High-Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council, xx meeting - 1) Reports Introduction; 2) Way forward to 2030 and beyond
Economic and Social Council
Date: 16 July 2026
Language: English
Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/ar/asset/k1t/k1tgkhbdv2?lang=en
Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations.

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ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [0:01]:

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, good morning. I call to order the 37th meeting of the Economic and Social Council. I invite the Council to turn its attention to Agenda Item 5, high-level segment on transformative equitable, innovative, and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for a sustainable future for all, and its sub-item B, high-level policy dialogue, including future trends and scenarios related to the Council theme and the long-term impact of the current trends. The documentation under Agenda Item 5 and Sub-item B is available in iGov. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, we shall first hear the introductions of the reports of the Secretary-General and the report of the Committee for the Development Policy, after which the Council will proceed with the panel discussions on the way forward to 2030. I now invite the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Naveed Hanif, to introduce the following 2 reports of the Secretary-General, namely on Transformative, Equitable, Innovative and Coordinated Actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and its SDG for a sustainable future for all, it's contained in document E/2026/75, and on sustainable development and globalization's long-term trends and challenges, it's contained in document E/2026/76.

Thank you.

76. Mr. Hanif, you have the floor now.


UN DESA · ASG Economic Development · Naveed Hanif [2:09]:

Thank you, Mr. President. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it's my honour to introduce 2 reports of the Secretary-General. Together, they ask a simple question: what will it take to accelerate progress towards the SDGs in the 5 years that remain. Indeed, the evidence is sobering, but the challenge is no longer identifying solutions. It is implementing proven solutions at scale, with speed. The first report, addresses this year's Council theme: Transformative, Equitable, Innovative and Coordinated Actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for a Sustainable Future for All. Its central finding is clear: the greatest obstacle to faster progress is fragmented implementation. Development challenges are interconnected; public policies too often are not. The report proposes 4 principles to guide action. First, transformation, which means shifting from isolated projects to structural change. Second, equity, which means ensuring progress reaches those left furthest behind. Third, innovation, which means deploying technology that is affordable, inclusive, accessible, and rights-based. Finally, coordination means aligning policies across sectors, institutions, and all levels of government. The report applies these principles to the goals under review. For instance, SDG 6— the report argues that water should be treated as a strategic connector across health, food systems, energy, and climate resilience. With 2.2 billion people still lacking safely managed drinking water, integrated water governance is an economic as well as a social priority. For SDG 7, renewable energy is increasingly the lowest-cost option, yet deployment must triple and energy efficiency improvements must double by 2030. For SDG 9, the report highlights productive capacity, infrastructure and industrialization as foundations for sustained growth, especially in the least developed countries. For SDG 11, rapidly growing cities require integrated planning, resilient infrastructure and stronger local institutions. For SDG 17, the report points to the Sevilla Commitment as an important step towards mobilizing finance and strengthening the international financial architecture. The report concludes with 3 priorities: strengthen policy coherence, Scale integrated public investment and build institutions capable of managing long-term transformation. Excellencies, the second report examines another defining force shaping sustainable development, and that is technological change. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are advancing at unprecedented speed. Their potential is enormous, but their benefits are not shared automatically. Without international cooperation, technological progress could deepen existing inequalities and widen the digital divide. The report therefore calls for investment in digital infrastructure, interoperable governance frameworks, affordable connectivity, and stronger national capacities. It also finds that AI is more likely to transform jobs than replace them, making lifelong learning, skills development, and social protection essential for an inclusive transition. These reports converge on one conclusion: sustainable development will depend less on discovering new ideas than on connecting existing ones— connecting policies, connecting institutions, connecting science, technology, and people. The tools are available, the evidence is compelling. The remaining question is whether we can match the scale of our implementation with the scale of our ambitions? I hope today's discussion will help answer this question with practical solutions and renewed collective resolve. Thank you, Mr. President.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [8:50]:

I thank the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development for presenting those reports. I now invite Mr. José Antonio Ocampo, Chair of the Committee for Development Policy, to introduce the report of the committee at its 28th session. It's contained in Document E/2026/33.


CDP · Chair · José Antonio Ocampo [9:17]:

Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, The Committee for Development Policy held its 28th session from 23rd to 27th of February, and I am honored to address the Council on its behalf. We are at an important crossroads for the future of global efforts towards sustainable development. While the focus remains on accelerating progress towards the SDGs ahead, of the 2030 deadline, it is time to start openly and inclusively discussing what sustainable development beyond 2030 will require. The Committee addressed the theme of the next steps in global development and converged on a set of issues considered critical. A credible framework for sustainable development beyond 2030 will require realistically confronting the profound changes in the global context. It will need to address the current crisis in multilateralism and in global solidarity and the heightened uncertainty about the future. The current context calls for a 3-pronged approach comprising: first, a renewed effort to build an inclusive and effective multilateral development system through broad consensus. Second, advancing strongly in South-South cooperation, regional integration, and coalition of willing partners. And third, strengthening national ownership and institutional capacity. Based on the experience with the 2030 Agenda, the Committee stressed the importance of focusing on priorities over an encyclopedic set of targets. A future framework should focus on promoting systemic change and areas where progress generates multiplier effects across sectors. Indicators such as the Multilateral Multidimensional Poverty Indexes, which cover several of the goals and can shed light on the intersecting deprivations, which will then guide Synergic action. Both advancing sustainable development and rebuilding trust in the multilateral system depends on closing the gulf that has developed between commitments and reality. It is not a matter of containing of containing ambitions, but of achieving genuine consensus on evidence-based objectives with defined time frames. Clear responsibilities and accountability mechanisms. The inclusiveness of the process that led to the formulation of the 2030 Agenda is commendable and can be advanced further. Excellencies, leaving no one behind, including leaving no country behind, continues to be an imperative for achieving sustainable development to 2030 and beyond. The moment calls for rethinking of the support measures that the least developed countries, or LDCs, need to address structural impediments to development reflecting contemporary challenges. Supporting for the LDCs must acknowledge their diversity and must encompass government support, policy space, debt relief, and a stable and predictable trade system, adequate development and climate finance, and peacebuilding. The CDP has emphasized the need not only to leave no one behind, but push no one behind, and to ensure policies, legislation, and investment take into account potential negative impacts on other sectors, groups of people, and countries. And future generations. This is aligned with the concept of just transitions, which the Council will address in the cycle that begins in a few days. The most important message I would like to convey is that there will be no longer-term sustainable progress towards sustainable development without a structural transformation, a predictable and non-discriminatory trade system, adequate development financing, and fiscal and debt sustainability. These need to be central in any framework. Structural transformation is critical for employment, equality, and the capacity of governments to sustainably mobilize domestic resources. Industrial policies and policies for science, technology, and innovation, trade, and productivity should be integral to sustainable development. At the same time, sustainability, inclusiveness, and the pledge to leave no one behind should be an integral part of policies for fostering structural transformation. For trade to fulfill its potential as an engine of sustainable development, we need a transparent, predictable, and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system. The unilateral imposition of tariffs, Industrial subsidies and carbon budget measures often threaten development, diversification, and resilience of developing countries. Developing countries can take the lead in shaping a rules-based, broad trading system that reflects asymmetries in global development and contemporary challenges and opportunities. Both for structural transformation and investment in health, education, and other social and environmental goals, national action depends on fiscal space. The global and regional institutional structure and norms for financing for development need to deliver results for developing countries. They must reduce the excessively high cost of borrowing, enable tax cooperation, strengthen domestic resource mobilization, and maximize the potential of multilateral and national development banks for advancing structural transformation. They must secure at the same time debt sustainability and reducing the debt burden, which is critical at critical levels in many countries. The Sevilla commitments and the negotiations on the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation are welcome developments. However, much remains to be done to secure a system that supports developing countries financially. This includes better focusing development cooperation towards building domestic capacities, ensuring financing for environmental sustainability, strengthening the global safety net, and improving financial regulation. Critical institutional issues are the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions to ensure greater voice and participation of developing countries. New global institutions to manage sovereign debt restructuring and international tax cooperation, and a denser global architecture with stronger regional institutions, particularly for development financing and monetary and tax cooperation. The Committee will continue to work on these issues to contribute to an effective framework for sustainable development to 2030 and beyond. Excellencies, as you know, our work on LDCs is a core part of the mandate. Next year, the Committee will hold its triennial review of the LDCs category, where we will rigorously analyze the development progress of LDCs vis-à-vis our established and tested criteria and methodologies. While we may be able to recommend additional countries for graduation out of the category, We remain highly concerned and will pay due attention to the multiple crises affecting LDCs. Our enhanced monitoring mechanism for graduating and recently graduated countries has proven instrumental. We have communicated to you, Mr. President, our analysis of the request for the extension of the preparatory period for the graduation of Bangladesh and Nepal. We welcome the work of the ad hoc working group on the smooth transition for countries graduating from the LDC category established by the General Assembly. We look forward to a new resolution that ensures the graduation framework is effective, predictable, and transparent, while flexible to adapt to major disruptions. remain at the disposal of the member states in support of deliberations on this topic. Mr. President, the Committee commends your leadership through this cycle and remains committed to its support to the work of the Council. Thank you very much.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [18:38]:

I thank the Chair of the Committee for Development Policy for his presentation of the report. And now, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I now briefly pause the meeting to allow the podium to be rearranged for the next part of the meetings.


Speaker 6 [18:52]:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [23:36]:

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, the Council will now hold the panel discussions on the way forward to 2030. Let me first deliver my opening remarks. Deputy Secretary-General, Excellencies, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, just over a decade ago, the international community adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda's 17 Sustainable Development Goals remain our shared blueprint for the people, for the planet, and for prosperity. At this year's ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum, we took stock of the progress. We saw innovations and good practices, but we also saw that we remain far off track. With less than 4 years until the 2030 target year, progress on the Sustainable Development Goals remains insufficient and uneven, with multiple and interlinked global crises continuing to hinder implementation. Our immediate priority is clear: we must accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. We need greater ambitions, we need stronger partnerships, and we need sustained political will. A decisive and accelerated push is urgently required to get the goals back on track. We must continue to build on our efforts to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. We know that what works— promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, invest in quality education, expand universal health coverage, build resilient infrastructure, promote decent work, harness science and technology, and protect the most vulnerable. Recent multilateral agreements show that international cooperation can deliver results, even in difficult times. The Pact of the Future, the Sabiha Commitment, and Doha Political Declarations all point in that direction. Together, they help raise ambitions, strengthen partnerships, and build momentum. This year's ECOSOC and HLPF are significant milestones. So is the Road to the 2027 SDG Summit. The 2027 SDG Summit in September next year represents a pivotal moment to mobilize leadership, to renew commitments, and to scale up international efforts to accelerate sustainable development actions on the way to— on the way forward to 2030. Against this backdrop, the 2026 ECOSOC High-Level Segment serves as a critical platform for reflections on advancing SDG implementation. This morning's panel discussions will provide an opportunity to explore the ambitions, to explore the priorities and expected outcomes of the 2027 SDGs. SDG Summit, while generating political momentum to help set the stage for and inform a focused, action-oriented, and impactful summit next year. I thank you. I am pleased to welcome Her Excellency Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, and I invite her to make a statement now.


