Excellencies, Distinguised Guests

This is a great opportunity to dialogue with the G20 members and stakeholders on how we can partner to further contribute to the 2030 Agenda implementation. Achieving the SDGs will require the involvement of all. Let me offer three perspectives on how to strengthen the G20 contribution to the 2030 Agenda:

First, where do we stand on the 2030 Agenda implementation, almost one third of the way into the SDG achievement timeline?

A month ago, here in NY, the first SDG Summit was held at a critical juncture: Member States renewed their commitment to the 2030 Agenda through the political declaration they adopted, calling for the launch of an accelerated response to the 2030 Agenda and pledging to make the coming decade one of action and delivery.

There is a wide recognition that we are off track to achieve the SDGs by 2030, and greater urgency is needed. Acceleration actions announced during the SDG Summit, as well as the initiatives announced during the Climate Action Summit and the High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage that took place during the same week, can catalyse a more impactful phase.

Second, there is an imperative need to join efforts, support inclusive multilateralism and cooperation, where the G20 plays a key role.

The G20 Japanese Presidency at the Osaka Summit last June strived to bring G20 members together in this endeavour. In the preamble of their declaration, G20 leaders committed to “further lead efforts to foster development and address other global challenges to pave the way toward an inclusive and sustainable world, as envisioned in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The Japanese presidency also wished to highlight the G20 contribution to the 2030 Agenda at the SDG summit. They requested OECD and UNPD to measure G20 progress towards the SDGs and if the report they produced was not eventually endorsed by all G20 members, but as an independent assessment report that will be launched later today, it still provides a number of key findings on overall progress made and makes a number of recommendations on the way forward. We should look into these carefully.

In this respect, much remains to be done if we are to realize all 17 SDGs fully. We cannot afford to delay urgent actions needed to address the extensive and intertwined challenges such as poverty and rising inequality; climate change; migration and forced displacement, to name only a few. These complex challenges will impact each and every one of us in some way and it is clear that no one country can tackle these challenges alone.

Finally, we must build upon a long-term vision to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and implement a roadmap for financing the 2030 Agenda.

As a long-standing G20 knowledge partner on the 2030 Agenda, UNDP is convinced that the G20 can critically help accelerate progress towards the SDGs with a compelling narrative that provides longer-term perspective and promotes long-term planning and holistic approaches to sustainable development challenges.

A roadmap detailing a multi-year programme of actions would be extremely helpful and could serve to uphold continuity and consistency in G20 actions in the long-run, while setting priorities and sequencing of actions, detailing how the work across all G20 work streams aligns with SDGs, mustering sufficient financial resources for the SDGs, facilitating measurement against 2030 Agenda goals and targets, and fostering cooperation for sustainable development.

A roadmap for financing the 2030 Agenda (as called for by the UN) or a multi-year action plan on financing sustainable is urgently needed. We need to mobilize sufficient financial resources to fund the SDGs, align financial flows with funding needs for sustainable development worldwide, and ensure that finance is translated into tangible impact for sustainable development. The G20 is well placed to develop responses to these challenges, through i) aligning the G20 economic and finance policies with the 2030 Agenda; ii) supporting developing countries to finance their sustainable development strategies through the implementation of Integrated National Financing Frameworks, iii )supporting innovation and financial inclusion, as new technologies can help to channel private finance and remittances and foster inclusion of the most vulnerable; and iv) strengthening cooperation for SDGs financing, as collaboration is crucial in cracking down on tax avoidance, tax evasion, corruption and illicit financial flows for example.

This work programme is not too ambitious. It only requires political will and spirit of cooperation among stakeholders and UNDP stands ready to contribute to this effort.

Thank-you.