Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
I will now focus more about the financing for development agenda.
As I mentioned earlier, we stand at a critical juncture as we prepare for FfD4.
FfD4 is not merely another summit; it is a defining moment. It represents, perhaps, our last chance before 2030, to deliver affordable and long term finance for SDGs with speed and scale.
Developing countries confront a daunting reality: with crippling debt burdens, widening SDG financing gaps, soaring financing costs, and a rapidly shrinking fiscal space.
These factors hinder vital investments in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate action, trapping countries in a vicious cycle of limited growth, or worse, a stagnation.
Latin American and Caribbean countries are, unfortunately, no exception.
The draft outcome document is a testament to the vision of the four Co-Facilitators. It proposes a two-pronged strategy: first, a transformative investment push to create fiscal space and mobilize a wide range of resources; and second, a fundamental overhaul of the international financial architecture.
The investment push demands decisive public leadership, amplified public development bank lending, and a concerted effort to unlock private capitol. We must work to dismantle the barriers that inflate the cost of capital for developing countries.
This investment push must be impact-driven, rooted in national ownerships, and aligned with country-defined priorities.
Simultaneously, we must improve the global financial architecture. The draft document outlines ambitious reforms across all action areas ¨C debt management, credit ratings, development cooperation and the global financial safety net. We must also accelerate progress towards the governance reform in international financial institutions.
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
Inaction is not an option. We must advance collective action to fulfil the promise of the SDGs, to leave no one behind, be it a country or an individual.
The Latin American and Caribbean region is steeped in multilateral engagement. Your voice, your expertise and your unwavering commitment are indispensable to achieving an ambitious outcome.
I wish you a productive dialogue, and look forward to your strong engagement in the FfD4 negotiations over the coming weeks.
Thank you.