(1st meeting) 2026 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follow-Up (FfD Forum)

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I declare open the 2026 sessions of the Economic and Social Council Forum on Financing for Development follow-up. I call to order the first meeting. Mr. Secretary General, President of the General Assembly, honorable ministers, excellencies, distinguished participants. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the first ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum since the adoption of the landmark Sobia commitment last summer. We are meeting at a very difficult moment. The war in the Middle East is delivering a major shock to an already fragile global economy. Financing conditions are deteriorating at the same time that donors are slashing their ODA budgets. This moment of crisis for development financing only further underlines the need to implement the SBI commitment in full and in a timely manner. When the SBI commitment was agreed last year, we were already faced with significant economic and geopolitical challenges that left many countries significantly off track in their efforts to achieve sustainable development. Despite this very difficult global context, Sub-Saharan Africa declared a landmark agreement geared to advance reforms and actions to close the trillion dollar financing gap and to catalyze sustainable development investment at scale. In Serbia, we also recognize that a strong commitment to multilateralism, international cooperation and global solidarity is the only way to unlock the needed resources to advance sustainable development across the globe. Today, we must mobilize the political will to implement and to fulfill its promise. Excellencies, my country Nepal had the distinct honor of being one of four countries engaged as co-facilitators of the negotiations of the Saviya commitment. Believe me when I say from the first hand experience of Nepal that reaching this ambitious outcome was by no means an easy feat. One year on from SBI global challenges continue to cloud the outlook for the achievement of sustainable development, particularly for the most vulnerable countries. Many developing countries are facing a severe financing squeeze. Its borrowing costs remain high, debt service burdens weigh heavily on countries, and official development assistance is slashed across the board. Escalating conflicts and trade tensions threaten to derail an already fragile global economy and countries' efforts to mobilize resources for sustainable development. In addition, rapid technological advances in technologies such as artificial intelligence as well as accelerating climate change are undermining established model of development. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, we are tasked this week to take stock of early efforts in implementing the SBI commitment and to assess the challenges countries have been facing in doing so. Analysis in 2026 financing for sustainable development report of the interagency task force suggests that countries efforts have been severely hampered by persistent global challenges that have hit the most vulnerable countries particularly hard. For many countries, particularly LDCs, LLDCs and SEEDS, high borrowing costs, unsustainable debt burdens, falling ODA and weak tax revenues have created a perfect storm that has significantly weakened their ability to invest in sustainable development. Within this challenging context, redoubling our efforts to implement the Sabia commitment is becoming more important than ever before. Let me highlight three overarching areas of actions from the Sabia commitment that I believe can help us overcome these challenges. to financing at both national and global levels. First, scaling of financing from all sources and aligning them with sustainable development. This entails actions at domestic and international levels and from both the public and private sectors. At the national level, the SEBI commitment underlines the need to scale up support for domestic resource mobilizations and tax systems, as well as strengthen enabling environment for domestic private sectors, including unlocking resources for small and medium-sized enterprises. It also calls for more closely aligning public and private investment with sustainable development objectives. At the global level, We need to accelerate progress into international tax corporations and the fight against illicit financing flows, reverse declining trends in ODA and redouble our efforts to bring down borrowing costs and debt service burdens of developing countries. Second, reforming the international financial architecture. So, we are calls for greater efforts to strengthen coverage and responsiveness of the global financial safety net to the growing frequency and intensity of the global crisis that pose a particular threat to the development progress of vulnerable countries. We also need to advance long overdue reform to improve the governance of the international financial institutions. to better align them with economic realities and to strengthen the voice of the developing countries in global decision-making. Third, strengthening multilateralism and international cooperation. Countries' ability to achieve sustainable development depend on a predictable and rule-based multilateral systems. This week's FFD Forum can demonstrate this in practice. Our discussions this week should be geared toward advancing global solutions to our global challenges. Our withdrawal from multilateral corporations, on the other hand, significantly weakens our ability to advance collective actions and escalating global challenges. And I'm convinced that By implementing these ambitious actions enshrined in the Sabia commitment, we can navigate common challenges more effectively and make significant indoors in mobilizing the resources to invest in our sustainable development objectives. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, this week I am thrilled to hear about the progress you have made in implementing the SBI commitment and to discuss the challenges that have prevented you from doing so. I am also looking forward to engaging with you a wide range of stakeholders to hear about successes and challenges in supporting the implementations of the ambitious SBI actions. This financing for development forums provides an ideal platform for us all to assess our common progress, share the lessons we have learned from the earliest experience of the implementations, and to deepen collaborations in areas where more support is most urgently needed. Your commitment to this endeavor will be a testament to the very spirit of SEVIA, the spirit of multilateral cooperation and the global solidarity. I thank you. I now invite the Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency Antonio Guterres, to address the forum. Mr. Secretary-General, you have the floor.

Madam President of the General Assembly, Mr. President of ECOSOC, Excellencies, distinguished delegates. This forum marks the first major gathering on financing for development since Member States adopted the Seville commitment last year. Seville was a moment of choice. At a time when multilateralism is under multiple threats, Member States made a choice to stand together, to overcome geopolitical divisions and chart a common course, and to keep their promises to developing countries which are starved of investment and drowning in debt. Excellencies, the task before us is steep. We are living through a moment of profound turbulence. Geopolitical divides are deepening. Millions are caught in prolonged cycles of suffering, instability, and displacement. When on top of these challenges, we face a major new shock, the conflict in the Middle East. The violence and the economic fallout are spilling across the region and around the world. We are seeing in real time the war's impact on the cost of fuel, fertilizer, and food, as well as trade, transportation, and tourism. Government finances are stressed through rising energy costs, slower growth, and currency depreciations. adding even more pressure to debt burdens shouldered by developing countries. Meanwhile, aid is declining while military spending skyrockets. Governments are spending more on the instruments of death than the foundations of development and peace. Through it all, the global financial system is struggling to meet the needs of developing countries and still reflects the economic and power structures of the past. One by one, these shockwaves of instability and unrest are contaminating development prospects at the time where they are needed most. The financing gap to achieve the sustainable development goals now stands at over 4 trillion US dollars annually and growing fast. Excellencies, this forum is an opportunity to scale up and speed up the finance required. The Seville Platform for Action outlined 130 specific initiatives. I see three broad areas of focus to bring them to life. First, it's time to rev up the machinery of finance by increasing the assets housed in multilateral development banks and fully leveraging them, by making progress on blended finance platforms to combine public and private finance in new expanded ways to support development. and by mobilizing domestic resources and channeling them to the areas of greatest need, including by tackling illicit financial flows. I also call on all governments to reverse the upward spiral of unchecked military spending. It's time to stop this madness. It's time to come together to end the wars that are pushing development out of reach. Second, Borrowing must work for, not against developing countries. When channeled towards investment, debt is an important ally of development. The Seville commitment outlined new steps to deliver bold debt action. A borrowers platform to give developing countries a stronger voice in the debt architecture, which was launched last week. New efforts to develop principles for responsible sovereign borrowing and lending. A UN process to convene all stakeholders to work toward the development oriented debt architecture while putting in place effective mechanisms for debt relief. And the global effort to remaining the credit rating to reimagine the credit rating agencies, which in its current form locks too many developing countries out of the borrowing tools they need.

Excellences, Distinguished delegates, and third, we cannot relent in our calls to reform the international financial architecture. The world has changed dramatically since these institutions were created. Developing countries account for an ever larger share of global output and trade. South-South cooperation is expanding. a more multipolar global economy is taking shape. But our institutions and financing arrangements still largely reflect the economic and power structures of the past. As a matter of justice and common sense, we must ensure developing countries have the strongest possible participation across global financial institutions, corresponding to the realities of today's global economy. Global economic governance must become more inclusive, representative, equitable, and effective. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished delegates, financing for development does not just come down to economic progress. It is first and foremost about human progress. It is about being able to afford to eat, young people going to school, It is about building health systems that can reach every person, building infrastructure that can support progress from transportation system to internet access, water and sanitation, and basic electricity, social protections when times are hard, and ladders of opportunity for all people. Financing for development is also about restoring trust in what we can achieve by working in common effort with common goals. The Seville commitment represents an important win for multilateralism. It is up to us to keep pushing to translate the promises made in Seville into concrete progress for people and countries that need it most. Thank you.

I thank the Secretary-General. I now invite the President of the General Assembly, Her Excellency Annalena Baerbock, to address the forum. Excellency, you have the floor.