UN · DSG · Amina Mohammed [27:50]:

Thank you, Your Excellency Mr. Lok Bahadur Thapa, President of ECOSOC, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Mr. President, for bringing us together this morning to discuss the final years to 2030 and beyond. The 2030 Agenda remains the most comprehensive, universally agreed roadmap the world has ever given itself. The SDGs have been transformational, At the last— at the same time, less than 5 years to go, progress is off track, as we've learned through the conversations of the High-Level Political Forum. The first decade of the Goals taught us profound lessons about how change happens when we invest right, and that learning is a critical element on which sustainable development beyond 2030 must be built. We have learned that transformation is not a switch one flicks to see instant change. Where I come from in Nigeria, we say, sanubata hanazwa— going slowly does not stop the arriving. And that's true of the goals. We have set foundations, and foundations take time to firm up before you can build on them. I believe the first 11 years of the SDGs have served exactly that purpose. I'd like to speak about those lessons now. First, our assumptions about what progress would look like were quickly undone, beginning with the assumption that the concept of sustainable development would be embraced by all as the new paradigm shift. It hasn't. It is still a work in progress for many. Back in 2015, we also expected that progress towards 2030 would be linear. In 11 years, that has rarely been the case. Progress has come the hard way, dynamics pushing against one another, Shocks breaking our momentum, forcing us to adjust, to innovate, to course correct again and again. This decade has thrown a pandemic at us, a climate crisis moving much faster than we have feared across borders. When the goals were gavelled, no one imagined we would speak of an overshoot a decade later. The rights of women and girls have been rolled back in many countries, more than 60 active conflicts today, and humanitarian needs that are outpacing resources. Military spending at record highs amidst a shift towards national self-interest. Universality has taken a hit, and so has the confidence in multilateralism. SDG 16 has faced one of the hardest tests. Democracy is under pressure, civic space has narrowed in many of our countries, and people's trust in their institutions has weakened. But as we push back against every one of these challenges, we have been building resilience, and the resilience is itself a development outcome. It can be hard to perceive, but it is there. The crisis in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz is impacting people across the globe. With fertilizer affordability at its weakest in years, farmers are cutting back. Some are missing entire planting seasons. Families are losing out on remittances that have fallen dramatically. But all that said, this crisis would have been far more devastating 10 years ago had the resilience not been built. And it was built because systems became the focus. When COVID hit, we set about strengthening health systems. We also learned hard lessons about production. People in the Global South were left waiting for vaccines. Now countries are building the capacity to make their own, adding value and diversifying supply chains in the process. Transforming education has become a whole system effort, including students, families, teachers, and technology. Food systems, too— not an issue about agriculture and food security alone, but the recognition of the importance of social protection for small farmers, attention to women, girls, climate, and water. Crisis by crisis, sustainable development demanded that policymakers think outside their silos and in a more integrated way, across sectors, across borders, and across the UN system itself. This is exactly what the Goals asked of us on the day that they were gavelled, that we see them as mutually reinforcing pathways. We have learned that centralized governments alone won't cut it. Science, academia, young people, civil society, local leaders and communities, and the media are all necessary to the 2030 Agenda. We've also learned that transformation, once it takes hold, it is unstoppable. We see it in the social norms that have shifted. Leave no one behind was once the slogan. Now it's echoed everywhere and intrinsically linked to having strong disaggregated data so we know where those no ones are. Consumer behavior is also shifting. Plastic-free and circularity now carry an appeal for many. That fossil fuels cannot match. Every single one of these learnings and shifts is a success of the SDGs and must be put to work in the final push towards 2030. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the conversation on beyond 2030 must begin with taking these lessons seriously, planning for a future that we now know will inevitably have uncertainty and headwinds. Some crises will be sudden and unexpected; some will be years in the making. But either way, we know they will occur. We have to accelerate progress, yes, but we also need progress that can withstand shocks and protect our hard-won gains. Accelerating takes implementation, delivery at scale, accountability, partnerships that let us move new players such as the private sector that we have only begun to draw in. It takes financing, and that begins with reforming a global financial architecture that is currently outdated and inadequate for today's realities. As ODA is falling, debt vulnerabilities are deepening, and the handshake that has long underpinned financing for development is failing. Reform will help us create fiscal space, build financing for when shocks hit, and mobilize resources closer to the scale that the goals are demanding. The Pact for the Future gives us the blueprint and the severe commitment, the impetus to mobilize public, private, domestic and international resources. We need to lean into the emerging technologies which are rewriting the development equation. The debate is no longer whether technology will transform development, but how it will serve inclusion, sustainability and equality. The Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact are guiding this discussion and this work. Underpinning everything we do towards 2030 and beyond is a multilateralism that is built on solidarity and universality. Excellencies, we cannot forget that the 2030 Agenda was a promise made to people, to the 1.9 billion young people who will have turned 15 across the lifespan of these goals, and to every person still waiting to be counted. Looking ahead to the SDG Summit in 2027, the conversations on both the final years to 2030 and the road beyond are parallel and intertwined, and they must be an intergenerational conversation that includes youth in a meaningful way. It will require all of us, and we underscore how important the voice and the pen of young people is at the table in shaping the next narrative. We're not searching for a successor to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but we are continuing this journey with ambition, perhaps another set of goals, resolve, and responsibility. The foundations of this past decade are hard-won in very difficult circumstances. The next 5 years are for delivering on the promise of the SDGs, and building the foundations for beyond. I thank you.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [36:11]:

I thank the Deputy Secretary-General for her statement. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, I now briefly pause the meeting to allow the podium to be rearranged for the next part of the discussions. Invite the panelists to approach the podium. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I am now pleased to welcome our guest speaker as well as our moderator, moderator, Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. I hand over the conduct of the discussion to the moderator now.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [38:08]:

Thank you, Mr. President, Excellencies, colleagues, and partners. It is my pleasure to be here this morning as moderator for this ECOSOC High-Level Segment entitled The Way Forward to 2030. As we just heard from the 2 previous speakers, we meet at a pivotal moment for this 2030 Agenda. We heard also all of the challenges in these next— that we're facing right now, from wars, conflicts, economic uncertainty, climate change, widening inequalities, that may be standing in our way as we work towards 2030. But as the DSG said, going slowly does not stop the arriving. So I think we should keep that Nigerian saying in mind. Thank you. Not lose sight of what remains possible, because we do have an opportunity and a responsibility to shape a stronger way forward through practical action and the international cooperation that is represented today here in this room. We do believe by working together we can accelerate implementation and deliver tangible results for people across the world. So that is what this discussion and this panel is about today, looking ahead, identifying practical solutions, strengthening partnerships, and building momentum. And this is going to shape the priorities and the ambition of the 2027 Summit. So I am very pleased to be joined by a group of distinguished panelists, and we have with us Mr. Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, or better known as IFAD. Mr. Adedo Yin Adeleyeka, he is the Executive Director of the Green Growth Africa Sustainability Network in Nigeria and also the co-chair of the Independent Group of Scientists to prepare the 2027 Global Sustainable Development Report, or GSD. EDR; Ms. Shalan Fu, incoming Head of the Oxford Department of International Development and also a member of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs; and Mr. Frantisek Ruzicka, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. Welcome to you all. And if I can kindly ask, I know we're running a little bit behind time, so I'm going to ask our speakers to keep with their interventions within the allotted 2 minutes. We're going to do 2 rounds with the panelists, and then we're going to open the floor to 3 distinguished discussants. And let's begin. And my first question goes to Alvaro.

Lario?

Alvaro, the impacts of today's complex policy environment are being felt acutely in food systems and in rural communities. So how are these overlapping challenges such as food insecurity, climate change, financial constraints— how are these affecting the progress on the SDGs, particularly for rural populations?


IFAD · President · Alvaro Lario [41:41]:

Thank you very much, Melissa, and thank you for having me. As you were mentioning, progress, especially in rural areas, has been very much uneven. I think poverty, hunger, inequality, and climate change are still affecting especially rural areas. Extreme poverty, 70% of it is actually in these rural areas, and we are seeing also very alarming figures. I mean, 2.3 billion still experience moderate or severe food insecurity. We will be releasing next week also the State of Food Insecurity. Yes. And up to 700 million still are suffering hunger. So I think what we are seeing is that many of these communities are affected by these challenges, not in a separate way. If you think about a farmer that is a small-scale producer that is currently facing failed rains, drought for 4 or 5 years, he's not only dealing with climate change, this is also— he's also facing lower incomes, reduced production, and difficult choices for his own household. income and spending. So I think it's very clear that agri-food systems are at the core of many of the elements. They provide employment for 1.2 billion globally, and I think this is why investing in building resilience, in making sure that we are reducing risks and also strengthening private sector activity becomes fundamental. And let me give you some figures. It's true that global spending on architecture, especially global public spending, has been rising. It's around $725 billion in 2024. Out of that, the ODA is very small, it's around $10 billion, but most of the financing comes from the private sector and local private sector. And perhaps we can discuss also later in the next question, but it's not only about the quantity of financing, it's also about the quality and what we do, and the roles of multilateral development banks or financial institutions like IFAD on de-risking and catalyzing. We cannot just be financing the gaps, we need to be able to attract and mobilize further financing. And this is what we discussed in the Seville Commitments around Finance for Development for, and I think it's what, in sustainable development, as institutions, as leaders, we should be really trying to bring forward. In the case of IFAD, very briefly, we were the first fund or programme who got the 2 credit ratings. We are currently investing with our own money alongside the private sector. We are developing guarantees to mobilise further financing to rural areas, and I think these are the models that we need to continue transforming and evolving as UN institutions. Thank you, Melissa.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [44:09]:

Thank you so much. Wow, I mean, if people missed that, he said that 700 million people are suffering from hunger, but good news, there is investment rising in resilience and spending on architecture, and we have EFAD that is playing a really important role, and we're going to hear more about solutions in the next round. I'd now like to turn to Mr. Adi Doyin. Adeleke, from your perspective, what are the key global trends and emerging risks that are most likely to shape SDG progress on the way to 2030, and how should they inform priorities for the 2027 SDG Summit?


