Welcome to the United Nations
(What are the barriers MICs face in implementing the 2030 Agenda and SDGs? What steps are needed to address the challenges of MICs?)
The Sustainable Development Goals and targets cannot be achieved without addressing the needs and specific challenges of middle-income countries (MICs), as these countries are key actors in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. MICs are home to 75% of the world’s population. MICs represent about one third of global GDP and are major engines of global growth. At the same time, MICs are home to 62% of the world’s poor. The social and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic weigh heavily on middle-income countries. There is consensus among the UN Member States that the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the progress of MICs towards their development aspirations, including the SDGs, and exacerbated the challenges they face along all three dimensions of sustainable development. As the UN Secretary-General noted during the High-Level Meeting on Middle-Income Countries held in 2021, MICs are now faced with the challenge to rebuild better after the pandemic which involves restructuring supply chains and addressing debt.
Despite differences between countries, several common challenges are evident. For example, the so-called “middle-income trap”, which serves to highlight that policies have to focus on the right type of investment (in physical capital, in human capital, and in the natural capital base). Having attained middle income status, many MICs have found it difficult to sustain the dynamism of their economic development and their progress in increasing incomes. This is often associated with growing difficulties to sustain levels and types of investment that can generate continued improvements in their productivity and adequate employment growth. Another challenge is digitalization, which has been accelerated as a result of the pandemic, particularly in the sectors of health and education. The lack of digital infrastructure has become a defining element for the digital divide. A further challenge relates to social protection systems, whose importance has been underscored by the pandemic. How well MICs address these challenges will determine the success of their efforts to build back better and achieve sustainable development in the years to come.
Proposed guiding questions:
- What are the most pressing issues that are of particular importance to MICs in their pursuit of SDG implementation?
- What are current, specific gaps and challenges that MICs are facing?
- What are the actionable entry points for MICs to convert the current crises into opportunities for a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable recovery and effective SDG implementation?
- How can the international community best support MICs’ recovery and transformation for accelerated SDG implementation?
- What are the strategies to address debt vulnerabilities and ensure better financing for MICs, and align development cooperation with MICs sustainable development priorities?
- How can MICs address the challenge of the digital divide, which has become the new face of the development divide, and has been exacerbated by the pandemic?
Chair:
- H.E. Ms. Paula Narváez, Vice President of ECOSOC (Chile)
Interactive panel discussion
Moderator:
- H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, and Chair of the Like-Minded Group of Countries Supporters of Middle-Income Countries
Panelists:
- Mr. Homi Kharas, Senior Fellow, Center for Sustainable Development Brookings
- Ms. Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
- Ms.Fiona Tregenna, South African Research Chair in Industrial Development, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Lead Discussants:
- Mr. Adrian Lasimbang,Board Member, Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples, Malaysia (MGoS)
- Ms. Mishell Naomi Cabezas Vilela,Jr Lawyer, Estudio Juridico Merchan /Merchan Law Firm, Ecuador, youth speaker
Interventions of Ministers and other participants (3 minutes each)