Your Excellency, President of ECOSOC, Mr. Secretary General, Madam Deputy Secretary General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for the opportunity to join you during this opening segment of the 2026 Financing for Development Forum, which assumes added importance as we look to maintain and mobilize political for the civilian commitment in the face of immense economic headwinds. As the past weeks have made clear, in our interconnected world, what unfolds in one region echoes across all others, with deep consequences as highlighted by the Secretary General. Because of the crisis situation in the Middle East, oil prices have surged by more than 40%, rising to around US$100 per barrel, with spikes above US$110. Disruptions linked to the conflict have removed up to 1.5 billion barrels of the oil per day from global supply, driving sharp increases in fuel, transport and broader trade costs. The disruption of fertilizers has exacerbated food insecurity for millions of vulnerable people across the globe. And the IMF cuts its growth outlook for 2026, noting the great threat of global recession. Yet, frankly, in moments of crisis such as this, some of us are more affected than others. Some have more savings in the bank for, as I say, a rainy day. Whether that rainy day comes in the form of a conflict like now or a natural disaster like kind of any other day in these times, the reality is that some countries can weather the storms literally and figuratively better than others. They have stronger fiscal buffers, diversified energy systems and better access to capital. Meanwhile, others were already facing structural constraints before crises hit, constraints such as limited fiscal space, limited access to commodities and high borrowing costs. They have neither the money in the bank nor the ability to borrow more at reasonable rates. And who are suffering the most vulnerable. For them, these shocks do not simply disrupt progress or come with a budgetary cost. They reverse development gains, deepen inequalities and undermine stability. This is the reality of the deeply unfair international financial architecture we must confront and why today's discussion is so important. Because financing for development in a crisis ridden world, it's essential to ensuring all countries can thrive, trade and prosper together. Debt sustainability must be front and center in this effort. In 2024, the external debt burden of developing countries reached 11.7 trillion US dollars. In 14 developing countries, debt servicing exceeded 20% of government revenue. These are resources that could be used to pay for healthcare or schools. When you hold those numbers against the fact that we need an estimated $4 trillion to achieve the SDGs, the gap and the impact of that gap becomes evident. But dear excellencies, dear colleagues, we all know this. The finance ministers with us today, to which we are very thankful, many of them have been in Seville, know this better than us. The world does not need us to rehash the same problems, nor does it need us to repeat promises already made and certainly not to litigate them, reopen debates we just find a compromise and a consensus on less than a year ago in Seville. What it needs now is action, full stop. We need to deliver on the promises already made, not come up with new ones, not renegotiate texts and not raise hopes only to disappoint, because this also goes to the credibility of this institution in shaky times. Thankfully, there are more and more solutions being put forward to make our promises a reality. Consider the Boros platform launched just last week. It aims to offer a tool for borrowing countries to collectively address debt issues through shared experiences, while also increasing access to technical assistance and capacity building in debt management. The goal is to coordinate approaches and give borrowing countries a stronger, unified voice in global finance. Consider also the proposed debt pause clause alliance, which, like the example I opened with, would support the suspension of debt servicing during times of crisis like now, be it a disaster or economic shocks, and build the fiscal resilience of borrowing countries. Or consider also the Global Hub on Debt for Development Swaps, which aims to strengthen the design and execution of debt swaps so that borrowing countries can maximize the potential of debt for development swaps. Each of these initiatives has immense potential. but only if they are implemented, only if we bring them to fruition. Excellencies, the Seville commitment has been made. Its adoption, including the 280 actions proposed, are success story of multilateralism. And those of you who have forgotten about them, thank you for the book here from the secretariat. We can recall them to all of us. Because the real work now goes on to you, the ministers and representatives of all the countries. Each of these actions needs to be translated into concrete national level outcomes with clear ties to national priority, domestic institution and financial strategies. The many voluntary initiatives being proposed in the Seville Platform for Action, some 130 by last count, should be given even more inspiration to what is possible and empower governments to take actions, actions which, if implemented, can be a lifeline for dozens of countries and billions of people we are here to serve. Let us work in that spirit. I thank you.

I thank the President of the General Assembly, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly. We will have to leave at the time due to other pressing commitments. I thank them for joining us this morning. I pause the meeting briefly to allow them to depart the body. I now invite the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Nigel Clark, to address the forum. Mr. Clark, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President, Secretary General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. As you well know, we are living in turbulent times. The world is being shaken by a war that is inflicting a tragic human toll and sending shockwaves through the global economy. Oil and gas prices have surged, as have fertilizer costs, which could push millions around the world into hunger. If the conflict becomes very protracted, we could see significant impact on global growth through higher commodity prices, rising inflation expectations and tighter financial conditions. We are closely monitoring the impacts on our member countries around the world. It is likely that the effects will vary across countries. Some regions, including Asia and Europe, are very much reliant or more reliant than others on energy imported from the Persian Gulf. Similarly, Much of sub-Saharan Africa relies on fertilizer imports from the Gulf. In addition, remittance flows from the Gulf have declined considerably, even as Gulf imports of coffee, tea, meat, cut flowers, and other items, to name a few, have impacted sub-Saharan African economies. The world's poorest and most fragile countries are especially exposed to the shock. These countries were already in a precarious fiscal position with little room in their budgets to respond and insufficient foreign exchange reserves to absorb the shock without dislocation. Many low income countries are now facing rising fuel and food subsidy bills, even as borrowing costs increase. and tax revenues soften. In parallel, donors' development financing envelopes are shrinking. We are seeing a shift from budget support, i.e. money that recipient countries can decide themselves how to use, to financing for specific projects. The discussions you're having this week on financing development can help bridge crisis response with longer-term development and prosperity. Many of the policy priorities raised at last year's meeting in Seville are taking on even greater urgency now. Improving the financial channels for development will create room, both in the near and long term, for countries to respond to this global shock. We know, for example, that raising domestic resources will continue to be essential for sustainable growth and development. This often means broadening the tax base, including by closing loopholes that favor the advantaged. And it means redirecting precious resources to sectors like health, education, well-targeted social safety nets, and growth-enhancing public investments. Making the most of scarce concessional resources will also require strengthening public financial management systems and building impactful project pipelines. Strong international cooperation is more important than ever. As development budgets tighten, concessional financing should prioritize the poorest and most vulnerable countries. At the IMF, we are actively engaged with our member countries to determine how we can support them using the full range of tools available to us, including policy advice, capacity development, and financial support. We stand ready to help countries through our concessional lending instruments, including the PRGT. And we will continue to look at ways to refine our lending toolkit to meet the challenges of this unique moment. We are meanwhile staying in close touch with our development partners on everything from financing to debt restructuring. We understand that in a highly uncertain world, more of our member countries will need our support, and we are ready, as always, to step up. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

I thank the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. I now invite the Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer of the World Bank Group, Mr. Pascal Donohue, to address the forums on a virtual platform.

Materially worsened, intensifying challenges, especially for low-income countries. We are now seeing slower growth and higher inflation across Asia, with pressures now spreading into Africa. Our estimates suggest that developing countries could see growth slow by 0.4 to 1.4 percentage points in 2026. And inflation is expected to increase in the same countries by between 1.9 and 3.7 percentage points relative to where we were before. Beyond oil and gas, we expect fertilizer prices to rise and broader shortages as well. including sulfur, helium, and chemicals. Food price pressures could push an additional 16 million people into food insecurity, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, and up to 15 million jobs could be at risk overall. We are closely monitoring development impacts, and we are also coordinating with our partners to maximize responses to the economic effects. One immediate tool our clients can access is through the World Bank Group's Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit System. Through this, funding can be diverted from projects to become available within 24 hours to help countries, their government, their people, to deal with the current crisis at their discretion. So let me emphasize what we bring to this great challenge and what we are asking for in return. Many developing countries now face simultaneous pressures, including debt stress and shrinking budget space and the need to create more and better jobs for fast growing young countries. In the next 10 to 15 years, over one billion young people in developing countries will reach working age with every right to expect the global system to work for them. At the same time, vast amounts of private capital are searching for long-term stable returns that smart development can provide. That is why the World Bank's Group on Financing for Development is anchored in one overarching question. How do we help countries build economies that convert growth into local jobs and unlock opportunity? And the answer is built on three pillars. Investment in foundations, in water, in energy, in digital connectivity, and education, that is our first pillar. The second pillar is building business enabling environments on which we focused during the World Bank Group IMF spring meetings of last week. The private sector generates 90% of the jobs in developing economies, but capital flows where rules are transparent, where contracts are enforceable, and institutions are trustworthy. We can provide technical assistance, guarantees, and financing, but no multilateral support can substitute for the policy and regulatory environment each country can create to attract the private investment that your economies need. The third pillar is mobilizing private capital at scale. We are the world's largest mobilizer of private finance for emerging markets, $242 billion over the last five years across our institutions of IBRD, IDA, IFC, and MIGA. Our guarantee platform provided over $8 billion in guarantees in the second-half of 2025, which is an increase of 30% year on year. mobilizing more than $10 billion in private capital towards job creation, renewable energy, and small business. Allow me to zoom in on an example of where all of this work can converge, water, which was the second area of focus of our spring meetings. Water underpins public health, food, energy, and climate resilience. Yet 4 billion people face water scarcity, 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water, and 3.4 billion people lack adequate sanitation. Our new water strategy targets water security for 400 million by 2030, and the Water Forward Initiative launched last week aims to transform water from a source of risk into a driver of resilience. In water and across other important areas, partnership with countries, with the United Nations, is key to deliver the impact that our world now requires, an impact with urgency and with scale. And I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this important discussion.

