Mr. Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations in New York and Chair of the Like-Minded Group of Countries in support of Middle-income countries;

Ms. Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNECA;

Ms. Nathalie Fustier, UN Resident Coordinator to the Kingdom of Morocco

Excellencies, 

Distinguished Delegates, 

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to welcome you today, on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to this High-level Conference on “Solutions to Development Challenges of Middle-Income Countries in a Changing World”, co-organized with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. 

At the outset, please allow me to congratulate the Kingdom of Morocco for convening such a broad and diverse group of Middle-Income Countries and experts here today. I would also like to commend Minister Bourita’s leadership and Ambassador Hilale and Mr. Ben Mellouk’s conviction that Middle-Income Countries have a crucial role to play in accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

Indeed, the 2030 Agenda recognizes that – while each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development – the SDGs will not be achieved without a revitalized and enhanced Global Partnership. It acknowledges the specific challenges of MICs to achieve sustainable development and calls for better and focused support from the United Nations Development System and the international financial institutions, among others. UNDP indeed stands ready to support. 

Our dialogues today and tomorrow are of crucial importance and relevance. As part of the Political Declaration of the 2023 SDG Summit, Member States confirmed their commitment to explore measures that complement or go beyond GDP and encouraged the international community to consider multidimensional vulnerability as criteria to access concessional finance. This is of particular importance as MICs still confront many challenges and are still home to significant rates of poverty and diverse forms of inequalities. 

UNDP is proud to stand by Morocco and other programme countries towards an accelerated implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. In Morocco, UNDP actively supports national efforts to achieve inclusive and sustainable development and the objectives of the New Development Model, which lie along three main pathways: First, competitiveness and decent jobs, especially for women and youth, through a structural transformation based on green transition and a sustainable and inclusive development model. Second, continued efforts to reduce social, spatial and gender inequalities. Third, the generation of evidence-based, inclusive and context-sensitive public policies and programmes.

UNDP would also like to commend the Kingdom of Morocco for its strong commitment to South-South and Triangular Cooperation which is a hallmark of its partnership with all UN agencies and international partners. The core focus of this partnership is not only to promote mutually beneficial exchange but to enhance the support of structural resilience and human development. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Our collective capacity to move towards a better future depends on our ability to restore trust in the development promise. UNDP has contributed significant analysis to the Secretary-General’s call for transforming the system so that it delivers for all countries—and for a massive boost in investment in the SDGs. We have also done our part to galvanize the push to go beyond GDP as the primary measure of the health of economies, now a central item on the agendas for the 2024 Summit of the Future.

Let’s keep the momentum and nurture meaningful and inclusive partnerships.

I look forward to rich presentations and dialogues over the next two days and I would like to thank all delegations and experts for joining us in Rabat. 

Thank you very much. 

Merci beaucoup

Shukran

Muchas gracias