UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has called for reforming the international financial architecture to effectively narrow the rich-poor gap and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking at the Economic and Social Council’s Financing for Development Forum, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, highlighted that while there are broad blueprints to address inequality and poverty, they remain largely unrealized.
“We do not lack solutions, but rather, we lack the political will to implement them,” he stated, citing the long-standing failures to meet the 0.7% Official Development Assistance (ODA) target and to mobilize $100 billion in annual climate finance as just two examples.
The Forum aims to prepare for the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, scheduled for June 30 to July 3, 2025, in Spain. Panel discussions during the Forum focused on international trade as a driver for development, debt sustainability, and systemic issues.
Ambassador Jadoon emphasized that the forthcoming conference in Spain could rebuild trust between North and South. He emphasized the importance of revitalizing political will to fulfill existing commitments and explore innovative solutions to bridge the SDG financing gap.
In this context, the Pakistani envoy proposed several actions, including immediate solutions to increase fiscal space for developing countries, advocating for a global debt deal for development, establishing mechanisms to facilitate both public and private investment in sustainable infrastructure, and revitalizing international trade as an engine of development and growth.
“Pakistan’s goal is to ensure that the conference leads to a financing for development framework that is fairer and more responsive to the needs of developing countries,” he concluded.
—APP