I thank the Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer of the World Bank Group, the Excellencies, distinguished delegates. That concludes the opening segment. I now briefly pause the meeting for a podium change. Please remain seated. Okay. Excellencies, the forum will now consider item one of its provisional agenda entitled the adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters. I invite the forum to turn its attention to the provisional agenda for the 2026 sessions of the forum. It's contained in document E slash FFDF slash 2026 slash one. Are there any comments on the provisional agenda? May I take it that the forum wishes to adopt the provisional agenda as contained in document E slash FFDF slash 2026 slash one. I hear no objections. It is so decided. We shall now turn to the rules of the procedures and modalities for the meetings of the Forum. In regard to the modalities to be applied to the Forum, in accordance with the previous practice, I propose that the rules of the procedures of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council as well as relevant provisions of the General Assembly resolutions 69 slash 3 1 3 70 slash 1 92 71 slash 2 1 7 79 slash 3 2 3 and relevant decisions of the council be applied to the meetings of the forum furthermore In the event of any contradictions between the rules of the procedure and the relevant provisions of the Assembly resolutions and Council decisions, the latter will take precedence. May I take it that the forum agrees to apply the arrangement that I just mentioned to the meetings of the 2026 forum? I hear no objections. It is so decided. Excellencies, I now invite Her Excellency Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations to present the 2026 Financing for Sustainable Development Report on the basis of document E/FFDF/2026/2. Deputy Secretary-General, you have the floor now.

Thank you, Mr. President, Excellencies, Ministers, dear colleagues. Nine months after the severe commitment, the question facing the forum is whether what was agreed is being delivered. The report I'm presenting this morning is our first real response. The report has been prepared across the entire United Nations family together with the Bretton Woods institutions, OECD, several multilateral development banks, and other international financial institutions. As the Secretary-General indicated earlier, the shockwaves of instability are contaminating development prospects. This report shows precisely how and precisely where. Two themes run through its findings. The first is a finance squeeze that sees the walls closing in on the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries from every direction at once. falling aid, rising borrowing costs, structurally low tax revenue, and private investment that falls far short of the scale that the moment demands. In 2024, debt service burdens in developing countries and small island developing states reached their highest level in 20 years, while more than 70 developing countries are still collecting tax revenue below the 15% of GDP threshold set in Seville. Official development assistance fell 6.1% that same year, and the latest figures reveal a staggering drop of 23.1% in 2025 to $174.3 billion. The second theme is the gradual fragmentation of the global economy, as economic and financial decisions, including those governing trade and investment, are increasingly driven by geopolitical winds. The conflict in the Middle East is compounding the strain. We have all watched as the situation has put downward pressure on developing country currencies, upward pressure on borrowing costs, and tightened fiscal space at exactly the moment more of it is needed. This is the diagnosis the report offers. But it also offers a path forward, setting out five priorities for the year ahead. The first is to scale up the financing and investment needed to close the gaps. starting with the actions already agreed in Seville. The second is to focus policies and financial flows where they deliver most for sustainable development aligned to each country's own priorities. The report is clear that this is a test for private capital mobilization in particular. The third is to invest in resilience because shocks are arriving more frequently than our systems were built to absorb. The severe commitment contains a long list of capacity building measures that need to move from paper to practice with urgency. The fourth is to strengthen the institutions and the cooperation that hold this system together, connecting national resilience to regional and global support and ensuring that external financing lines back up behind country owned strategies rather than around them. The fifth and final priority the report puts forward is to keep investing in multilateralism itself because a predictable rules-based system is ultimately what developing countries prospects rest on and what they can build on. There is a reason for encouragement within these findings. The 130 initiatives of the severe platform for action are already underway, acting on 115 and 280 of the actions in the commitment. And more than three quarters of those initiatives are reporting real implementation progress. That is the head start most reforms of this scale never receive. And it is the clearest signal that what was agreed last July is not sitting on a shelf, but moving forward across every region and every dimension of the agenda. The report is also clear eyed about the limits. The current environment will not allow us to move on every front at once. and some of the most consequential reforms require the kind of multilateral agreement that is harder to reach today than it was even a year ago. That is the reality of this forum, and this is what we have to work with, and it is the reality that makes the days ahead matter so much. This is where momentum is kept or lost, where Member States, international financial institutions and the wider development finance community turn the implementation of SIVIA from a communique to a record. Ladies and gentlemen, SIVIA kindled a flame that we must keep alive. The work ahead of us will take political will and it will take stamina. Division is loud right now. Cooperation has to be louder. May these next days be worthy of what was agreed in Seville and of the people who are counting on us to deliver. I wish you all a very productive Financing for Development Forum. Thank you.

I thank the Deputy Secretary-General. I now briefly pause the meeting to rearrange the podium. And I invite the moderator and panelists for the first minister roundtable to take their seats on the podium. Please remain seated. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I invite the Forum to begin its considerations of the sub-item D of agenda item 2 entitled, "In-depth review of actions area of SBI commitment to hold a ministerial roundtable on the global economic outlook for 2026-27 trends and implications for financing for sustainable development. I'm pleased to welcome the distinguished presenters for this discussion. I also welcome Mr. Kleber Gatete, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, who will moderate the discussions. Before turning the meeting over to the moderator, I would like to remind participants that There is no pre-established list of speakers for the discussions. Delegations wishing to make comments and pose questions during the subsequent interactive exchange will be invited to signify by pressing the microphone button. I also take the opportunity to remind participants that the time limit for interventions will be two to three minutes. If necessary, please note that given the limited time available, the microphone may be automatically cut off when the allotted time has elapsed. This is in the interest of hearing all inscribed speakers. Having said this, I now turn the meeting over to the moderator. I look forward to an open, constructive and productive exchange of views. Mr. Guterres, moderator, you have the floor now.

Yeah, thank you very much, Mr. President. It's always good to be back here in New York. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, we are meeting at a time when the world in particular, developing countries are navigating tight global financial conditions, elevated debt vulnerabilities and rising investment needs required for resilience, economic growth, climate action and social protection. The renewed global financing framework under the Sphere commitment represents a collective effort to respond to these pressures. These include macroeconomic coordination, financial stability, international financial architecture. Yet it is being tested by a more fragmented global economy, growing geopolitical tensions and divergent national priorities. Just as an example, in Africa, because of what is happening in the Middle East, are facing very significant challenges, including the high cost of energy that has reflected into the highest inflation that we have ever seen. We've seen fertilizer costs going up by 48%. We've seen over 31 currencies in Africa depreciated now, and over 80% of the African countries are net importers of fuel. And to make the matters worse, we still have six countries whose bond repayment is due in one year's time, and it is equivalent to 11 billion. And remittances that have been coming from the Middle East, 28 billion, are now off the shelf and none of the African countries have three months reserves for the fuel that is required by International Energy Agency. So the situation is quite dire. And our discussion today will be focused on these three issues, which I'm going to go through for you. The first one is how our current global economic trend is shaping the financing outlook for developing countries. Second, which elements of the renewed global financing framework established by the severe commitments are most exposed to a more fragmented global economy and what measures could enhance resilience? The third and last one, how can developing countries safeguard policy space and financial stability in the context of the external shocks and high debt burdens? What forms of international support would be most effective? And to answer these questions, I have five distinguished panelists from different regions that are going to take us through this. The first one is Mr. Sonny Wago, Minister of Finance of Nepal. The second one is Her Excellency Eva Galliano, State Secretary for International Cooperation, Spain. And then her excellency, Steen Hagem, I hope I pronounce it right, deputy minister to the Ministry of International Cooperation, Norway. And then the last one, the fourth one is his excellency, Putut Satiaka, deputy minister of development funding of the Ministry of National Development Planning, Indonesia. And the last one is Mr. Persi Herman, here with me, Vice Minister for Development Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland. These are going to take us through the discussions to answer some of these questions. And you only have five minutes each to continue, I mean to take us through, and then we can follow up with other questions. Let me start with Mr. Sunil Waghul, Minister of Finance of Nepal. Please go ahead.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, greetings from Kathmandu in the high Himalayas. It's a distinct honor for me to address this August FFG forum as a newly elected Minister of Finance from a country that is exhibit A of a multifaceted crisis hitting a typical LDC. As many of you know, Nepal is going through rapid generational change. Last September in 2025, we had a massive mass protest that ruptured an ossified kleptocracy that had taken hold of our polity. But the young people were also rebelling against slow growth and the tepid pace of job creation. And as you know, we're one of the youngest countries in Asia, possibly the world. As a sitting finance minister, I wish to... issues that I'm struggling with live. I'm addressing you from my office. And as I sit here and craft next year's budget, next fiscal year's budget, which is due for announcement at the end of May, we're dealing with multiple issues. at the same time. First, everyone's mind obviously is the war. The fuel and food prices have skyrocketed. We've had historic successes largely because of inflow of remittances to reduce absolute poverty. It is regrettable that because if the war were to prolong, many people who we are able to lift out of poverty are going to regress below the poverty line again. We've tried our best to do the fiscal responses, but it's been modest. Almost all of our oil is imported, and we've tried to reduce the infrastructure development fee that we used to levy, almost proxying as a carbon tax. We've halved that. The customs duty that we used to levy on the import of petroleum, we've halved that as well. But that has been completely insufficient. to compensate for the dramatic rise in fuel prices. And in the old days, we had established a stabilization fund to stabilize the rise and fall of fuel prices. Almost 30 billion rupees that existed in that fund before the crisis has now completely been exhausted. So this is the situation we're dealing with. If the war were to prolong again, millions of young Nepalis who work in the Gulf might have to return back. The likely consequences of plummeting remittance inflows together with young people frustrated, angry back in the country would lead to a lot of social unrest as well. Already the international institutions have lowered the growth forecast from about 5% this year to just above 2% next year, inflation is also spiking. Now, so this is the overall context in which we're drafting the next year's fiscal budget, the federal budget of about 15 billion US dollars. Taxation, we've not been able to raise this. Historically, compared to peer countries among the low income countries, Nepal's tax to GDP ratio has exceeded 20%, but after COVID, We've not been able to maintain that. Growth rate has slowed partly because the aggregate demand in the economy has largely collapsed because of the epic out migration of young people in search of better opportunity, job and educational opportunities that have largely left for Western countries. The informal size of the economy has not been able to be tamed. We're trying our best through policy measures to enlarge the size of the formal economy. Foreign grants, they've basically disappeared. When I was a young person in Nepal, largely all of our development expenditures were funded through generous grants. That is no longer the case. That has been almost completely replaced by concessional loans from multilateral development banks. Even that is dependent on our capacity to execute the projects first, and that is leading to a lot of problems that is also shrinking. So we've actually ironically have to rely on domestic loan to backstop the fiscal gap. And that, as many of you know, crowds out very precious resources that would otherwise have been available for the private sector. So this has severe consequences. So what is the solution? What is that untapped resource that I as a sitting minister are looking into? It's private capital, very much the theme that folks in the room have talked about earlier. How do we unlock the potential of private capital, both domestic and foreign, and especially diaspora to come in and invest and fill this gap, especially when it comes to infrastructure, the crippling deficits that we're seeing in the fund financing of infrastructure has to be met through private capital and technology transfer. The three core priorities of this new you know, Gen. Z inspired government in Nepal is governance, both at the macro level and the micro level. The second is a whole series of economic reforms, including scrapping of old laws, you know, introduction of new legislative architecture to invite investment, to promote the private sector, et cetera. And finally, infrastructure for which we have nowhere to turn. back to private capital. And that's the big answer we're looking for from the international community. So let me stop here. I think I've finished my five minutes. Thank you.