Executive Director; Co-Chair · Adedo Yin Adeleyeka [44:47]:

Thank you very much, Your Excellencies. Indeed, there has been significant progress due to the excellent work being done by member states and international organizations, including all stakeholders around Sustainable Development Goals. However, there are still Eating up the progress we're making on investing on the SDGs. Therefore, there is need for us to really climate-proof our progress as we make them. Also very connected to that is that climate— the interconnectedness of our crisis, you know, there are climate change is connected to conflicts, pandemics, economic shocks, disasters, and they are increasingly occurring together as we see them. These risks affect multiple SDGs at the same time. Therefore, countries need integrated solutions that strengthen resilience across sectors. Also, closing the financial gaps. A lot of the developing countries lack financial capacities to be on track. They're interested in being on track, but they lack the capacity to be on track. Therefore, there is need for greater investment for people and infrastructure, and without forgetting investing in nature. Also, the rapid technological transformation, artificial intelligence, as you all know, and digital technologies are changing every sector. Yes, they can all be tools to drive development if everyone can benefit from them. This technology innovation and transformation are great. They will help us in accelerating the progress. However, they also can create a divide. That calls for structured governance of this innovation. I just mention one more and I stop. There's need for stronger multilateral cooperation. No country can solve global— today's global challenges alone. We have shared problems concerning shared resources, and therefore we need shared solutions and stronger partnership. Effective multilateralism remains central to achieving the SDGs. as the Secretary-General often consistently emphasized, we need global solidarity. Thank you.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [47:21]:

Thanks so much, Mr. Adeliki, and thanks for your diagnosis on the challenges and also what is needed. I'd next like to invite Ms. Charlene Fu. Ms. Fu, today's policy environment is increasingly shaped by rapid technological change. Geopolitical fragmentation and shifting patterns of globalization. So, in your view, how are these trends affecting progress towards the SDGs, and particularly for developing countries?


Incoming Head; Member · Shalan Fu [47:54]:

Thank you for having me. I see both bad news and good news. The bad news is that rapid technical change, geopolitical fragmentation, and the shifting patterns of globalization are creating new challenges to SDG progress. Geopolitical fragmentation is weakening global partnership and solidarity, while disruptions to trade, supply chains, and the knowledge flow are affecting jobs, income, and inequality. But, but these same trends also create significant opportunities. Advances in frontier technologies can be powerful equalizers if deployed responsibly and inclusively. We saw this during the COVID-19 pandemic, where digital health expanded access to services. Today, AI is accelerating drug discoveries from years to weeks. Smart homes and smart cities can help improve energy efficiency, while AI-powered financial services can help youth women and small business access funding. More importantly, outcomes of these disruptions are not predetermined. Through creativity, agency, and solidarity, societies can turn challenges into opportunities. China's aging population has also created a growing silver economy, Europe's energy disruption accelerated the green transition. Geopolitical pressure have stimulated indigenous innovation in China, and the pandemic created opportunities for leapfrogging in mobile health in Africa. So the key question is not whether these trends will affect the SDGs, They already are. The real question is whether countries can build the capabilities to harness them. That requires strong local capabilities, effective national innovation systems, and active government and private sector leadership. International collaboration can further accelerate the progress. Ultimately, the future of the SDGs will be determined not by technology and the geopolitical disruption alone, but by whether we have the capabilities, partnerships, and also collective will to turn disruption into inclusive and sustainable development.

Thank you.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [50:57]:

Thank you, Ms. Phu, for your thoughtful answer and that the outcomes are not predetermined and that these challenges can be turned into opportunity. We love those great examples, and I guess we need to see how we can accelerate progress. I'm looking forward to hearing from you again in the second round. Now, we're going to turn to Mr. Frantisek Ruczyka. I turn to you to ask for OECD's perspective and what are the key global trends and emerging that are likely to shape SDG progress between now and 2030, particularly in the areas of education, employment, social inclusion, and international cooperation?


OECD · Deputy SG · Frantisek Ruzicka [51:38]:

Thank you. Still only 2 minutes, okay. In 2015, I remembered in these rooms— maybe not in this room, but the next, in the General Assembly room— the enthusiasm when we adopted the SDGs. And I think that the SDGs were defined by that time, by that knowledge, very good. What we did not foresee, and unfortunately we could not foresee, was the series of crises and the acceleration of some global trends that were much faster than we expected, and also the widening of some gaps that we met over those last 11 years. So are we still bound to meet the goals? Well, we all watch the soccer games now and I think that we are playing overtime and we will not win this overtime unless we start playing better. I don't want to lose— use any examples of the countries, but those who watch know what I mean. So very briefly on the 4th area, as you mentioned, Melissa, education. Education is It's something that is most precious investment for the future generations. And I don't know, in many countries we have failed to educate and to get ready the young generation to use the new skills and to use the new tools like the artificial intelligence, digitalization, virtual reality, and automation. AI can improve the education, can improve the inclusiveness of the educations, can individualize the education, but AI cannot replace the teachers. AI cannot replace the humanity in the education system. But what we have to do is to improve learning outcomes, educational equity, lifelong learning opportunities. Employment. Without education, we will not be able to make the connections in the gap between the needs of the labour markets and the educational outcomes. If we don't align education, skills, and jobs, then we will lose the game. Rising inequality and demographic pressures— I'm not going to talk today about it because everybody— and I fully agree with Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed, what she said. And geopolitical fragmentation. 11 years ago, it was a totally different geopolitical situation, and now we have the different kind of balances or disbalances in what we do, but I'm still optimistic that we can that we can reach the goal. So the 5 key takeaways from these 4 areas: artificial intelligence and digital transformation is a key driver for the next 4 years. We have to use it to the benefits of the SDGs. Climate change is objective driver. Rising inequality is the social driver that can have a negative impact on the SDGs achievement. Demographic change is the Demographic driver that happens in many countries differently, and the last one is geopolitical fragmentation, is the subjective driver. Subjective because it is subjectively done by humans, because the first 4 are more or less economic, social, objective drivers.

Thank you.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [54:46]:

Thank you for outlining those 5 drivers and for also alerting us to the fact that we are in overtime and unless we play better we will not win, and so thanks for that brief roadmap. And so far we've explored many of the challenges that are shaping the progress or not shaping the progress in the SDGs, so let's turn now to the solutions, practical actions, partnerships, and forms of cooperation which can help us accelerate implementation, and my first question is to Mr. Lario. Avaro, IFAD, as we know, is part of the United Nations. How can the UN system, international financial institutions, and development partners strengthen multilateral cooperation and financing to accelerate SDG implementation, with, of course, relevant to you, particular respect to resilient food systems and rural development?


IFAD · President · Alvaro Lario [55:51]:

Thank you. Indeed, I think Finance for Development IV in Seville really showed the way forward, and I think for the UN system, and now that we are going through a reform, is to think, given that we do not have in the UN such big financing means like the public development banks or the multilateral development banks, what can the UN system and institutions offer in terms of technical expertise and mobilizing? I think for us, we do work with local financial institutions, with MDBs, with governments who co-finance, and the evidence is very clear.

Yes.

In our projects and in our impact assessments, what it shows is that when the private sector is engaged, when the private sector is also financing, the impact in terms of income for the rural communities is 4 times higher. So it's very clear, and when we talk about agrifood systems, 90% of the financing in agrifood systems is not coming from the public sector, it's coming from the private sector. We're talking about small SMEs, about farmers' organizations, about cooperatives. The ways— how can we make sure that they have the means and the ecosystem to really invest and making sure that they are creating the employment. So for us, I think, as an institution and for the UN system as such, it's how can we support countries in mobilizing these resources, reducing the risk, and becoming catalytic? Financial institutions or development financial institutions cannot be just thinking about financing gaps. I think what we need is to be catalytic, to mobilize, and that requires a change of cultures, a change of instruments, a change of the financial toolbox. That is what we are going through at IFAD. And I think this can be an example for others also on what could be means and toolbox guarantees, the risking mechanisms to really mobilize the private sector. As I said, that's where the impact and the sustainability comes, and we all have to reflect around that. Thank you.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [57:39]:

Thank you so much for those— that kind of hopeful comment about how to mobilize resources, reduce risk, and to be catalytic. Mr. Adeleke, let me turn to you now. What are the most promising ways countries and stakeholders can accelerate progress, maybe building on what the previous speakers have said too, particularly through locally led and science-informed solutions?


Executive Director; Co-Chair · Adedo Yin Adeleyeka [58:09]:

Thank you once again, Your Excellencies. I think generally, We need to move from process to products, move from evidence to scaled results, from manifestos to manifests, and from PowerPoint to power plants. It's indeed time for action, particularly towards 2030, which is the last lap. But more specifically, I do agree fully with our colleague. Number one, I say we need to scale science-informed decision-making. Our policies need to be guided by the best available science evidence, and I must commend the United Nations and General Assembly for setting up the independent group of scientists to see how science can really support policymaking at the global level. But I also suggest that this needs to be cascaded at the national level. Scientists at national countries— I mean, at the country level— needs to support the policymaking processes at the national level. Of course, just like the other speaker mentioned, empowering locally-led solutions. Communities understand their problems and the opportunities better on how to solve them. Therefore, local innovations are often practical and affordable and sustainable approach to really accelerate the SDGs. Therefore, national policies should create space for locally driven action to scale. We need to also invest more on non-state actors. Civil society, the youth, women, indigenous people, academia, and the private sector, just like the other speaker mentioned, are partners in this implementation. They bring innovation, trust, and strong community connections. Therefore, more funding, capacity building, and meaningful participation needs to go in this direction. Of course, we need to strengthen youth leadership. You know, often when we give examples on forums and platforms where we speak about climate change, I often look at the room and I look at the level of youth participation. When leaders sit to make decisions about climate, understanding that the full impact of the decision they are making will only come to full manifest 25 to 30 years after, the time which many of those leaders will be off the stage, I believe it is justice to allow the young people who will live in the impact of our decisions to make those decisions themselves. Number 5, build stronger partnerships. Government cannot achieve the SDGs alone. Collaborations across sectors unlock expertise, resources, and innovation. Stronger partnerships will increase and scale long-term impact. I say in closing, the fastest path to achieving the SDGs is to combine science with local leadership. We need to empower communities, strengthen partnerships, invest in non-state actors, and scaling proven solutions through inclusive and evidence-based Thank you.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [1:01:00]:

Thank you so much for that blueprint and also summarizing it with that one sentence at the end, what your proposal is, and I think everyone will agree here that we need to involve the youth much more. We try to do that as much as we can here at the UN. Now, Ms. Phu, I'd like to get your insights. What are the most promising ways countries can strengthen innovation ecosystems and international cooperation to accelerate SDG implementation? And looking to the 2030 SDG target year, how can the UN system and its partners help ensure that technological progress contributes to more inclusive and sustainable outcomes?


