At UN, Pakistan pushes for reform of global financial institutions to facilitate SDGs’ implementation

UNITED NATIONS (APP): Underscoring deep reform of the international financial architecture for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, Pakistan has called for boosting access to concessional and grant-based resources, meaningful debt relief and scaled-up climate finance in order to bridge the SDG Financing Gap.

 

“While national efforts are essential, they cannot succeed in isolation,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Ishaq Dar, told the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) — held under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Monday.

The forum is a crucial event for reviewing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“With just five years remaining to 2030, only 35% of the SDGs are on track,” he said, while participating in the general debate.

 

“The compounding effects of the pandemic; the food, fuel, and finance crises; as well as intensifying climate impacts, have reversed hard-won development gains and deepened inequalities,” DPM/FM told leaders from around the world in the iconic hall of the UN General Assembly.

 

Senator Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s full commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda, pointing our that the country’s national development strategies, such as Uraan Pakistan (take-off Pakistan), are aligned with the SDGs.

 

“Our social protection initiatives, including the Benazir Income Support Programme and Benazir Nashonuma (Child Growth), are designed to ensure no-one is left behind.

 

“To harness the potential of our youth, we have launched the Digital Youth Hub and are expanding access to quality education through Danish Schools and new university campuses,” the DPM/FM added.

Pakistan, he said, has undertaken key macroeconomic reforms to stabilize its fiscal outlook and make the investment climate even more attractive, highlighting that the Special Investment Facilitation Council is channelling direct foreign investment in priority sectors.

 

The DPM/FM also said that Pakistan was scaling up climate action, targeting 60% renewable energy by 2030, and enhancing resilience through initiatives such as Recharge Pakistan and the Living Indus. “Our revised nationally determined contribution is nearing finalization.”

 

In conclusion, Senator Dar said, “As we commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations, the Secretary General’s UN80 initiative offers an opportunity for a critical re-think to strengthen the three pillars of the United Nations and renew our commitment towards timely achievement of the SDGs.”

 

At the outset, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said despite ‘enormous headwinds’, the last two months illustrate what can be achieved when countries come together with conviction and focus.

 

“We saw it in Geneva, where the World Health Assembly adopted the Pandemic Agreement – a vital step toward a safer, more equitable global health architecture.  We saw it in Nice at the Third UN Ocean Conference, where governments committed to expand marine protected areas and tackle plastic pollution and illegal fishing,”  he said.

 

“And we saw it in Sevilla at the Fourth International Financing for Development Conference, where countries agreed on a new vision for global finance – one that expands fiscal space, lowers the cost of capital, and ensures developing countries have a stronger voice in shaping their future.”

 

“These are not isolated wins,” the UN chief said, adding, “They are signs of momentum. Signs that multilateralism can deliver,” he said, stressing:  “In the coming year, we must keep building.”

 

“We must strengthen and scale up partnerships that deliver — including with the private sector and civil society organizations.  We must embed long-term thinking into every decision, as we committed in the Declaration on Future Generations. And we must continue to learn from each other.”