Yeah, thank you very much, honorable minister. Really, your experience is being felt almost everywhere. And I think as a finance minister, having such a tight fiscal space is in the context of the concessional loans, which are not sufficient. as you mentioned, development aid that has declined significantly, and like many other developing countries with very low tax to GDP ratio. On the African continent, it's almost the same situation. It's 16% in terms of tax to GDP ratio. Of course, compared to the European Union of 34%, that is low by any standards. And here, exactly the challenges we just mentioned in terms of stabilizing your macroeconomic situation. with limited buffer and reserves and the impact on debt payment this becomes very critical it's a familiar situation that you see in many other countries thank you very much honorable minister really for your contribution and now let me turn to our Excellency Eva Galliano State Secretary for international cooperation from Spain please go ahead Limit your intervention, if you can, for five minutes, please. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Good morning to everyone. Thank you for inviting me to take part in this panel. It is important to raise the link between the current macroeconomic situation and the ability of countries to mobilize resources in order to address current challenges. to respond to the current challenges, namely how our current economic trends affecting financing out the financing outlook for developing countries. I would say that that impact is somewhat limited and unequal, as has already been said by the minister who talked about the situation in his country as well as others. Progress is lacking and we are facing ever new challenges. When there's a risk of recession, this brings geopolitical uncertainties and other factors that are increasing financial instability. Examples have been cited such as rise in fuel prices, as well as the impact that this is having on fertilizer prices and therefore food security. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is, of course, the most pressing challenge currently. The risk is that financing for development is becoming ever more expensive and pro-cyclical and thus excludes more people, is therefore more unjust. We are already seeing this in terms of decline in investment in sustainable infrastructure, social protection, gender equality, climate transition, and productive capacities. We were also asked what elements of the CVID commitments were the most threatened by these circumstances. Perhaps I can give you a number. And this was also communicated last week. There has been a 23% decrease in ODA. This is a catastrophic situation, one that has never been seen before. We know the essential, irreplaceable role that ODA plays in various contexts, and these brutal cuts will have major impacts in related areas. I recall that Spain and my government have increased their ODA by 13%. So what are the problems? not only in terms of ODA, but also in terms of mobilizing private financing. Well, it has already been said that this fragmentation and instability is leading to a retraction in financing, which we have seen time and time again. And this is taking place as this financing is more and more necessary. We must therefore mitigate this impact by accounting for national priorities inter alia. We must understand what the national priorities of countries requesting resources are. I think that risk reduction tools and guarantees which have been mentioned are useful, but they must be designed to lead to measurable development results, targeted results. We will soon be celebrating the first anniversary of the Seville commitments, and we have drawn many lessons from Seville. I think one of the most important is that developing financing requires that all sources of financing be put into play urgently, private, public, trade. And we must always remember this logic of impact, complementarity and added value. We must improve resilience in this area, and to do this, As the civil commitment has shown, we all agreed on this, we must reform multilateral institutions to make them more flexible, more inclusive, more action-oriented. It is true that in the meantime, as we await for this reform, we have the civil program of action, which is an innovative model of multilateral support. It is a coalition of many, many initiatives, 130 initiatives. This is important and progress has already been seen. And finally, the question is what is the most effective in these circumstances? And here I would highlight two points. First of all, we need to bolster resource mobilization on the national level, hence the importance of development cooperation. We need to strengthen institutional capacities, productive capacities, We need to improve social protection, as well as strengthen local financial markets. That's as far as national resources are concerned. But Seville has also told us that international responses are required, mechanisms that can create budgetary and financial room for maneuvering. And here, one We talk about debt. I would like to mention the debt for development swap program that Spain has launched, which is also funded by Spain among others, and we hope that the system will be able to develop. We are also co-chairing the Alliance for the Debt Suspension Clause. We must normalize these debt pause clauses in emergency situations or catastrophic situations. This also involves better debt management as well as taxation justice. We must continue improving taxation of taxation of great fortunes, as well as improved taxation mechanisms. The risk is that inequalities keep rising, which could harm our democracies. We must also support countries that seek to build their budgetary capacity as a percentage of GDP. We must improved coherences between international and national efforts. Integrated national financial frameworks are important in this regard. And I will conclude by saying that Seville has offered us a framework, as was already said by those who spoke before me. We do not need to reshape this framework, but rather we need to implement this framework as quickly as possible. Thank you.