Incoming Head; Member · Shalan Fu [1:01:39]:

Thank you. To accelerate SDG implementation, we need innovation systems that are deliberately oriented towards the SDGs. Innovation ecosystem includes governments, businesses, universities, financiers, and intermediate organizations. Its effectiveness depends not only on the capabilities of these actors but also on the strength of the linkages between them. And most importantly, innovation systems are not closed systems. They are open systems. That's why openness and partnerships, both domestic and international partnerships, are essential. If we want innovation to contribute to the SDGs, then our institutions, incentives, investments must direct talents, efforts, resources towards SDG outcomes. Therefore, let me suggest 2 bold and forward-looking actions. First, I propose that all member states, with the support from the UN system, conduct an SDG alignment review of their innovation ecosystems by the end of 2023. 6, which is by the end of this year, we should ask some fundamental questions. Where are innovation funds and subsidies going? Are they supporting innovations that advance inclusion and sustainability, or activities that deepen inequality and environmental degradation? What are our tax policies, IP regimes, industrial policies, and education systems incentivizing? Based on this review, countries could improve policy coherence and redirect resources towards SDG priorities. Strategically, we should leverage the digital and the green transitions as powerful multipliers. For AI and the frontier technologies, we should focus on inclusive, safe, and mature applications so that governance and innovation advance together. That's my first proposal. Second, we need to significantly scale up what I would call SDG innovations. I propose that leading global companies commit just 1% of their budgets between 2027 and 2030 to developing and diffusing SDG-oriented innovations. If each Fortune 500 company were to create and scale up just 3 SDG innovations in areas that they have deep expertise, we could generate 1,500 practical solutions for the SDGs. Businesses, governments, universities, and the UN system could then work together to accelerate the diffusion and adoption, particularly in developing countries.

Universities—

universities should play a much more active role in training talents, adapting solutions to local contexts, and support large-scale diffusion. The incentives for the business are clear. First, contributing to sustainable development is increasingly aligned with maximizing long-term stakeholder value. Secondly, SDG challenges represent some of the world's largest unmet needs, creating opportunities for new products, new markets, and new sources of growth. To conclude, the question is not how fast technology advances, but whether we can build the capabilities, partnerships, incentive structure, and collective will to ensure that innovation works for everyone and accelerates progress towards the SDGs. Thank you.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [1:06:21]:

Thank you, Ms. Fu, for outlining those 2 very bold proposals to scale up SDG innovations. I like the 1% of budgets from the companies for SDG innovations, and as well the appeal to member states to conduct an SDG alignment review of innovation ecosystems. I would like to now turn in this round of the panelists, last but not least, to Mr. Ruzicka. Looking ahead to the 2027 SDG Summit, how can the UN system, OECD, international financial institutions, and other partners strengthen multilateralism and translate global commitments into a more accelerated and effective implementation at the national level? And what outcomes would you most like to see emerge from the summit?


OECD · Deputy SG · Frantisek Ruzicka [1:07:14]:

Well, thank you. Are we still dreaming about the 2027 2027 and 2030, yes? So, and in these rooms there were always dreamers, visionaries, there were always optimists, there were skeptics, which is good because that's the diversity of thinking and that helps us to move forward. I'm the dreamer. When I had a dream, I mean, that there are like 7 things that we can do, I mean, to help accelerate implementation of the SDGs before 2030 and the outcomes from the 2027 Summit. The first is backward, then we have to stop shrinking, speed up the turtles, and move from elephants to cheetah or something else. The second point is the major baggage on the SDG financing. I mean, 2 years before we adopted SDGs, there was the Action Agenda of Addis Ababa, Action Agenda, and then we have several other financial instruments. When I read the documents of today, there is not a big difference of what we should do. We know what to do. We're simply not implementing it rightly. So we should make the money more accessible. Like the OECD, for example, is preparing or having the instrument for the African countries, African Virtual Investment Platform, to sort of like provide the good guidance how the investment environment is different African countries. Country-led implementation partnerships— we should not bring the countries to the implementation, but we have to bring implementation and rules to the country, so listen to the country, listen to what the country really needs. The fourth point is bigger role of cities and local governments. In many countries, you go beyond the periphery of the capital and there is no sign about the SDG knowledge, so the communication is failing somewhere. The people are interested much more, but it's not the fault of the people. It's the fault that we cannot tell them that the SDGs are important for them and for their also small-medium enterprises. The 5th point, higher involvement of private sector, big one and the small one. The big one is for the big businesses have the responsibility, especially like in the high-tech companies, and the small-medium enterprises are the backbone of the economies of the many countries and they have no access. And if we don't give them the access, we will not have them on the same boat in fulfilling the SDGs. 6th point, investing in people, education and skills. OECD does the PISA research, which is, I think, a very important mirror of where we stand in different countries in the level of the education in literacy, mathematics, science and others. Now we are going to introduce AI literacy, which is an important tool to see how the students, but also how the teachers, see the AI possibilities and where we are doing the mistake. And my last point in my dream is renewed confidence in multilateral cooperation, and something we all talk about but we really don't fulfill is the peace. We cannot do the SDGs if there is no peace. Thank you.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [1:10:57]:

I think people liked your cheetah and also your 7 points, obviously, and your dreams. I think that they probably summarize the dreams of all of us and the way to get there. Thank you to all of our panelists. for sharing such valuable insights, not just on the challenges, but really with concrete solutions and dreams and blueprints and proposals. We're now privileged to join by 3— be joined by 3 distinguished lead discussants who will help enrich our discussion by bringing additional perspectives from their respective fields of expertise. I would kindly invite each lead discussant to keep their intervention to 3 minutes. And I'm going to first start by inviting Her Excellency, Ms. Marie-Antoinette Zitane-Rose Katara, Chief Executive Officer of the African Peer Review Mechanism, to share the mechanism's perspective on the following question: What practical actions can strengthen national ownership, peer learning, and accountability to accelerate SDG implementation? The floor is yours. There you are.


APRM · CEO · Marie-Antoinette Zitane-Rose Katara [1:12:16]:

Thank you, Madam Moderator, and good morning, everyone. Drawing on the APRM's continental experience, allow me to quickly highlight 5 reflections on how we can accelerate progress in the remaining years up to 2030. With implementation still below the required level, the APRM is moving from review governance assessments to strategic interventions grounded in realism, practicality, and measurable impact. First, institutionalizing national ownership is fundamental. We must approach development challenges with greater contextual intelligence, recognizing that citizens assess progress through their lived experience, not only through targets goals and commitments across the African continent. Now, countries have established coordination mechanisms to advance the SDGs and of course Agenda 2063. These must now be anchored in legal and institutional frameworks to ensure continuity, accountability, and long-term impact. So the APRM national structures across member states, supported by the development of a model law, are designed to sustain progress beyond administrative transitions. This will ensure sustained engagement locally, on the ground, in our member states. Second, we must achieve greater impact with fewer resources. The APRM is scaling programs through online tools that bypass continental and national access barriers and reach those responsible for implementation directly in their localities. The APRM UNDESA program, for example, has already trained 700 public servants on the implementation of principles of effective governance of SDGs, demonstrating that targeted digital delivery can expand reach and improve effectiveness even with limited financing. Third, governance is a bedrock of progress and stability, Implementation and accountability institutions are indispensable for accelerating delivery, and investments must reach communities with urgency, efficiency, and transparency. Legislatures, supreme audit institutions, anti-corruption agencies, and public service delivery institutions must be equipped for effective implementation and oversight so e-governance can help Africa reduce red tape, while strengthening transparency, which is why the APRM has introduced e-governance as a new governance pillar to support member states in accelerating implementation. Fourth, sustainable development requires a whole-of-society approach, and we have heard this over and over again during this HLPF. We need to go fast, we need to go far, and we need to go together. And yes, possible. Governments cannot deliver transformative change alone. The voluntary national reviews presented by 19 African countries at this HLPF reaffirmed the importance of engaging civil society, academia, youth, and the private sector in planning, data collection, and monitoring. So the APRM delivers its mandate through national governance councils, statutory bodies that bring stakeholders to one table around one agenda and one agreed approach. This model has proven effective in Egypt, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Namibia, and other African member states. Fifth, peer learning is one of Africa's greatest comparable advantages. As humans, we learn best when our friends share their own experiences with us. Through APRM continental platforms, including VNR and Agenda 2063 initiatives, the Youth Symposium, and the Africa High-Level South-South Cooperation Forum, member states are engaging practical solutions on institutional reform, public sector transformation, and SDG financing. Egypt and Sierra Leone's collaboration on public sector modernization is a shining example, as well as Namibia's governance learning exchanges with Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa illustrate the value of African-led knowledge sharing. Finally, APRM is pleased to announce its Governance Support Program. While governance reviews remain essential, the APRM is now placing greater emphasis on supporting the delivery of reforms through sustained, continuous, preventive, and practical assistance to member states. This initiative translates APRM recommendations into targeted technical support, enabling member states to accelerate progress towards Agenda 2030 and 2063. Allow me to conclude with a call to action, borrowing on a phrase from the delegation of the Republic of Guinea: we must move from 5% documentation to 95% implementation, fewer meetings and conferences, less speeches and more action, and more action on the ground with our citizens and for our citizens. I thank you, Madam Moderator.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [1:17:52]:

Thank you, Excellency, for your valuable 5 reflections from the APRM perspective and also the insights into your impact. The next lead discussant is Mr. Pedro Manuel Moreno, Acting Secretary-General of UNCTAD. Pedro, from your perspective, how can cooperation and action at all levels be strengthened to accelerate SDG implementation and also mobilize financing for the SDGs, such as through trade, investment, debt solutions, and other means? And I'm sorry for the sound effects in the background— nothing we can control.


UNCTAD · Acting SG · Pedro Manuel Moreno [1:18:34]:

Thank you, Madam Moderator. Mr. President, Excellencies, the question here is about means of implementation of action, as you just said, whether a country turns a plan into finance, into results. 2 points here: the conditions that enable development and the way forward to 2030. I start with enabling conditions. The phrase is not new. Monterrey built the whole financing agenda on it, reshaping how the global community thought of developing finance. The common goal of 2002 was explicit: domestically, achieving sound policy, credible institutions, public finances at hold, and internationally, creating the enabling conditions— open markets, finance at scale, debt relief, equal participation in rule-setting. Addis restated it in 2015. Sevilla restated it last year. And where Monterrey is considered a success, it is because countries upheld their end of the bargain. The essential ingredient, its real strength, lay within the spirit of partnership, and shared responsibility that brought the agenda to life. And yet, as the financing for development agenda has evolved, the international enabling environment has not kept pace. Indeed, external conditions have only become more challenging as time has progressed. In 2015, we had a world of cheap credit, expanding trade, economic convergence. That world is gone. What we see instead today is a world where capital follows industrial policy, strategic subsidies and protectionist trade measures, a competition of deep pockets that most of the developing world cannot enter. Last year, global foreign direct investment rose 6% to $1.6 trillion. US dollars, led by the rise in strategic investments in AI, semiconductors, clean energy, and critical minerals. But least developed and lower-middle-income countries capture barely a tenth of that investment. These are the same countries now facing much higher tariffs than 2 years ago, the same countries facing debt payments that crowd out health and education spending. The same countries that are the first to suffer and the last to recover from the shocks our world keeps producing ever more frequently. This brings me to my second point: the way to 2030. Out of the 17 SDGs, Goal 17 is the partnership goal. In plain terms, it is the promise that international cooperation and global partnership will help unlock the conditions that a country needs to prosper: credit it can afford, markets it can sell into, technology it can use. It is the Monterrey Bargain, written into the 2030 Agenda. Look at how we have kept it. Goal 17 asks us to double the least developed countries' share of world exports by 2020. That share was 1% in 2010. It is 1.1% today. And development assistance fell by a record 23% last year, back to where it stood in 2015, the year we adopted the goals. So let us spend these 4 years there. Give borrowers an institutional home. Countries will formally establish the Borrowers Platform in Bangkok in October. Capitalize the development banks to crowd private money in at scale. And keep the trading system usable for the countries at its edge. A small exporter cannot hedge a tariff or wait out a dispute. Predictability is the cheapest thing we can give them, and we are giving less of it. So, Excellencies, the SDG Summit in 2027 is the last time leaders meet before the deadline. It should be measured against one test: whether a country doing its part at home finds a world doing its part abroad. Thank you.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [1:23:22]:

Thank you, Mr. Moreno. Thank you for that valuable analysis from UNCTAD's perspective, and we need to push for bargains to be kept. Thank you. And last but not least, I'd like to give the floor to Ms. Valeria Kalunja, Policy Officer of Southern Voice and Chief Youth Advisor of Girl Up. Ms. Kulunga, from the perspective of somebody who works at the intersection of intergenerational justice and international development cooperation, from a Global South lens, what message would you like to convey to the preparations of the 2027 SDG Summit and the outcome?


