Ministerial Declaration pledges concrete action to implement 2030 Agenda

The Development Cooperation Forum was a neutral and impartial space that allowed for fresh perspectives and discussions of new development cooperation paradigms, the Economic and Social Council heard on 22 July 2016, as its high-level segment ended with the adoption of a ministerial declaration.

By the text, ministers and high representatives pledged that no one would be left behind in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. While reaffirming that eradicating poverty in all its forms was the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, they welcomed early efforts to address unfinished business from the Millennium Development Goals.

“Over the last two years, the Development Cooperation Forum has produced a wealth of inputs on the importance and tremendous potential of development cooperation as a lever for the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda,” said the Council President Oh Joon (Republic of Korea), in closing remarks.

Throughout the high-level segment, participants had looked closely at the links between sectors and policy domains, and had worked to break down silos, he said. For longer-term durability, efficiency and attaining three-dimensional development objectives, it was essential to involve local communities, scientists, the private sector and other groups in investment decisions on sustainable development, he added.

Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said that follow-up and review of implementation of the 2030 Agenda was instrumental towards achieving its high ambitions. “We are off to an excellent start,” he said, emphasizing that the high-level segment called for attention to key areas, including a strong sense of national ownership, an integrated policy response, revitalized global partnerships, inclusive follow-up and review, and continued alignment of the United Nations development system.

The past two days had seen focused and forward-looking discussions, he continued, stressing that the future direction of the Forum had been reaffirmed. Participants had underscored the need to work with those in deepest poverty, urged for the fulfilment of official development assistance (ODA) commitments, and exchanged ideas around the complementary contribution of South-South cooperation.

The Council took note of several reports of the Secretary-General, namely “Implementing the post-2015 development agenda: moving from commitments to results”, “Trends and progress in international development cooperation” and “Infrastructure for sustainable development for all”.

The Council’s two-day Development Cooperation Forum came to an end with three panel discussions, titled, respectively, “Monitoring and review of development cooperation in the 2030 Agenda: quality, effectiveness and impact for sustainable development”, “Development cooperation by the private sector, other non-State actors and blended development cooperation”, and “Development cooperation perspectives on capacity-building and the role of technology development and facilitation in implementing the SDGs”. The Council also held a wrap-up session on “Key messages from the 2016 Development Cooperation Forum”.