Prime Minister, you've just given us quite quite a bit, which is very useful. And I think what is very clear now that shocks are becoming the order of the day. I think you remember the international financial crisis and then there was a fuel crisis again when you had what you call the Arab Spring. And then there was a bit quite heavy COVID-19 that came around before even you could recover the climate shocks we are coming in and the war in Ukraine and now the war in the Middle East. So what is very clear is that we need shock absorber, we need buffers because these ones are becoming common. We don't know which one is going to come next after the Middle East crisis with really significant impact on fuel prices, on fertilizer. And as you mentioned, it also comes at a time when the aid to developing countries is declining by 23%. And this, by the way, has affected certain specific areas which are very critical, like health, education and social sector. And in this case, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa has now undertaken a study on sustainable health financing because it's affecting our own countries. Some of them up to 50% of their budget has been affected because of this decline in terms of the financing. So there is a need definitely to address this issue and there's a need also to address the issue of debt because in the middle of this, we also have the debt crisis and the common framework that has been put together by the G20 is no longer sufficient. That's why we actually last week they launched the debt as club, which has been very critical. So in this case, we want to make sure that you can be free to also talk about the specific impact of the war in the Middle East on your own specific countries. Now we are going to our colleague, Her Excellency Stein Haheim, Deputy Minister of International Development in Norway. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for the opportunity to take part in this important discussion nearly one year after we convened in Seville to adopt the Seville Commitment. And its relevance is clear. We are living in a time of a multitude of crises and the Sustainable Development Goals are slipping out of reach. and the financing gap was estimated at US$4 trillion in 2024. Today and every day going forward, we are called upon to turn ambition into action. Geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainties continue to weigh on the global economy. Slower growth and heightening volatility affect all countries, but particularly developing countries. Less than two weeks ago, the OECD confirmed a dramatic 23.1% reduction in official development assistance in 2025. This is the largest annual decline on record. Only four countries exceeded the UN target of 0.7% of gross national income. At the same time, the Financing for Sustainable Development report points to a widening financing gap between developing countries facing annual shortfalls of several trillion dollars. Inequality, both within and between countries, continue to grow, further complicating progress. Debt burdens are rising. Many countries now spend more on servicing debt than on essential services such as health and education. Private capital flows remain volatile and insufficient, especially for those countries most in need. And just last week, the IMF revised down its global growth forecast for 2026, citing the effects of conflict and instability, with developing countries expected to be hit the hardest. Meanwhile, the multilateral trading system is under significant strain. In such a context, we must not allow mistrust to further undermine our efforts. The Seville commitment offers a path forward with clear direction and renewed purpose. It demonstrates that collective action is not only possible but indispensable. The strength of the financing for development agenda lies in its holistic nature. Progress in one area reinforces progress in others. Positive change can create a virtuous cycle. Stronger domestic resource mobilization and better data system can attract private investments, increase revenues and enhance countries capacity to invest, trade and manage debt sustainably. In Seville, we committed to doubling our efforts on domestic resource mobilisation. Norway is following through with plans to scale up support in the years ahead. We remain a committed partner to the Addis Tax Initiative. At the same time, tackling corruption is essential. It undermines tax systems, weakens institutions and erodes public trust. I therefore welcome its inclusion as a cross-cutting priority in the CV commitment. Norway remains proud to maintain a high level of official development assistance, allocating more than one percent. Yet the broader trend is deeply concerning. Those of us committed to international cooperation must be prepared to act, to reform, in order to safeguard solidarity in a more uncertain world. We meet at a time of undeniable challenges, but also of shared responsibility. The gaps we face are not only financial. They are gaps in trust, cooperation and resolve. The Seville commitment reminds us that solutions are within reach if we choose to act together. It calls on us not only to uphold our promises, but to strengthen them with urgency and determination. Let us move forward with renewed purpose. Let us choose cooperation over division, long-term sustainability over short-term gain, and solidarity with those who need it the most. If we succeed, we will not only narrow the financing gap, we will bring the Sustainable Development Goals back within reach. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Honourable Minister, and we know that your country has been doing quite a lot. in terms of moving close to 0.7% of the GNI. And I know it because I was ambassador at one point covering your own country. Thank you very much for the aid that you've been giving. And we thank, of course, Spain because the host of the FFD4 that we had and we all enjoyed in Seville despite the outcome. But then you are the ones to hold the other countries accountable, including the aid that you mentioned. So thank you very much, really. And now we come to Mr. Putut Satyaka, Deputy Minister of Development Funding of the Ministry of National Development Planning Indonesia. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Chair. Distinguished Excellencies, colleges and delegates. We meet at the time when global economic trends are placing significant pressure on the financing outlook of developing countries today. many of us face what can be best described as double squeezes. Rising financing needs on the one hand, and reduced access to affordable capital on the other hand. While developing economies are projected to grow at around 4.3% in 2026, even faster than advanced economies, this momentum is increasingly under strain. Structurally, higher borrowing costs, ranging between 3.7% up to 16.4%, compared to just 0.3% up to 2.7% in advanced economies, continue to limit fiscal space and constrain development effort. At the same time, geo-economic fragmentation, trade disruption, and persistent global uncertainty are weighing on growth prospects, with global growth expected to slow down to 3.2% in 2027. This looming crisis thus calls into question the underrepresentation of developing countries, even though they contribute over 40% of the global trade. Some of the most vulnerable countries have experienced output losses up to 40% of GDP in small island developing states and 30% in least developed countries. In parallel, growing exposure to external shock such as climate risk adds an estimated 40 billion annually in additional of interest costs. This is not just a challenge of financing, It is a challenge of fairness and sustainability. Those most affected must not be left out of the conversation. Distinguished colleagues, key element of our shared commitment, including those reflected in the Sevilla framework, are increasingly exposed to fragmentation. Cross-border capital flows and multilateral development cooperation Both essential pillars of the global financial system are being tested by fragmentation and declining confidence. Safeguarding policy space in this environment requires a balanced and pragmatic approach. At the national level, strengthening domestic resilience remains essential. In the case of Indonesia, household consumption remains the primary engine of growth. making the protection of vulnerable and low-income groups purchasing power is a top priority. At the same time, we are advancing structural reform to improve business certainty, reduce the cost of doing business, strengthen the investment climate. We are also enhancing the quality of public spending by directing resources toward more productive and targeted uses that support sustainable and inclusive growth. These efforts are aimed at reducing external dependencies, including by prioritizing food and energy self-sufficiency through the expansion of renewable energy, stronger food systems, and more sustainable agricultural practices. However, domestic efforts alone are not sufficient. At the international level, greater support is needed to ensure that countries can effectively manage risk and sustain development progress. This includes more timely and accessible concessional financing, as well as expanded technical assistances to strengthen institutional capacity and risk management. Safeguarding policy spare requires a dual approach. It demands strong domestic economic fundamentals, complemented by more responsive, inclusive and resilient global financial architecture. Ultimately, progress will depend on our ability to work together, to rebuild trust, reinforce cooperation and ensure that the global financial system delivers for all. Thank you.

Thank you very much, honorable minister. And the points you are mentioning really is what is affecting almost the rest of the world. Everybody has mentioned domestic resource mobilization. This is very, very critical. And also the development of the capital market. The two are the key at least to generate resources inside the country. The other important point that you mentioned, honorable minister, is the role of the private sector. In this case, with the fiscal space tightening, there is no way government resources alone would be sufficient to drive the economic growth that we wish. There has to be the role of the private sector. And that's why at the African continent, we have established the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, and we are now working to make sure that we can fast track its implementation. and also realizing that as we develop the industries, we also need energy and energy at the regional level, not only at the country level, because we need the energy to drive the industries in critical minerals, in agriculture, in so many other areas. This requires a lot and especially technology, the data centers and the rest of it. So this is very critical, but it requires working together as a team. And I think this is going to this is a wake up call given the crisis in the Middle East. Now let's go to our last speaker here, Mr. Persi Herrmann, Vice Minister for Development Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland. I think we are together in Seville. And we know that Finland has a big say in the European Union, so you can also tell us how the aid can be increased again. We are worried when we saw German, UK, France, Belgium and others also their aid declining and hopefully you could give us also a hint on how that can be addressed. Thank you so much.

Thank you, moderator. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, thank you also for the invitation to speak in this round table. Much has already been said about the fast moving geopolitical developments that are straining international structures and weakening trust in many other ways. The main conclusion for us is that in an increasingly fragmented global economy, reinforcing the rules based international order and multilateral cooperation is essential. Now, global financing conditions for developing countries are tightening as high interest rates, weak global growth, and geopolitical shocks, especially Russia's illegal war of aggression on Ukraine and the war in the Middle East, are pushing up energy prices, impacting food security, disrupting global supply chains, raising risk premia, and also diverting capital towards safer markets. For many low-income and frontier economies, this means more expensive borrowing, reduced investor appetite, and shrinking fiscal base just as development and climate needs are rising. About the renewed global financing framework established by the Seville Conference and It has already been said here that the global ODA is in decline. And when this is the case, our conclusion is that we must use the scarce resources, the scarce public resources in a more intelligent way. And for us, it means in a more catalytic way. The official support can facilitate other flows to come in, reduce risks, lower the threshold for private actors to make investments, do business, establish partnerships, and all this within the scope of supporting SDGs. I believe that we all in the developed world, but also in the UN system, for the UN agencies, there are conclusions to be made from this, which is almost like a paradigm shift for the global official development assistance. The moderator already said that everybody has mentioned the importance of domestic resource mobilization, and I will do it also. It is the most resilient source of financing for SDGs, and it is based on the assumption that every country bears the ultimate responsibility of its own development. Strong domestic institutions and resilient societies are essential in an era of growing external shocks. Of course, external partners can and should assist and support that. Tax revenues allow countries to provide necessary public services such as education, health services, and infrastructure, and many other things for their citizens. I would also like to mention the importance of an indicator such as tax to GDP ratio. This is also included in the SEVIA document, and I think the moderator made a very good expression or comparison between what are the levels of tax to GDP ratios if you compare, for example, Africa and Europe. And I think the Minister of Nepal also mentioned their experience and their importance on the topic. Finland has been providing technical assistance and political support for a long time to support DRM agenda in many of our partner countries through the multilateral system and bilaterally. And I would like to point out that Work on the DRM agenda not only strengthens the financial base of the countries, but for example, through digitalisation, one can increase transparency of domestic revenue systems, thereby leaving less room for inefficiencies and corruption. Job creation is the foundation of self-sustaining economies and unlocking private investment is essential to build strong private sectors. So we need business friendly reforms that ensure fair competition and attract investments. We strongly believe that private money will come in if conditions are right. That means there is predictability, there is stability, and there is rule of law. Within that, also access to finance for underserved markets and enterprises, in particular SMEs, should be emphasized and strengthened. We could identify and pilot solutions that improve this access and reduce the costs and reduce the risks of lending to SMEs. In Africa, in addition to the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, a welcome process and discussion has been started, which aims at ensuring that considerable or Africa's own resources would remain and target investments in Africa. The discussion on the new African financial architecture, where the African Development Bank is contributing significantly, is welcome and should be supported. Lastly, in fragile and conflict-affected countries, of course, the rationale for external support and development finance is sometimes different, as these countries are often not enough capable on their own to reduce investor risks. So different mechanisms, different instruments are needed and I think we need to find more effective delivery models and we need cheaper ways of getting support and aid to people in fragile and conflict affected countries. Thank you.

