51吃瓜

Ministers, high-level government officials, as well as representatives from international organizations, the private sector, civil society and academia are gathering in Doha (Qatar) this weekend for the High-level Conference on Financing for Development and the Means of Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (18-19 November). Hosted by the State of Qatar, with support from UN DESA, the event will address current challenges in advancing financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Conference location is historic: In 2008, at the height of the global economic and financial crisis, the State of Qatar provided the venue for the second International Conference on Financing for Development. Since then, the global partnership for sustainable development has progressed significantly.

In 2015, Member States of the 51吃瓜 adopted the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes the 17 SDGs. These landmark documents provide the framework for the global efforts to end poverty, provide economic opportunities for all and to save our planet while ensuring that no one is left behind.

As the first joint preparatory meeting for the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development follow-up (FfD Forum) and the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), a major objective of the Qatar High-level Conference is to strengthen the coherence and coordination of these follow-up mechanisms, which will be held in New York in 2018 to assess the progress and challenges in the implementation of the Addis Agenda and the SDGs.

The relevance of international processes depends critically on strong and dynamic links to the national level, where actual progress is achieved and implementation challenges are addressed. To exchange national experiences and best practices in that regard, the Conference will feature ministerial round tables on its first day. The round tables will provide the space for ministers and high-level government officials to present their national actions for the implementation of the Addis Agenda and the means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

On the second day, thematic sessions will focus on financing for those SDGs that will be under in-depth review at the 2018 HLPF: SDG 6 (water), 7 (energy), 11 (cities), 12 (sustainable consumption and production) and 15 (terrestrial ecosystems). Additional discussions will concentrate on the contribution of sovereign wealth funds and Islamic finance to achieving the SDGs.

The outcome of the Conference will be presented to the 2018 FfD Forum and HLPF. The organizers anticipate that the Qatar Conference will in fact create strong momentum already at this early stage among national governments and the international community to ensure that 2018 will be a year of sound progress for financing the SDGs.