The high-level meeting on the Financial Frameworks and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was jointly organized by Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Serbia, Sweden - Sida and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The meeting, held at The United Nations Headquarters, aimed to address the urgent need for effective financial mechanisms to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs.
The event, held within the framework of the 2023 Political High Level Forum, highlighted the key role of financial frameworks in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations Zlatko Lagumdžija chaired the meeting where prominent speakers and participants spoke.
In his opening remarks, Lagumdzija stressed the urgent importance of overcoming the serious financial constraints faced by developing countries, which have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The Sustainable Development Goals still need to be achieved. Success has been hampered by the severe financial constraints faced by developing countries: restrictions severely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In addition to preserving peace and reducing geopolitical tensions, the key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is to have a plan to finance them," Lagumdžija said.
Among the prominent speakers was Jeffrey Sachs, president of the UN Network for Sustainable Development Solutions, who was a keynote speaker at this gathering. Saks drew attention to the shortcomings of the current international financial architecture in supporting poorer countries, stressing the need for a new financial framework that will effectively meet the Sustainable Development Goals. Acknowledging the existence of technological opportunities to achieve the SDGs, he highlighted the key role of financing, urging governments to come up with bold investment programmes aligned with the SDGs.
During the meeting, senior panelists discussed the financial strategies, policies and instruments necessary to accelerate sustainable development as the world approaches the middle of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals timeline.
Jelena Begović, Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, shared Serbia's experiences and perspectives on attracting investments for the private sector and foreign direct investments as important sources for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Acting Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina Muhamed Hasanović expressed his gratitude to UNDP and Sidi for their joint efforts in developing the Framework of the Sustainable Development Goals of BiH, a common platform for sustainable development in the country. He stressed the need to increase financing and unlock private investment in order to overcome challenges in accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Hasanović highlighted digitalization, research and development and decarbonization as key elements for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, presenting them as highly potential areas for investment.
Laurel Patterson, head of the SDG integration team at UNDP's Policy and Programme Support Bureau, highlighted the key role of funding and scientific evidence in addressing development challenges. She emphasized the importance of strategies at the national level as a driver of change.
In his final remarks, Zlatko Lagumdžija emphasized the unprecedented challenges that the world faces halfway through the SDG path by 2030, which hampers progress in achieving SDG. He acknowledged the global nature of these challenges, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine causing unexpected economic shocks, particularly affecting the most vulnerable populations. Lagumdžija stressed the urgent need for systematic, integrated and innovative solutions to overcome these challenges, calling for the development of strong institutions and policies aligned with the 2030 Agenda.
To reshape the global economic model and achieve SDG, Lagumdžija called for adapted financial frameworks that would play a central role. He stressed that the realization of the SDG is primarily an investment agenda, which requires investments in physical infrastructure and human capital. The current financial architecture must be restructured to mobilize additional funding, transforming existing approaches and instruments. Lagumdžija stressed the need to attract not only governments, but also private, international and domestic financial institutions, developing pragmatic and significant instruments.
He also highlighted four practical directions for financing SDG:
- increase domestic tax revenues for SDG
- increasing sovereign borrowing from international financial institutions for SDG
- increase sovereign borrowing from international private capital markets for COR
- increase and direct official development assistance.
Expanded SDG funding needs to focus on six major transformations aimed at achieving specific SDGs, including education and social protection, health systems to prevent future pandemics and ensure universal health insurance, carbon-free energy efficiency and circular economy, sustainable urban infrastructure, universal digital services and sustainable food.
With time running out, the global community must redouble efforts to mobilize funding and reshape the financial architecture to achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The meeting concluded with a call for action to all interested parties to work together on the implementation of effective financial frameworks and strategies for sustainable development, the Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations in New York announced.