Thank you very much, honorable minister, and forgot to say that thank you so much for hosting me. when I went to your country late last year, where I was meeting the Nordic Development Fund and other funds who are investing heavily on the African continent. Thank you so much, really, for doing that. The point that you mentioned in terms of the Africa financial architecture that was developed by the African Development Bank is part of the joint assessment that we did for the impact of the Middle East on the African countries. We did it together with UNDP, with Africa Development Bank and African Union Commission. And we've come up with a report that was launched last week that is showing clearly the impact and what needs to be done in order to address that kind of situation. And that includes also having our own financial architecture as Africa, because we realize that all the resources from pension funds to sovereign wealth funds, insurance and the rest of it that we keep outside, it's more than four trillion. And we are saying if we created an environment where these resources will be kept on the continent, especially within the African Development Bank, these resources could be reinvested on the African continent where we can be able to now be able to have a significant impact. And this would complement other efforts that are taking place. So really thank you so much for your contribution. And now I want to see how we can Also, turn to the discussant. The discussant is Minh-Hue Pham, the co-founder and CEO of Starting Institute. Just for your take in terms of the contributions from the different regions of the world. Please go ahead. I don't know where he is now.

Great, thank you.

Okay, now we're good.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for having me here. and great to see this gathering at a very important time for multilateral cooperation. I want to speak about the UN's relevance and how the FFD outcome from last summer helps to demonstrate what that relevance is and where we are today and what we might need to do in three quick points. If you'll remember that last summer there was before the Seville conference, there was a lot of skepticism about whether we could actually get to a financing for development outcome. And in fact, if you look just 10 years prior for the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, when delegates arrived in Addis, there was no outcome. And yet last summer, despite world events and the crisis in geopolitics, you all were able to come together to agree on the Compromiso de Sevilla. And I think that was a clear demonstration that you were determined to show that even in this divided setting, that you could persist to demonstrate that you still stood behind multilateral cooperation and that you could agree on an outcome that had some very difficult compromises in it, but that also advanced financing for sustainable development. I think that was in the spirit of that. I thought that was a really important feat, and I hope that we use that spirit to now really try to double down in how we turn action into impact. The second outcome from last summer I thought was very significant was the shift to developing countries, the shift to country-led ownership and country support. And so on that, I think there is a question around the UN's relevance and whether when we agree on these outcomes, we actually stick to the agreements that we set out. Will we turn words into impact? And on that, I think it means that we have to really take seriously accountability and trust. So how do we do that? If we're talking about shifting development cooperation to letting the countries that carry the burden of the crisis that we're experiencing, letting them then lead, it means we have to be able to track progress. within countries to see whether these outcomes that we agree to at the global level will allow developing countries and other countries to increase access to development finance. How are we going to measure that? And I think the work that the secretariat and the system is doing to help us do that is really important. And I hope that you all will consider how do we help to show that these negotiated outcomes will then be tracked and then the words that we put on a piece of paper will then turn into impact and accountability. And lastly, I wanna talk about solidarity. Right now in this moment, as you all have talked about, there is a dramatic breakage in trust in whether the rules of the international system that we set out 80 some odd years ago still then stand. Do we support those rules? Will we support when there is a violation of those rules and when they are not evenly applied to all countries? Will we stand up and speak for that? In the last few months, we've seen a lot of governments, donor governments shifting financing. to defense spending. And I can understand that. This is a very dangerous world, and it is a world that is turning into a transactional might makes right world. And right now, I think we are all wondering how then do we stay secure and safe. And yet in that, the shocks that we're experiencing, we're seeing that those are a result of the lack of solidarity and support for governments that have been bearing the brunt of these crises for so long, so that then if we're shifting away from development finance, how do then do we also then continue to support the rules of the order? Will donor governments who have been supporting official development assistance for so long now, shifting away from that. Will they also speak up when there are violations of the international rules? Will they stand by the core tenants of the charter and make sure that the rules apply to everyone? That is a core tenant of solidarity. My three points here on resilience, accountability, and solidarity, essentially are to try to help ensure that this institution and the words that we sign up for stay relevant and are able to make an impact. Thank you.

Yeah, thank you very much for those very useful points. And indeed, you are right. I think what we got from the Seville in Spain for the FFD4, was a clear demonstration that actually the global financial architecture needs to change. This was emphasized from the monetary consensus to Doha to Addis Ababa in 2005. And of course, this time it was well elaborated when you went to Spain, indicating that in this day and age, countries have changed, growth has changed. And the international cooperation is becoming very clear. There has to be solidarity. There has to be cooperation for all of us to grow together. Otherwise, the world has changed completely from the initial time when you had the old financial architecture. And this has been emphasized even by the pact for the future that was passed here in 2024. And we believe that if we continue with the leadership of Spain, which has been really helping us in this direction. I think we'll get there. We are seeing the signals that we need to work together as a team. So on this point, I just wanted to turn to the chair again to see if we can get more contributions from the member states. Over to you. Thank you so much.

I thank Mr. Gataita for moderating the panel discussion. I now open the floor for the interactive discussion. I would like to remind speakers that in order to give as many speakers the possibility to take the floor, time limit of two minutes for individual interventions and three minutes for statements on behalf of groups will apply. In order to enable the interpreters to do the best job possible, please deliver your statement at a normal speaking speed. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Mexico, to be followed by a representative of civil society. You have the floor.

Distinguished colleagues, the global economic outlook for 2026-27, as is reflected in the report on financing for sustainable development, is marked by a recurrent theme, uncertainty. It is no coincidence that the report repeatedly refers to uncertainty and in addition to weaker growth, harder financial conditions and increased debt burdens. These are not all isolated risks. We're not talking about cyclical disruptions. These are structural weaknesses that are affecting our global economic prospects. In this context, the challenge that we are facing is not just responding to this, but rather responding differently. For Mexico, this means reaffirming a fundamental commitment. In times of uncertainty, we cannot allow regression. We need to fulfill our existing commitments, but we also need to avoid them being watered down. The civil commitment should be maintained as an instrument commensurate with the challenges of our times, not as a matter on which we regress. The credibility of multilateralism hinges on our ability to translate agreements into tangible results. At the same time, the report also mentions the persistent fragmentation of the international financial architecture. Addressing the current challenges means greater consistency between areas of policy and our institutions. In Mexico, we are focusing on financial inclusion, digital transformation, and our own internal measures. We need to have a holistic vision of financing for development. The impacts of climate change are already eroding the fiscal headspace that countries have, and this disproportionately affects the most vulnerable communities, in particular, women and girls. This means that environmental sustainability and gender equality must be part and parcel of our entire response, and not as parallel agendas. Lastly, navigating uncertainty requires innovation on the part of all. We need to work together to come up with inclusive, scalable, resilient solutions. Mexico is ready to work with all of you to transit from commitments to implementation and from fragmentation towards a global, more inclusive and resilient financial system. Thank you.

I thank the representative of Mexico. I now give the floor to the representative of Society for International Development to be followed by Portugal.

Thank you, Chairman, for this opportunity. My name is Dereje from the Global Alliance for Tax Justice. I speak on behalf of the CSO FFT mechanism. At this moment in time, it is crucial to remind ourselves why the United Nations was created, to do everything necessary to prevent the repetition of the experiences of the Second World War. Today, we are witnessing events and crises that should remind us of how such periods begin. That is precisely why making this conversation the point of departure matters. Preventing a repeat of these experiences requires first and foremost strengthening democratic multilateralism with the United Nations at its center. When international law risks to be replaced by the rule of the jungle, the UN should be able to ensure that it is upheld and never abdicate this norm-setting and norm-defending mandate. If the foundations of an edifice are being damaged, it makes little sense to continue furnishing its individual rooms. The primary task must be to repair and reinforce its foundations. Without that, everything else becomes fragile, if not meaningless. The financing for development process is conceived on the premise of a functioning system of democratic multilateralism. It cannot continue as as if those original premises still hold. We cannot normalize what is clearly abnormal. Instead, we must confront the current crisis directly and work to resolve them because only then can meaningful progress be made. The second point I want to raise is equally important. Financing for development was never intended to be merely a fundraising instrument for the sustainable development goals. It was conceived as a space to address structural governance issues and systemic imbalances in the global economic and financial architecture. If we read it is in our statement during the Seville FFD conference, we translated the Spanish Compromiso de Sevilla as the Seville Compromise. That choice was deliberate. It reflects our concern that what is being presented as commitment, in fact, represents a lowering of ambition, a settling for less at a time when far more is required. In conclusion, if the promising ambitions of the financing for development process are to be kept alive, we must return to its original purpose, addressing systemic inequities, rebuilding trust in multilateralism, and strengthening the very foundations upon which global cooperation depends. Anything less risks reducing it to a ritual exercise, treating the symptoms while ignoring the cause. Thank you very much.