Southern Voice · Policy Officer · Valeria Kalunja [1:24:10]:

Excellencies, colleagues, I speak today in my position as Policy Officer of Southern Voice, a network of 71 Global South think tanks, where I work every day to integrate the perspectives from the global majority in policy outcomes and conversations. This includes the Post-2030 Agenda and the broader future of international development cooperation, which is part of our Southern Voice on Global Development flagship initiative, and its report will launch leading to 2027. The 2027 SDG Summit is a key moment for the Global South, and it must both help make the final 3 years to 2030 count and begin preparing for what follows 2030. So how can we make these 3 final years count? As a Next Generation Fellow alumna, I want to highlight the UN Foundation's global survey on the next Secretary-General. The answers called for bold leadership with top— 3 top expectations: a peacemaker that can rebuild trust, a reformer that can change systems that are not working, and a long-term thinker who will protect future generations. These outcomes align with Southern Voices survey results on the Global South's expectations for the next Secretary-General. The 3 strongest leadership qualities were political independence, the ability to lead institutional transformation, and the capacity to navigate interconnected global crises. So how can we prepare for what follows 2030? In a late 2024 Southern Voice survey, 75% of respondents favored working with the SDG framework after 2030, adapting where necessary. For example, they highlighted the importance of clearly understanding trade-offs between goals, furthering context-based prioritization, and aligning incentives, funds, and time horizons. I would therefore like to offer 2 connected requests for the summit. In terms of design, the summit must create meaningful pathways for stakeholder participation beyond consultation. Young people and Global South constituencies are not only beneficiaries, but also evidence producers, implementers, and strategic components of decision-making itself. Regarding the implementation, the summit must deliver drive further investment in coalitions and mechanisms that connect global commitments to national and local delivery, and also continue working after the summit ends. Lastly, I want to share something. In my work as a Chief Youth Advisor for Girl Up, a youth-centered gender equality movement, the executive team constantly recognizes a simple truth: our strategy is always catching up to the people, not the other way around. This is why Girl Up has implemented an intergenerational leadership model that meaningfully integrates youth at the highest level of decision-making. This level of commitment to intergenerational fairness needs to be present in the SDG Summit if the SDGs want to catch up with young people too. Leading to 2027, Southern Voice will be hosting a series of dialogues that brings various perspectives into conversations And we will be launching our report that brings together cross-regional case studies, providing evidence on successful approaches to SDG implementation. We look forward to sharing those too. Thank you.


UN · USG Global Communications · Melissa Fleming [1:27:35]:

Thanks so much, Ms. Kalunga, for those ideas to make the last 3 years count and outlining everything that you and your networks are doing to make sure that happens. Thank you. And thank you to all of our discussants, to our panelists, for your thoughtful contributions and for sharing your perspectives and recommendations. And I would now like to return the floor to the President of ECOSOC to open the interactive discussion with member states, observers, and the United Nations system and other stakeholders. So thank you very much for your attention.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [1:28:11]:

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, Thank you. Firstly, I thank the U.S.C. Melissa Fleming for moderating this very important discussion. We will now proceed to the interactive discussion. Delegations wishing to intervene are invited to request the floor by pressing the microphone button now. I also take the opportunity to remind participants that the time limit for the intervention from the floor is 3 minutes. Please bear in mind that the time limit may need to be adjusted downwards depending on the number of the requests for the floor. To ensure proper interpretations, delegations are asked to speak at a normal pace and to provide a written copy of your statements by email to e-statements@ I first give the floor to the minister respondents and I would like to invite Her Excellency Sandra Paul-Mont, Minister of Planning and External Cooperation of Haiti, to make a statement. Her Excellency, you have the floor now.


Haiti · Minister of Planning and External Cooperation · Sandra Paul-Mont [1:29:30]:

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr.

President, Excellencies, I thank you for the opportunity offered to Haiti to speak as a respondent in this panel at a juncture when the international community must look with clarity at the progress made towards 2030. With less than 5 years remaining until the deadline, it is clear that progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals remains insufficient uneven, and in several contexts undermined by overlapping crises. Developing countries, in particular the most vulnerable among them, are facing food insecurity, climate change, indebtedness, geopolitical tensions, population displacement, a contraction of concessional resources, and difficulty in accessing predictable financing. For Haiti, as for the Group of 77 and China, of which we are a full member, the central question is therefore the following: How can we accelerate the SDGs without transforming the structural conditions that limit their implementation? There can be no credible acceleration of the SDGs without economic justice. There can be no sustainable progress without accessible financing, without relief from debt-related constraints, without equitable access to technology, without strengthening national capacities, and without reform of the international financial architecture so that developing countries have a stronger voice in global economic governance. That is why it has become necessary to reconsider the SDGs, not to weaken them, but to make them more operational, better adapted to national realities, and more responsive to the particular vulnerabilities of countries. The SDGs must remain a common vision, but their implementation must better take into account the security, climate, humanitarian, economic, and institutional shocks affecting countries in situations of fragility. The promise of 2030 cannot be kept if we apply the same instruments to profoundly different realities. For the countries of the Caribbean, for example, multidimensional vulnerability must be better integrated into access to international financing. Being classified as a middle-income country does not mean being protected against hurricanes, economic crises, supply disruptions, debt, or the effects of climate change. For Haiti, this reflection is even more urgent. Our country is facing a combination of security, humanitarian, social, economic, and climate challenges that are significantly slowing down the achievement of the SDGs. Insecurity affects mobility, access to public services, school attendance, markets, investment, agricultural production, and social cohesion. In such a context, speaking of sustainable developments requires more clearly linking security, stabilization, community recovery, territorial planning, and productive investment. But Haiti has not come to this podium only to speak of crisis. Haiti has also come with a vision. Our priority is to reorient public action towards planning, coherence, localization, and results. The SDGs must translate into action for municipalities, neighborhoods, production zones, schools, health centers, local infrastructure. Thank you. And essential services. In this regard, Haiti's priorities are clear: restoring minimum security conditions, strengthening territorial planning, investing in economic and social infrastructure, creating jobs, particularly for young people and women, supporting agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises, and local value chains, and better aligning external cooperation with national priorities. Approach also rests on the peace-development nexus, as well as peacebuilding and long-term investment to ensure long-term stability and inclusive development. International assistance remains essential, but it must be more coherent and oriented towards measurable results. Haiti does need partnerships, but above all, structured partnerships that are respectful of its priorities and able supporting national institutions over the long term. In that spirit, we intend to take an important step, having since 2015 incorporated the SDGs into our national frameworks and selected certain development priorities. Our country intends to undertake a voluntary self-assessment exercise next year. This will make it possible to honestly measure the progress achieved, the delays that have accumulated, the constraints that have been encountered. And to frankly measure and honestly measure the progress made and the adjustments that need to be made in order to put the 2030 Agenda back at the heart of our national planning. We commend the countries who are presenting their voluntary national review this week. Their experience reminds us that evaluation is not just a reporting exercise. It is an instrument of accountability, dialogue, partner mobilization, and public policy improvement. Social cohesion, and effective cooperation. We no longer have the luxury of time. The years separating us from 2030 must be years of prioritization, financing, and results. Haiti remains ready to play its part with dignity, responsibility, and determination so that the Sustainable Development Goals remain a living promise for our peoples. Thank you very much.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [1:36:32]:

I thank the Minister of Planning and External Cooperation of Haiti. Now, I next give the floor to His Excellency Fabrien Roudiard, Vice Minister of National Development Planning and Vice Head of National Development Planning Agency, Mr.


Indonesia · Vice Minister of National Development Planning; Vice Head of National Development Planning Agency · Fabrien Roudiard [1:36:52]:

Chair, Excellency, distinguished delegates, Indonesia thanks the panelists for their valuable insight. We all recognize the reality before us: food insecurity, climate change, mounting debt, and geopolitical fragmentation are making development increasingly complex. Yet these challenges do not diminish the relevance of the SDGs. They reinforce it. The real question today is no longer whether we have the right goals. It is whether we are delivering them in the right way. For Indonesia, 4 priorities are essential. First, we must move from fragmented intervention to integrated development. Food, energy, water, climate, infrastructure, and digital transformation and employment are not separate agendas. They are part of one development ecosystem and must be planned accordingly. Second, global commitment must be translated into national delivery. In Indonesia, the SDGs are embedded in our national development planning and budgeting system. So that international commitment becomes measurable national action. Third, innovation must create opportunity for everyone. Artificial intelligence and digital technology should expand productivity, improve public services, and empower people. Technology should narrow inequality, not widen it. Fourth, we need a stronger development financing architecture. Public resources alone cannot close the SDG financing gap. We need partnerships that mobilize private investment, reduce risk, and support long-term national development priorities.

Mr.

Chair, as we prepare for the 2027 SDG Summit, our focus should move beyond reaffirming commitments. It should be on accelerating implementation. Strengthening accountability, and delivering tangible outcomes. At the same time, we should begin shaping the development agenda beyond 2030. The next global framework should build on the SDGs while responding to emerging challenges with greater resilience, inclusion, and innovation. Ultimately, sustainable development is not measured by the promises we make. It is measured by the lives we improve. Indonesia stands ready to work with all partners to make remaining years to 2030 a decade of delivery and to help shape a stronger development agenda for the years beyond. Thank you, Mr. Chair.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [1:39:41]:

I thank the Vice Minister of National Development Planning of Indonesia, and now I give the floor to His Excellency, Lounès Maghramani, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad, and African Affairs of Algeria. Your Excellency, you have the floor now.


