SDG 17 and interlinkages with other SDGs – Partnerships for the Goals

Time is running out to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The estimated size of the financing gap to achieve the SDGs in developing countries has soared to $4 trillion per annum. Governments alone cannot mobilize these resources. Developing countries face, in particular, a finance divide, with the lack of access to affordable finance.

This session will build upon the ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum (FFDF), highlighting the core challenges and opportunities to close the financing and architecture gap, in the context of the preparations for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in 2025. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda encouraged international financial institutions and multilateral development banks (MDBs) to make optimal use of their balance sheets and update their policies in support of the SDGs. MDBs are stepping up efforts to strengthen their collaboration, including on climate action, country-level work, and private sector engagement. Furthermore, the MDBs could also deepen cooperation with the broader system of public development banks (PDBs), leveraging their local knowledge, as well as with the UN system.

This discussion will pay special attention to the role of international financial institutions such as MDBs in driving transformative progress and unlocking investment towards the SDGs and in addressing global challenges.

Proposed guiding questions:

How can enhanced partnerships among the actors of the SDG investment ecosystem (governments, development banks, private sector, and others) drive investment at scale and elevate development outcomes and impacts—especially for the most vulnerable countries and communities?
How can MDBs increase lending for national development needs and also support global public goods? Are new resources, instruments and measurement tools needed to adapt MDBs to be fully responsive to the challenges in achieving the SDGs, and can these be agreed at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in 2025?
How can the UN discussions, including at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, support public development banks to bridge the existing financing gaps and scale up public and private investment in climate action?

Chair:

H.E. Ms. Paula Narváez, President of the Economic and Social Council

Keynote:

H.E. Ms. Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica

Highlight:

Findings of the report of the Secretary-General on progress towards the SDGs – SDG 17 on partnerships for the Goals
Mr. Yuxi Zhang, Statistics Division, UN DESA

Interactive panel discussion

Moderator:

Ms. Shari Spiegel, Director of the Financing for Sustainable Development Office, UN DESA

Panellists:

Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator,United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Ms. Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
Mr. Greg Levin, Founder of New Leaf Climate Partners

Lead Discussants:

Ms. Foteini Papagioti, Acting Deputy Director, Policy & Advocacy, International Center for Research on Women (MGoS)

Ministerial Respondents:

H.E. Mr. Yanara Chhieng, Senior Minister-in-Charge of Special Mission and Second Vice-President of the Council for Development, Cambodia
H.E. Mr. Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Competitiveness and Knowledge Exchange, United Arab Emirates

Interventions by other ministers and participants (up to 2-3 minutes each)