I thank the representative of Society for International Development. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Portugal, to be followed by Zambia and Aron Organization.

Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, the global outlook remains challenging, marked by slower growth, persistent inflation, high debt levels, and rising geopolitical tensions. Taken together, these factors are tightening financial conditions and disproportionately affecting LDCs, SEEDS, and vulnerable African economies. Our concern is not only the volume of finance, but whether countries can access it on sustainable terms and use it for investment rather than just rolling over debt. High debt and uncertainty, and cer- and cer- uh, uncertainty demands much stronger coherence between fiscal, monetary, and development objectives, domestic resource mobilization, and efficient, transparent, Public spending remains the backbone of sustainable financing. Debt problems need timely, comprehensive, case-by-case solutions based on full transparency and effective credit coordination in line with the Seville commitment. Sustained affordable market access is essential for long-term development. Distinguished colleagues, innovative instruments such as debt for climate or debt for development swaps and state contingency, contingent clauses can create fiscal space for resilience. if they are well-designed, transparent, scalable, and anchored in country ownership. Financing for development must strike a balance between macroeconomic stability, prudent debt management, and sound public finances, while maintaining a strong and consistent focus on development impact. Defending and renewing multilateralism must be a priority. Only a coherent, rules-based, and financial architecture can effectively address systemic risks, close the SDG financing gap, and ensure that countries are not forced to choose between servicing debt and investing in their people. I thank you.

I thank the representative of Portugal. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Zambia, to be followed by our own organization.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I have the honour to speak on behalf of least developed countries. From our perspective, the global outlook for 2026 to 2027 is worrisome. The combination of slower growth, high debt service burdens, a massive fall in ODA and growing fragmentation in trade investment and capital flows is creating a highly fragile microeconomic environment. This is particularly worse for developing countries where fiscal space is constrained and the capacity to respond to external shocks is increasingly limited. The Financing for Development Report 2026 shows clearly that while global financial conditions eased somewhat in 2025, many developing countries continue to face elevated borrowing costs. rollover risks and sharply constrained fiscal space. The LDCs bilateral ODA remains macro critical averaging about 15% of government revenues. On the first guiding question from the report, I want to underscore that the current global economic trends are severely deteriorating. The financing outlook for the poorest countries compounding existing vulnerabilities and sharply limited their ability to meet critical development needs. The FSDR shows that debt service on external debt reached 20-year high limits in many developing countries. FDI has been weakening, project finance has fallen sharply, and increased trade restrictions is disproportionately affecting LDCs. This is now compounded by the steep fall in aid, OECD preliminary 2025 data shows that bilateral ODA to LDCs fell by 25.8% and total bilateral ODA to all LDCs stood at only US dollar 28.1 billion. In short, countries with the narrowest fiscal buffers are being squeezed at all fronts, simultaneously exposed to the intensifying pressures across debt, trade, investment and aid channels. Based on the guiding question two, Turning to the second question, the elements of the CVA commitment most vulnerable to fragmentation are those that rely critically on predictability, sufficient scale and sustained international trust. These include mobilizing long-term investment, preserving an open and rules-based trading system, reducing the cost of capital and advancing reform of the international financial architecture. The FSDR warns that fragmentation is already reconfiguring FDI trade along geopolitical lines, increasing volatility in portfolio flows, and raising transaction costs and weakening the basis for global value chains and technology transfer. For LDCs, resilience therefore requires not only national action, but a stronger multilateral response, preserving the multilateral trading system under the WTO, expanding MDB lending, risk sharing, strengthening the global financial safety net, and ensuring that support remains aligned with national priorities. Speaking to the third guiding question, the safeguarding of policy space and financial stability must begin with reducing pro-cyclical of the system. Countries cannot build resilience if every external shock forces them to cut investment in health, education, infrastructure, and adaptation. LDCs therefore need more concessional and counter cyclical finance, faster and fairer debt treatments, broader use of climate resilient debt clauses and debt memorandum instruments. The stronger support for domestic resource mobilization without undermining.

I think the distinguished representative of Zambia on behalf of the LDC group. I now give the floor to the representative of the Arrow organization to be followed by the Volt Vision.

Thank you, Chair. I make this statement on behalf of the CSO FFD Mechanism Feminist Workstream. We stand at a critical juncture where the global financial architecture must transition from extractive economic systems toward a framework grounded on human rights and feminist-centered equitable economic systems. This transformation is urgent as the ongoing war and its economy have detrimental effects on the people and the planet, disproportionately impacting the rights of women, girls and gender diverse people, particularly in the global south. We cannot accept a business as usual approach. We recommend the following transformative actions. Defund wars and prioritize public investment in essential services such as health, including universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights services, education, and the social organization of care as foundational responsibilities for achieving gender equality and sustainable development. Private financing mechanisms must not substitute public provision, especially when they risk increasing costs or deepening social inequalities. Transform the international financial architecture that reinforces global inequality, reform of special drawing rights by decoupling them from IMF quotas to provide accessible, unconditional financing for the global south. Eliminate the investor state dispute settlement mechanisms to allow states to regulate in the public interest without fear of corporate litigation. Center gender transformative financing, put an end to the regression of women's human rights language and policy spaces, invest a minimum of 20% of bilateral assistance in initiatives where gender equality is the principal objective, address the structural under evaluation of care work, which remains the backbone of our economics, yet limits women's economic agency. just responsive and people centered multilateralism requires global solidarity based on peace and self determination. And lastly, we demand to stop the war and urgently address systemic issues to truly achieve agenda transformative economic system based on rights, justice, reparations and care. Thank you.

I think I think representative of arrow. I give the floor now to the representative of World Vision to be followed by Children and Youth International.

Thank you. I'm speaking today on behalf of the NGO Committee on Financing for Development and World Vision International. We've heard earlier that developing countries are facing a financing squeeze driven by rising debt, declining official development assistance, and the recent wars. These trends are reshaping donor and national priorities, often at the expense of investments in health, education, protection, and building resilience that underpins sustainable development. The question is not only what the microeconomic conditions are, but who bears the costs of adjustments. And too often, it's children, women and girls, and vulnerable people living already with crisis, conflict, displacement, and climate shocks. As an illustration, already 295 million people across 53 countries face acute hunger, while 4.9 million children die before their fifth birthday. And situation is getting worse. We see it in communities where we work. And this underscores the urgency of advancing the outcomes and commitments we've made in Seville, particularly on safeguarding social spending and ensuring financing frameworks that are sustainable, inclusive, and responsive to growth needs. In addition to domestic finance mobilization, ODA remains vital, especially in fragile and humanitarian contexts, and not only as finance, but as a catalytic investment that can help leverage other resources and sustain essential services for children and most vulnerable. Moving forward, implementation must align climate, development, and humanitarian finance with locally driven priorities and ensure that financial systems, including digital and inclusive finance, deliver agency, resilience, and equitable outcomes. Only then will the global financing frameworks support stability, shared prosperity, and sustainable development for current and future generations. Thank you.

I thank representative of the World Vision. I now give the floor to the representative of Children and Youth International.

Mr. President, distinguished ministers, colleagues, I speak on behalf of Children and Youth International and the FFD Children and Youth Constituency, the official youth and children stakeholder mechanism in this process under the major group for children and youth. More than 25 young people are participating in the FFD forum. We come today as the generation that will inherit every financing decision made in this room and with deep knowledge of what those decisions mean on the ground. First, we find it unacceptable that almost $3 trillion were mobilized last year in a matter of weeks for war and military, leading to conflicts and genocide, especially of children and young women. But the $4 trillion annual SDG financing gap mentioned in paragraph six of the outcome document remains unmet. Once again, we say this is unacceptable. We call for greater political will and an FFD agenda driven by the people and not by the military industrial complex. Second, paragraph five of the draft outcome acknowledges that ODA fell 23.1% in 2025, the largest annual contraction. These are not just abstract numbers on a report. They are the price of school fees that families cannot pay, of clinics that do not function, of first jobs that do not exist, and a generation whose hopes are silenced. We call on this forum to attach an explicit protection to ODA, that any framework must ring-fence a minimum floor for education, youth employment, and social protection, not subject to conditionality-driven cuts. Third, we must name the gap. Nowhere in the outcome document does the word youth appear in the context of financing obligations. The 2027 Forum must include a dedicated review of youth disaggregated data on financing outcomes, employment, credit access, education investment as a part of the monitoring framework under paragraph 20 of the paragraph 63 of the Seville commitment. You have committed to disaggregated data in paragraph 52 of this draft. Make youth a named category. Finally, in terms of stakeholder engagement, we ask that the outcomes from the ECOSOC Youth Forum's SDG 17 session last week, which affirmed that sustainable financing is indispensable to unlocking youth potential as an input into the FFD Forum. Thank you.