Algeria · Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad, and African Affairs · Lounès Maghramani [1:40:12]:

Thank you, Mr. President. Allow me to begin by thanking all the speakers who have taken the floor. I'd like to make a contribution by sharing some lessons learned at the national level. With less than 4 years remaining until 2030, it has become clear that Incremental progress will not be sufficient. We are experiencing pressures related to conflicts as well as slowing growth and climate change impacts. These pressures hamper development efforts, particularly in developing countries, which require more than $4 trillion annually. Despite this, our experience in Algeria, guided by the President of the Republic, Abdelaziz Tebboune, reflects a balanced policy grounded in social justice as a solid foundation that has helped keep extreme poverty below 0.5% in Algeria. Accelerating the implementation of the SDGs is not only limited to good planning, it also requires incorporating these goals into sectoral strategies through a clear roadmap for the period 2026-2030. And we have a number of structural projects in this area. First, producing more than 15,000 megawatts of energy by 2035 with green hydrogen. Second, Water security and desalination of more than 5 million cubic meters of water, as well as the management of 300 million cubic meters of water annually. Third, diversifying the economy, including through African Free Trade Area. Fourth, including youth and women in economic activity, notably increasing the role played by women. Fifth, digitalization and modernization of institutions. The success of the 2027 SDG Summit will depend on seriously addressing 3 key areas. First, closing the financing gap and importantly reforming international financial institutions. Second, bridging the digital divide and ensuring technology transfer as well as capacity building. Third, cooperation with a variety of partners in line with national priorities. Finally, Algeria stands ready to contribute to all of these efforts in line with our conviction of leaving no one behind. Thank you very much.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [1:44:05]:

I thank the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Committee Abroad, and African Affairs of Algeria. I thank all our 3 ministerial Thank you, all the respondents, for your very insightful and comprehensive interventions. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, we will now proceed to the interactive discussions. I will give the floor to the distinguished representative of Mexico, to be followed by Türkiye, Poland, European Union, and Thailand.


Mexico [1:44:36]:

Thank you, Mr. President.

Muchas gracias, señor Presidente.

Thank you very much, President. We are just a little over 3 years shy of the deadline to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and the situation is clear. The world is suffering significant delays. The international context, characterized by various interrelated crises, is deepening inequalities, worsening the effects of climate change, and limiting progress towards sustainable development, particularly for populations in more vulnerable In light of this, we must accelerate the implementation of the SDGs through comprehensive public policies. We need greater coordination among the various levels of government, and we must build stronger partnerships with the private sector, academia, civil society, and youth. In Mexico, we have strengthened the instruments that allow us to turn these commitments into concrete action. The updating of the methodology that ties the budget of expenditures of the Federation to the Sustainable Development Goals. Improves identification of the public expenditures aimed at sustainable development. We also have a new reference for sustainable financing, which facilitates access to instruments such as green social bonds tied to the SDGs, mobilizing resources towards positive social and environmental projects. We also recognize that sustainability requires solid institutions. We need quality information and effective citizen participation. This is why we promote policies that are intersectional, that have a gender focus. We strengthen responsible and sustainable water management. We promote evidence-based solutions, and we promote active participation of communities in the design and implementation of public policies. The 2027 SDG Summit is an opportunity to renew the political impetus and begin building a vision that goes beyond 2030. This is why the UN system and international financial institutions must strengthen multilateralism through better utilization of existing mechanisms, avoiding duplications, and channeling resources more efficiently. Only through effective international cooperation with sustainable financing and significant participation among all actors can we accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and build a future that is more fair, resilient, and inclusive for for all people. Thank you very much.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [1:47:17]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Mexico. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Türkiye.


Türkiye [1:47:30]:

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, Excellencies, distinguished delegates. Progress on the SDGs remains deeply uneven, with the majority of targets either stagnant or off-track, including some of the most fundamental ones. The increasingly complex geopolitical landscape makes this path even more uncertain and challenging. The international conflicts are shrinking the room to move. Considering the inseparable link between peace and development, the establishment of peace is a fundamental prerequisite for the successful implementation of the SDGs. A clear and honest evaluation of the past 10 years will be our most reliable guide to creating a more realistic, grounded, and effective future roadmap. We must place these lessons at the center of the new framework. The SDGs were designed as an integrated framework, and that remains their core strength. We need to look at how different policy areas connect and reinforce each other. Coherence across sectors matters. The UN system and international financial institutions have a critical role to play in supporting this through strengthened preparatory processes and enhanced planning capacities. The current framework has largely operated through globally set targets that countries are expected to align with. The post-2030 period presents an opportunity to rethink and move toward a model where national plans and priorities meet with the global targets and shape the global agenda. We aim to make our ambitions realistic by grounding them in the actual. I thank you.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [1:49:17]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Türkiye. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Poland.


Poland [1:49:24]:

Thank you, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Poland is ending its 3-year membership in ECOSOC. This was a time of deep reflection and dialogue for us. We wanted to find the best ways to support global development. We use our own national expertise and share the lessons from our successful economic transformation that made Poland one of the world's 20 largest economies. Our debate today takes place in a difficult context, though. We see a record number of armed conflicts. Socioeconomic inequalities are rising. Climate change is accelerating. These problems reverse our development gains. We must build stronger resilience and safeguard progress across all SDGs. We can only react through fast, consistent, and coordinated actions. The 2027 SDG Summit must restore momentum for the 2030 Agenda. We need to reinforce effective cooperation, accelerate our work. Our priority must be support for the least developed countries. At the same time, we must look at another group. Some countries are now transitioning beyond official development assistance. They are moving towards greater self-reliance. We must ensure a smooth and sustainable path for them. Poland strongly supports the Sustainable Development Agenda. We do this also through our development aid. However, we need to reform the global financing architecture. It must become more effective and inclusive, respond better to real development needs. The global financing gap is widening. Official development aid is declining. A renewed international commitment is needed. We need effective and predictable financing. Therefore, we must look for new financing actors. innovative mechanisms, and we must cooperate closer with the private sector. This will help us mobilize extra resources. We must support the economic growth of developing countries, but we also need to focus on capacity, on how to generate domestic revenues, on improving tax systems, on green transition. New technologies have great potential. Digital transformation can reduce inequalities, It improves access to public services like healthcare and education. Finally, we must combat corruption and strengthen transparent institutions. This creates a predictable environment for investment and ensures the accountable use of development aid. Only a strong 2030 Agenda can ensure stability. It brings lasting peace and a good standard of living for all. Thank you, Mr. President.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [1:52:12]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Poland. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of European Union.


EU · EU [1:52:21]:

Thank you, President, and thank you to the panelists and discussants. Excellencies, dear colleagues, I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the EU and its member states. As we approach 2030, the SDGs remain our shared blueprint for ending poverty, reducing inequality, and protecting the planet. Yet, current global trends are making their achievement more difficult and threaten progress across nearly all the SDGs. But they also make clear that accelerating sustainable development is more urgent than ever. So, what should be done between now and 2030? We heard many points from the speakers which we agree with. First, countries must place the SDGs at the center of national policy, budgeting, and planning. Second, we need far greater investment in areas that create wide 360-degree benefits. And third, we must build more sustainable partnerships. The EU's Global Gateway is one important example contributing to this. By supporting sustainable, high-quality investments in digital, energy, and transport infrastructure, as well as health and education systems, Global Gateway helps partner countries strengthen resilience, promote green and inclusive growth, and accelerate progress towards the SDGs. Its emphasis on sustainability, transparency, and mutual benefit is especially valuable at a time of uncertainty. We must ensure that innovation and transition are inclusive. Progress will only be meaningful if it reaches those most at risk of being left behind. Colleagues, we must move ahead with a determination to carry forward what has been achieved, address what has not, and respond to new and evolving global realities. The next high-level political forum under the auspices of the President of the General Assembly, the SDG Summit 2027, will be an important opportunity to take stock at the highest political level and renew collective commitment to remain ambitious, inclusive, and action-oriented. In closing, President, please allow me to congratulate you on behalf of the EU and its member states for your presidency of ECOSOC during such a critical moment for the achievement of the SDGs. Thank you very much.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [1:54:11]:

I thank the distinguished representative of European Union. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Thailand.


Thailand [1:54:21]:

Thank you very much, Mr. President, Thailand would like to thank all the panelists for their valuable insights and to say that Thailand agrees with most of the suggestions made. ECOSOC at 80, with its unique advantage, remains as vital as ever. It has the convening power, the multi-stakeholder reach, and the technical expertise. Allow me to share some of the suggestions on how we can make ECOSOC evolve into a platform that can deliver concrete results. First, the ECOSOC system should be more focused more coherent and more results-oriented. With limited resources and expanded mandates for ECOSOC resulting from the major global conferences and outcomes, prioritization and effective coordination have become all the more critical across the ECOSOC system. As a host country to ESCAP, we recognize the vital role of regional commissions in connecting global goals with regional and national priorities. ECOSOC should continue to make better use of regional commissions to align UN country-level support with national priorities and respond more effectively to emerging risks and opportunities. At the same time, regional commissions can help echo voices from across the region on important issues at ECOSOC, thereby connecting global deliberations with regional realities. Second, Priorities must be matched by adequate resources and capacities to deliver results. Financing for development remains central to SDG implementation. Through its convening power, ECOSOC can bring together the UN system, international financial institutions, and other partners to identify gaps and align support with national priorities, thus helping to finance projects, mobilize expertise, expertise and deliver concrete deliverables on the ground. Thailand will be hosting the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in October this year, and as mentioned by our speaker from UNCTAD, we will be looking into efforts to help to finance major projects in order to deliver the SDG goals. We also agree with some of the suggestions made by the panelists on how to secure additional funding through technical financing and other issues and other alternatives. Third, looking ahead to the SDG 2027 Summit, Thailand believes that the preparatory process should be inclusive and evidence-based. It should identify where progress is lagging, where solutions are working, and where international cooperation can make the greatest difference on the ground. Mr. President, ECOSOC must evolve with the time. with the times and become more coherent and foster stronger connectivity and partnerships. And Thailand is ready to contribute to this effort. It is in this spirit that Thailand will present its candidature to the ECOSOC for the term 2029 to 2031. We are committed to working with all member states and stakeholders to strengthen ECOSOC. Thank you, Mr. President.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [1:57:32]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Thailand. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Rural Development Center, to be followed by Morocco, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and UNDP.


