the United Nations as the most suitable platform to cultivate shared understandings and commitments on the fundamental principles that should guide our evolving global partnership for improved global governance.

The global partnership envisioned by the Monterrey Consensus should also continue to be consolidated, with ever greater ambition, by implementation of agreed-upon priority actions and initiatives that serve as catalysts for stronger international cooperation on development, global public goods provision and global commons management.

As we move forward, we must ensure that all our actions and initiatives reinforce one another. National efforts to mobilize public and private resources to secure the well-being of our peoples and our planet – especially in areas such as gender equality, poverty eradication, food security, healthcare, quality education, decent work and environmental sustainability – should be fully supported by an enabling international economic environment, including by

• international investments of mutual benefit and effective technology transfers, aligned with national strategic plans and actively supported through blended finance and robust multilateral development banking;
• trade opportunities as an engine for inclusive and sustainable development, based on clear international rules and specific support frameworks for developing countries and small- and medium-sized enterprises;
• an improved global sovereign debt architecture that is aligned with the sustainable development agenda; and
• enhanced transfers of resources, including by innovative financing mechanisms, such as the one proposed by the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, for the allocation of 1 per cent of global military expenditures to fund the largest reforestation programme in history.

As for the systemic level, we should aim for advancement in two main courses of action. First, the participation of developing countries in global decision-making and norm-setting, should be broadened, including through a more inclusive global economic governance architecture. Second, the coherence and consistency of the international monetary, financial and trading systems in support of development should be enhanced, including by

• further capitalizing and aligning the Bretton Woods institutions and the Multilateral Development Banks to support financial crises prevention and response, sustainable development and global public goods provision;
• deepening international tax cooperation based on the principles of universality, fairness and progressiveness, synergizing current Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), G20 and United Nations efforts in this regard;
• advancing suitable global governance for technology to ensure that the ongoing technological revolution contributes to inclusive and shared global development; and
• mainstreaming the gender perspective into all development policies as a cross-cutting priority.

Overall, through inclusive dialogue, mutual understanding and consensus-building, our collective actions and initiatives should continue to coalesce into an increasingly robust global partnership for financing equitable and sustainable development. This process must be steady and deliberate, advancing step by step with a clear strategic purpose.

Towards a Monterrey-Plus summit

The Spirit of Monterrey will remain a powerful beacon of multilateralism in the challenging years ahead – if we succeed in reclaiming its historical strength at a scale fit for purpose.

On this path, the review of the accomplishments and shortcomings of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should provide us with a window of opportunity to generate significant political momentum. Thus, with renewed determination, the 5th International Conference on Financing for Development could be built as a summit – a “Monterrey-Plus” summit – converging with and fully supporting the transition to a necessarily broader, more ambitious and more impactful post-2030 development agenda.