I thank you. We have heard from the last speaker on my list. I now invite Mr. Gatete to invite key takeaways from the panelists and to make his own closing remarks.

Yeah, thank you very much, Chair. I think this was a very informative discussion. I thank the five panelists who have been really taken us through this discussion. I thank the discussant, the member countries that have given their inputs, and the members of the civil society. This was very informative. Thank you so much. But what is very clear is that shocks are becoming very common. We mentioned the energy, which you are in now at the moment, that is costing quite a lot. We saw the international financial crisis, we have the climate, we have so many others. All these shocks really have been impacting our economic growth. And as much as for the past 20 years, the gains that we are making, and now with these constant shocks, I think the way we should be working together in terms of cooperation should be different as well. We have heard from almost many speakers on the impact, the global impact of the current crisis in the Middle East, especially on the energy, which is very critical for everything that we do, whether it is industrialization, transport, food and all other prices and the impact on inflation. But also we've had the impact of this on food security because of the fertilizer impact that goes through the Strait of Hormuz. And also we've heard about the aid that has been declining over time. As the countries need more, the aid has declined almost from major development partners. And really something has to fill this gap. It only came just to when the time that we needed it most, when the countries are highly indebted. And when we see, for example, the African countries having 64% of debt to GDP ratio, and also the cost, a combination of the concessional and private debt, the payment becomes very critical. It happens, of course, at the time we are having these kind of challenges where the concessional resources are declining, where the climate change is really having the biggest impact and the fiscal space is now very limited. And this conflict in the Middle East is coming to us in this situation. And that's why the panelists really came up with the solutions, some of them being the common one, domestic resource mobilization. There is no any other way of doing this. It's just increasing domestic taxation, but also building the capital market that is going to help address the resources that are needed by the private sector to play its own role. The issues of climate change still remain very high. and especially the carbon credit. So when the climate situation hit, especially for most African countries, we saw that there was a problem and imbalance, and we saw it in the COP of the carbon credit, which is still trading at less than $10 per ton on the African continent and more than 100% in the developed world. which is the same carbon, but this is becoming a problem in as much as we are trying to help and the Secretary General is helping quite a lot, but it is still a big problem. And this one is coming with something that we are pushing because Ethiopia is going to host the COP32 next year and the Economic Commission for Africa is a strategic partner and we are working to see how to address these kind of issues as well. So we are working on the blue bonds, the green bonds, we are working on the sustainability linked bonds and also on the climate swaps in all aspects. But I think this is an issue that we also need to pay attention. What the indication from all the speakers really is that we need international cooperation now. We need multilateralism at this point in time because it cannot continue like this when we are facing a lot of problems and we are one community. We need to international cooperation in finance, in investment, in trade. And we don't have to wait for the FFD5. All the ingredients are already in the FFD4, in the severe commitments. All we want is just make sure that we implement it and implement it together in a coordinated manner. So I really, once again, thank everybody who have contributed. But before I conclude, of course, I want to make sure that we hear from our panelists. who have been listening to you and they wanted just to make sure that they can give us their take. Let me start from my left.

Thank you, moderator. It's been a very, very rich discussion, therefore very difficult to add anything that has not yet been said. I hear the voices and concerns on the declining global ODA, and it is true that we need to work to reverse this trend. Of course, this is not so easy because we have other global international demands, not least because of the deteriorating security situation, not least because of the fiscal challenges in also many parts of the developed world. But nevertheless, we need to focus on this. In addition, and I strongly believe that if we believe in the rules-based international order and effective multilateral cooperation, we also need to broaden the global solidarity, global burden sharing and participation in the financing for development. The world is today very different from what it was when the concept of ODA was first established. As an example, today the European Union is 14.14% of the global GDP and the European Union contributes 49% of global ODA. So I think we really need to encourage many emerging countries, many emerging economies, some of which are not only emerging anymore, they are actually quite rich also to contribute to a broader burden sharing. Thank you.

Yeah, thank you very much. Let's now hear from our minister from Norway.

Thank you so much. I think what today's session kind of sums up is that we are in a multitude of crisis. We have a financial crisis, we have a political crisis, but we also have a crisis of trust. On the political, on the financial side, I think we have heard that Domestic resource mobilization is part of the answer. And I have heard that there is a need for technical cooperation, building strong institutions, and Norway is of course committed to that already, but we also want to see how we can do that even better. The problem of fragmentation, duplication, and a lack of coordination has also been addressed. And I think the CV commitment also points to country ownership, which I think is highly important now that we use the ODA in the most effective way we can. And part of that is, of course, aligning all our efforts with country plans and country priorities. We have heard that the big ask is for private capital. I think that is completely true. But I think we also must be mindful that private capital doesn't solve all our problems, and this is why also ODA is important in the time to come. We have heard real concerns about the debt crisis, and I think it's important that we all follow up on the commitments from Seville. We also heard the call for gender equality. I will say gender equality is a fundamental right, but it's also about economic resilience. We have a good experience with that in Norway, where women's participation in the workforce are actually more valuable for our economy than our oil wealth. We have also heard that there is a political crisis, there is a pressure on multilateralism. A rules-based world order and international law are challenged both in the Middle East and in Ukraine and other places. And I think we have to address violation of international law in a very principled manner. And this is a core interest also from Norway. But we have also heard that there is a crisis of trust. And I think the Seville commitment was a victory last year, both for multilateralism but also because it points towards a shared framework for a common direction. It is not perfect, but it was a victory. And its strength lies in its balance, its comprehensiveness and its focus on implementation. So that's our job now, to make the promises and the commitments into action. Thank you.

Thank you very much, really, for that summary and the takeaway. Now let's go to the minister from Indonesia.

Thank you, Chair. I have to remind that as we speak before that there are two approach. The first I should remain that strong domestic national effort are necessary, fiscal discipline, and then better quality spending and anti-corruption action and many things should be done by national effort. However, national effort is not capable if without any support from international level. So the action of responsive, inclusive and resilient global financial architecture should be in place. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, honorable minister. And now for Spain, almost close to one year ago, we're in your country enjoying ourselves, taking commitments. And from what you heard from the people, what's your take?

Yes, thank you very much. After One year on from Seville, when Spain decided to be host to that conference, when we knew back then that the world had already started to change and one year later things are somewhat worse. That is a diagnosis that we have understood from all of the statements this morning. And I just wanted to flag three ideas by way of conclusion. First of all, I think it's important for us to make sure that countries of the global south are at the heart of the process. And that is why we need to see the comprehensive frameworks and the different strategies that all of those countries have and try to make sure that we can use dialogue and policies to serve these countries and these policies because that is how we are going to make progress. Earlier in my statement, I mentioned some ideas related to this and I think others have too. I think it's important to put people and countries of the global south at the heart of the process and that is why the mobilization of domestic resources is so critical. I won't mention much again the initiatives that have already been listed. Secondly, alliances. We know that we are at the time where there are variable elements at play, but Seville has showed how we can work together. Seville provided the platform for action where there were many initiatives, dozens of initiatives involving different organizations and countries working together. deciding to take the words of the civil commitment and lead that into action to translate words to deeds. And I think that shows the way for how we can work. And I think it's very important because it allows us to use this kind of flexibility within these alliances to provide support to multilateralism. I've also heard civil society statements are along the lines of how can we follow up these agreements, how can we make sure that we do that. I'd like to highlight the work of DESA and other agencies who are helping us to do that. That allows us to assess the results. It's a qualitative step forward from Addis Ababa to Seville. It's important for us to take stock of what we've done and to assess what we've achieved. And lastly, progress is no guarantee. It's not guaranteed at all, but nor is it a pipe dream. It is something we need to aspire towards by working together tirelessly. We need to be innovative in how we work. At a time when there is more need for cooperation than ever, we need to honor the agreements we've signed. And that starts by sticking to the UN charter and of course international law and international humanitarian law. Spain is in favor of sticking to the law at all times. Thank you.

Thank you very much, honorable minister. I think really your summary summarizes almost everything that we have talked about. We need cooperation, multilateralism led by United Nations. We need a new global financial architecture, domestic resource mobilization, I keep repeating it. And of course, what it means is that let us all together implement the FFD4 or the severe recommendations, which are very clear. And hopefully when we meet next year, we'll see the progress coming in. So I really wanted to thank everybody who came here, and I wanted to thank the civil society, the government again, and our colleagues who are here. And now over back to the chair. Thank you so much.

I thank Mr. Gatete for expertly guiding the discussion. I also thank our distinguished panelists for their substantive contributions and delegations for participating in a productive exchange of views. We have thus to the end of this morning meeting. The forum will reconvene at 3:00 p.m. in this chamber to continue with its program of work. The meeting is adjourned.