Stakeholder Group on Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent · Beena Pallickal [1:57:46]:

Respected chairs, excellencies, and friends, my name is Beena Pallickal, representing the Stakeholder Group on Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent, APRSIM, in the Global Forum Global Campaign Against Poverty. Yesterday, we adopted the ministerial declaration that speaks of accelerating action, equity, inclusion, and leaving no one behind. Yet again, once again, communities discriminated on work and descent are left behind in the very document that promises not to leave anyone behind. While it talks about inclusion, leaving no one behind, non-discrimination, participation, and disaggregated data, it fails to acknowledge the three. 340 million people who remain excluded because of inherited systems of social hierarchy and descent-based discrimination. As a way forward, we must first correct this critical structural oversight. The SDGs still do not explicitly recognize the realities of communities discriminated on work and descent and other invisible communities. If we cannot see people, we cannot count them. If we do not count them, we cannot design policies that reach them. We therefore call for intersectional and context-specified disaggregated data that captures discrimination based on work and descent alongside gender, disability, ethnicity, race, indigenous identity, age, migration status, and other forms of exclusion. Only then can government design targeted policies and measure whether they're truly reaching those furthest behind. We also call on member states to ensure that voluntary national reviews include the situation of these discriminated communities with meaningful participation of affected communities in planning, implementation, monitoring, and review. No review of progress can be complete without millions— while millions remain invisible. The growing inequalities and rising poverty highlighted in this declaration demand urgent action. Investments social protection systems, education, healthcare, housing, water and sanitation, energy, decent work, and climate resilience must intentionally prioritize the excluded communities facing structural and inherited exclusion. As women from communities discriminated on work and descent, we know exclusion is never experienced only through one identity. Our women and girls face the intersection of patriarchy, poverty, racism, anti-Gypsyism, caste and descent-based discrimination, violence, and economic exploitation. They carry the heaviest burdens while their leadership, knowledge, and resilience continue to be overlooked. Greater investment is therefore needed in the leadership, education, economic empowerment, and protection of women and girls from these communities. We also urge governments and the United Nations to strengthen national statistical systems, support community-generated data, invest in research on these communities so that evidence can inform effective public policy rather than leaving these communities behind. Can we do things differently? We need a system change. As long as inherited discrimination remains embedded in our institutions, laws, economies, and social structures, we will not achieve the 2030 Agenda. We must continue to strengthen multilateral cooperation, reform the global financial architecture, and ensure that financing reaches those furthest behind. Finally, sustainable development cannot be achieved without shared leadership— governments, the United Nations, civil society, indigenous people, people from the communities discriminated on work and descent, people with disabilities, non-binary individuals, youth, and other marginalized communities must all have equal partners in decision-making, implementation, and accountability. Only then we can truly fulfill the promise of leaving no one behind. Thank you.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:01:54]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Rural Development Center. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Morocco.


Morocco [2:02:04]:

Thank you, Mr. President, and thanks to the panel for the insightful reflections. We have seen during this week of HLPF continuous ambition and commitment to the 2030 Agenda, resilience building, and pursuit of actions for achieving sustainable development, demonstrated by a successful VNR exercise which reached its 3rd generation this year. However, we must also acknowledge the sobering fact about the slow progress of implementation. Before we turn our gaze beyond 2030, we must first pause collectively and responsibly to understand why the SDGs are in the current situation and why they are in the late stage of progress. In order to make the last 4 years before 2030 count, Accountability must guide our reflection. The shortfall in implementation is clearly not a question of ambition, but a question of delivery. Structural constraints, financing gaps, uneven ownership, and persistent global shocks have all played a role. A credible path forward requires, therefore, that we confront these realities with clarity and honesty. In this context, We believe that the discussion on the post-2030 horizon should not move towards the creation of a new agenda, rather creating a moment for consolidation. We must prioritize implementation of the SDGs, strengthen national ownership, building innovative partnerships, reforming the international financing architecture, and reinforce what has proven effective since 2015. The lessons learned over the past decade are rich and must inform our next steps, as we heard today. In this regard, the SDG Summit in 2027 offers a critical opportunity. It should serve as a space for inclusive and evidence-based reflection, bringing together governments, local authorities, youth voice, civil society, and the private sector to assess progress and identify the way ahead. It is also a moment to reinforce synergies between the Pact for the Future, the Doha Declaration on Social Development, and the 2030 Agenda. And finally, Mr. President, we also join colleagues to congratulate you and thank you for all your effort during this ECOSOC cycle. Thank you.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:04:31]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Morocco. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of South Africa.


South Africa [2:04:41]:

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President, and also thanks to the esteemed panel for their invaluable interventions. Mr. President, South Africa confirms its unwavering commitment to Agenda 2030 and its related SDGs. We also support the effective and urgent implementation of the FFD4 civil commitment to help us close the US$4 trillion sustainable development financing gap. The SDGs have now been entrenched across the globe by governments and all of society. We have indeed made steady progress on several targets. To this end, with only 4 years remaining until 2030, we need stronger partnerships among governments, business, civil society, and communities, supported by innovation, sustainable investment, and evidence-based policies. By working together with renewed determination, we can overcome existing challenges and move closer to achieving Agenda 2030. On her part, South Africa has also made steady progress on the SDGs. It is for this reason that South Africa has fully integrated the 17 SDGs into its National Development Plan, Vision 2030. Approximately 2 weeks ago, the South African government and the UN signed a 5-year cooperation framework designed to fast-track SDG progress with a heavy emphasis on inclusive economic growth, accountable governance, and climate action. This said, the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequality remain. On our part, we will continue to promote accelerated implementation of Sustainable Development nationally and across multilateral platforms, including the UN and African Union. On the African continent in particular, we believe that the full implementation of the continental flagship programs, that is Agenda 2063, The Africa We Want, and the African Continental Free Trade Area, will bring impetus to accelerate implementation of several SDGs across the continent. To conclude, Mr. President, South Africa pledges its active cooperation during our collective last drive forward in these coming 4 years to accelerate progress, especially on those specific SDG targets with the biggest lag, ensuring that we leave no one behind. I thank you.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:07:21]:

I thank the distinguished representative of South Africa. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Saudi Arabia.


Saudi Arabia [2:07:31]:

Mr. President, Excellencies, colleagues, throughout this High-Level Political Forum, one message has become clear. Across main sessions, side events, and bilateral meetings, we have heard different experiences. Different challenges and different national contexts, yet many of us are reaching the same conclusion. The challenge is no longer defining sustainable development; the challenge is delivering it. 10 years ago, the SDGs gave us a shared vision of development, one that rightly recognized that prosperity, inclusion, and environmental stewardship are deeply interconnected. That ambition remains as important today as it was when it was first introduced. But a decade of implementation has also given us something equally valuable: evidence. Evidence of what works, evidence of where progress slows, and evidence that implementation requires more than commitment. As we begin shaping the conversation beyond 2030, the question should not simply be what comes next. It should also be what we have learned. One lesson stands out: prioritization is not about lowering ambition. It's about strengthening delivery. Governments cannot pursue every priority with the same level of intensity at the same time. They must make evidence-based choices, align institutions and financing around these choices, and focus where action can generate the greatest impact. This has been one of the strongest lessons from Saudi Arabia's own experience through Vision 2030 and our 3rd VNR. Our journey reinforced that sustainable development advances fastest when ambition is matched by focus, implementation remains adaptable, and progress is continuously informed by evidence. perhaps this is the opportunity before us. The Post-2030 Agenda should help countries deliver better, because ultimately the success of the next global framework will not be measured by the number of goals we adopt, it will be measured by the lives we improve. Thank you so much.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:09:51]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Saudi Arabia. Now I give the floor to His Excellency Abdurrahman Abdurrahman Joda, Minister of Economy and Trade of Tajikistan. Your Excellency, you have the floor.


Tajikistan · Minister of Economy and Trade · Abdurrahman Abdurrahman Joda [2:10:04]:

Mr. President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to thank the President of ECOSOC for convening this timely discussion at a critical stage of implementing the 2030 Agenda. With less than 5 years remaining until 2030, the international community must move beyond commitments towards accelerated implementation. Climate change Geopolitical tensions, financing gaps, and growing inequalities require stronger multilateral cooperation, greater investment, and practical solutions. The time for general commitments has passed. What we need now is implementation, financing, technology, and accountability. For Tajikistan, the way forward to 2030 means translating global commitments into national reforms and measurable results. Following the presentation of our 2nd Voluntary National Review in 2023, we have moved from review to implementation. This vision is reflected in our Medium-Term Development Program for the period 2026-2030, which prioritizes inclusive growth, accelerated industrialization, digital transformation, green and circular economy, human capital development, and the sustainable management of natural resources. For Tajikistan, progress on the SDGs under review is mutually reinforcing. Water strengthens food and energy security, energy drives industrial development, infrastructure connects markets and people, sustainable cities improve quality of life, and partnerships make these efforts possible. Our experience also shows that water availability and climate resilience are powerful accelerators of sustainable development. Through the Dushanbe Water Process and the United Nations Decade on Crisopier Science and Strengthening Peace for Future Generations, initiated by Tajikistan, we continue to promote practical cooperation linking water, climate resilience, sustainable development, and peace. Looking ahead, the 2027 SDG Summit should become an implementation summit by mobilizing greater investment, expanding access to finance, technology, and innovation, and strengthening support for developing countries, particularly mountainous and landlocked developing countries. The Republic of Tajikistan remains committed to working with the United Nations and all partners to ensure that the remaining years to 2030 become a period of accelerated action, stronger solidarity, and tangible results for present and future generations. Thank you for your attention, Mr. President.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:12:53]:

I thank His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Trade of Tajikistan for his intervention. Now I would like to give the floor to the distinguished representative of UNDP, to be followed by Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women, Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, and ITU.


UNDP [2:13:15]:

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. As SDG progress is not at the pace we want, we would like to make 5 points for the way forward. First, a major constraint to SDG progress is shrinking fiscal space. Many developing countries are spending more on debt service and the crisis response, leaving fewer public resources for health, education, social protection, climate change, and jobs and infrastructure. So this is the challenge we need to tackle. Secondly, today's challenges and risks are increasingly interconnected— climate shocks, debt distress, food and energy insecurity, inequality, job deficits, and digital divide now reinforce each other, so addressing them separately will not work anymore. Third, the 2027 Summit— SDG Summit should therefore focus on integrated delivery. Countries need nationally owned SDG acceleration pathways that connect priorities, policies, budgets, financing, and implementation approach, and also coherently. Fourth, financing must be treated as part of the delivery. Experience with integrated national financing frameworks shows that aligning public budgets, policy reform, and investment pipelines with national priorities can help mobilize significant resources when anchored in strong country ownership and a multi-stakeholder approach. Lastly, exchange of technology solutions and experiences is equally vital for accelerating progress on the 2030 Agenda. The 2027 SDG Summit again is an opportunity to re-engage multilateral— to re-energize multilateralism and the development cooperation by linking the final push to 2030 Agenda with the start of the post-2030 process. UNDP is looking forward to engaging in this process and supporting member states in this effort. Thank you very much.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:15:46]:

I thank the distinguished representative of UNDP. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Center for Women.


