New Delhi: The heads of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the United Nations (UN) agreed Sunday to increase financing for sustainable development goals (SDGs). This is part of efforts to support countries in accelerating progress towards achieving the SDGs by 2030, an ADB release stated.
A high-level dialogue, which included the UN Secretary-General and the heads of the MDBs focused on enhancing collaboration at the country level, especially in fragile and conflict-affected countries. The MDBs agreed to collaborate towards the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) next year. This will be held in Seville, Spain, and the conference will assess progress and chart a course forward on financing for the SDGs.
MDB leaders highlighted their progress in working as a system for greater impact and scale. Concessional finance’s key role in supporting the poorest countries was also discussed. MDBs also discussed their work on financial innovation and increasing financing for the SDGs through the Special Drawing Rights.
The Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, emphasized the importance of MDB reforms in order to unlock greater volumes of affordable long-term resources for sustainable development. MDB Heads shared with the UN leadership their reforms to become a better, bigger, and more effective system with a renewed sense of urgency and determination, stated the press release.
The joint work plan for the MDBs, which was released in April 2024, outlines key initiatives in areas such as scaling up financing capacity, boosting joint action on climate, and enhancing development effectiveness and impact.
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