ARROW · Women's Major Group · Sivanandi Thanendran [2:15:56]:

Thank you, Mr. President, Your Excellency. I'm Sivanandi Thanendran from ARO based in Malaysia, speaking on behalf of the Women's Major Group, which represents more than 1,200 women's organizations worldwide. From the time we started in 2015, the world has rapidly changed and not for the better. At country level, national economies have experienced many external shocks and many are not able to withstand these. At the same time, development priorities have been sidelined by unending wars, protracted global economic uncertainties due to the actions of a few. We have to take our eyes away from the agents of chaos and put our focus firmly on fulfilling the rights and needs of the people. If we want to achieve the SDGs, we have to put our full resolve, our full resources, and our full energy behind meeting these goals. Meeting the SDGs is also the clear means of building regional, national, community resilience towards these external shocks, and this can only be done by making deep, long-term investments in the social sector, such as health, education, social protection, and of course, advancing gender equality and the rights of women, who continue to be left behind in every single goal. as well as ensuring inclusive and just programs and policies on the ground. Now is not the time to be distracted and take the foot off the pedal. As we proceed towards 2030, we would like to ask for more robust accountability processes on reporting on the SDGs, an honest, nuanced, and insightful understanding of the key drivers of deepening inequalities. In order for this, we need to ensure a UN which is fit for purpose, without affecting agencies who are fully carrying out necessary programs that are helping fulfill the SDGs on the ground through unnecessary mergers that will affect the mandates and reduce essential services. The world is at a very critical moment. Member States of the United Nations should work closely together in order to be able to check the actions of aggressor nations and at the same time be able to rein in behemoth corporations who are driving further financialization and digitalization of the global economy, which is creating deep rifts between the haves and have-nots. If we are not able to do this in 5 years' time, we will still be sitting here talking about how we have in fact left even more people behind than we started with. Thank you.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:18:30]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Asian Pacific Resource and Resource Centre for Women. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative


Brazil [2:18:45]:

Thank you, Mr.

President. Brazil welcomes this meeting as an important opportunity to assess the current state of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and inevitably to begin our collective reflection on the post-2030 development agenda. We must carefully examine the lessons learned since 2015 and identify the areas where our collective efforts must be strengthened to implement faster and deeper the SDGs. Climate change has accelerated dramatically over the past decade. Extreme weather events and climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe, affecting lives, livelihoods, and development gains around the world. Climate must therefore be a central and cross-cutting pillar of any development framework. Including after 2030. Brazil stands ready to work with member states, civil society, and the private sector to advance this discussion. At the same time, inequality has deepened significantly since the adoption of the SDG goals, including SDG 10. The figures are well known, but they remain staggering. The richest 10% of the world's population hold 54% of global income and 74% of global wealth. Between 2000 and 2024, the top 1% captures 41% of all new wealth created worldwide, while the bottom half of humanity captured just 1%. This is not merely an economic reality. It represents a gradual erosion of social cohesion and public trust in institutions, including multilateral institutions, and ultimately in the multilateral order itself. No country can address a challenge of this magnitude alone. That's why Brazil, together with Norway, South Africa, and Spain, has launched a debate on the establishment of an international panel on inequality under the auspices of the United Nations. Such a panel would provide independent, science-based assessments of the causes, trends, and consequences of income and wealth inequality, as well as its intersections with race, gender, geography, and climate change. We believe such a panel is as necessary today as the Scientific Panel on Climate Change was at the time of its creation. Finally, we must also reflect on how to place racial inequality at the center of our development agenda. Brazil has voluntarily adopted SDG 18, dedicated to the promotion of racial equality, recognizing that sustainable development cannot be achieved while systemic racial disparities persist. We believe this initiative has the potential to inspire broader international action, and we encourage Member States to consider how our agenda, including after 2030, can more explicitly address racial equality as a prerequisite for inclusive and sustainable development. Thank you, Mr. President.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:22:15]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Brazil. Now I give the floor to the distinguished Representative for Côte d'Ivoire.


Côte d’Ivoire [2:22:24]:

Thank you, President. President, as 2030 approaches, accelerating the implementation of international commitments is essential to make up for delays, address global challenges, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level. And under the leadership of His Excellency Mr. Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, significant progress has already been made. By way of illustration, access to electricity has increased from 34% in 2011 to over 94% today, and access to safe drinking water rose from 50% to 80% between 2011 and 2024. And we hope to reach 100% by 2030— 100% of access to safe drinking water, as well as access to electricity. Mr. President, for Côte d'Ivoire, the way forward rests on the effective implementation of the National Development Plan for 2026-2030. This is the main instrument for operationally— operationalizing the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, the government welcomes the strong support expressed by technical and financial partners during the consultative group meetings held in Abidjan on July 8th and 9th, 2026. It reiterates its profound gratitude to them and reaffirms its commitment to ensuring rigorous, transparent, and efficient management of the resources mobilized in order to maximize their impact on the country's economic and social development. President, our action rests on 3 priorities. First, accelerating investment in infrastructure, human capital, and climate resilience. To this end, the National Development Program will strengthen industrialization, the energy transition, the digital transformation, and climate adaptation. Second, localizing the acceleration of the national development plan by further involving local authorities in the planning and execution of actions in order to adapt national priorities to regional realities, to strengthen citizen ownership of the SDGs, and therefore enhance public effectiveness. Third, we must together reform the international financial architecture to improve access to concessional innovative financing, technology, and capacity building. Lastly, the United Nations system must further ensure coordination of actions among governments, international financial institutions, development banks, and the private sector in order to convert commitments into effective investments. Thank you very much.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:25:32]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Côte d'Ivoire. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative for ITU.


ITU [2:25:42]:

Thank you very much, Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished ministers, distinguished delegates, colleagues. With less than 5 years remaining until 2030, the question is no longer whether digital technologies matter for sustainable development. It is how we ensure that every country can use them to accelerate progress across the SDGs. Digital technologies are improving education, healthcare, public services, climate action, and economic opportunities. Around 70% of SDG targets have a direct or indirect digital component, highlighting the close link between sustainable development and digital progress. yet major gaps remain. According to ITU data, 2.2 billion people are still offline, most of them in low- and middle-income countries. At the same time, AI capabilities are increasingly concentrated, with over 90% of global AI computing capacity located in only 2 countries. Bridging digital divides is therefore essential to achieving the SDGs and ensuring no one is left behind. To accelerate progress, countries need investments in connectivity, digital skills, digital public infrastructure, and enabling policy frameworks. Innovation must be inclusive, trusted, and people-centered. ITU is working with partners to turn these priorities into action. For example, through the Partner2Connect Coalition, over $100 billion has been mobilized in commitments to expand meaningful connectivity worldwide. Through the Digital Infrastructure Investment Catalyzer, we're helping countries develop investable projects and attracting financing for digital transformation. Last week, Geneva Digital Week brought together more than 12,000 participants from 177 countries with the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, back-to-back with the WISIS Forum and the AI for Good Summit. A clear message emerged: digital technologies and AI can accelerate sustainable development, but only if they're inclusive, trusted, and accessible to all. As we look ahead to the 2027 SDG Summit, we have an opportunity to place digital cooperation at the heart of the acceleration agenda. If we get digital right, we can accelerate progress across all the goals and help build a more inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous future for everyone. Thank you.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:28:12]:

I thank the distinguished representative of ITU. We have just heard from the last speaker on the list. Now, I would like to invite our panelists to have their final reflections. With this, I would like to invite Mr.

Adileke, to be followed by


Executive Director; Co-Chair · Adedo Yin Adeleyeka [2:28:39]:

Thank you so much, Your Excellencies. Indeed, the messages are quite clear. We are indeed on the right direction on the SDGs implementation, but the progress we have made is definitely not sufficient. We need to scale action.

Thank you.

Like I mentioned earlier, we need to move from evidence to results, from policy to action, from manifestos to manifest, and from PowerPoints to power plants. And to do this, joining other colleagues who have spoken earlier, just to draw on a few points I've mentioned earlier, we need to emphasize on the role of science. We need to scale science-policy interface beyond global level, to also do this at a national level. We need to empower the young people, just like many speakers have emphasized. I want to support non-state actors to scale their actions. The solutions are there. The world is not in search of solutions. The solutions are there, but they are remote, they are unknown. We need to identify, support, and scale them. I say thank you.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:29:50]:

Thank you.


Incoming Head; Member · Shalan Fu [2:29:51]:

With only 3 years left, facing profound challenges, we need not only actions, we need innovations, both technological and policy innovations. Only through innovations can we accelerate the progress. Through innovations can we turn challenges into opportunities, turn disruptions into tides that are pushing for changes for inclusive and sustainable development. Our task is clear: to align talents, capital, technology, and the institutions behind sustainable development goals, relocate resources from risky frontier AI trainings to sustainable development technology, inclusive technologies. To ensure that innovation benefits all of humanity. If we do that, today's disruption will not define our future. Our response to them will. And through political leadership, collective action, and SDG-oriented innovation, we can build a more inclusive, more sustainable, and more prosperous future for all. Thank you.


OECD · Deputy SG · Frantisek Ruzicka [2:31:16]:

Thank you, Mr. President. Well, we agree on many things. I see a lot of common views and common positions floating in this distinguished chamber. We are two-thirds between the emission and 2030, and everybody agrees that we should run faster, but I have bad news: we should skip the next coffee break. 10 years after the adoption of the SDGs, we are still not reaching the goals that we planned 11 years ago, but it's not the last chance. If you learn from the lessons from the first 11 years, I think that we can not only improve the implementation, but we can go and move faster. The spirit of partnership is simple: alone, we are the report; together, we are the implementation. And the OECD supports SDG implementation by providing countries with data indicators, peer reviews, policy advice, capacity building, and platforms. Through instruments such as PISA, economic surveys, environmental performance reviews, governance assets, and work on development finance, the OECD helps governments translate the SDGs into evidence-based policies, stronger institutions, sustainable financing strategies, and measurable results. There are the concrete examples of the cooperation. Together with the African Union, we advance sustainable infrastructure and development priorities, contribute to more secure and inclusive access to water and sanitation. In Asia, the OECD programs support clean energy investment, sustainable infrastructure, and the green transition in rapidly growing economies. And also in Latin America, through the Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean country programs, the Latin American Economic Outlook, PISA and Skills Initiatives, we help to move forward many, many SDGs. Together, these programmes help countries advance productivity, social inclusion, strong institutions, environmental sustainability and the SDGs. We all agree on that. La tierra no nos pertenece.

The land doesn't belong to us. We belong to land.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.


ECOSOC · President of ECOSOC · Lok Bahadur Thapa [2:33:30]:

Thank you. I thank all our distinguished panelists as well as all the participants for your substantive and valuable contribution to this very important discussion this morning. We have thus completed our program work for this meeting and the Council will reconvene The meeting will reconvene at 3 PM in this chamber to hold a panel discussion on Transformation from the Ground Up: Acting at Local Level, followed by the adoption of the ministerial declarations and the conclusion of the 2026 high-level segment. The meeting is adjourned.