UN regional arm explores new financial landscape

Dhaka (ESCAP News) — Mobilizing sufficient financing remains a major challenge to effectively pursue the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, underscored high-level delegates at a UN conference today. Although interest in conventional and innovative financing options is growing among public and private sectors, investments needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) continue to remain underfunded.

The Asia-Pacific Conference on Financing for Inclusive and Sustainable Development is co-organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of Bangladesh, in collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh and the Asian Development Bank.

In her opening address, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana warned the region is unlikely to achieve any of the SDG by 2030 in a “business-as-usual” scenario. “ESCAP has estimated that developing countries in Asia and the Pacific should invest an additional $1.5 trillion per year, or 5 per cent of their combined GDP, to achieve the SDG by 2030. Today, ambition is the only option in our region,” Alisjahbana stressed.

The funding gap for countries in South Asia, including Bangladesh, is even higher at 10 percent of the GDP. Alisjahbana further said while mobilizing private financing is essential to unlock enough resources for the achievement of the SDG, the achievement of many of the Goals will still need additional public funding which requires modernizing tax systems and improving the efficiency of tax administrations.

Delegates at the conference highlighted that given the considerable financing gaps in Asia and the Pacific, developing countries need to mobilize additional financial resources by increasing domestic resources, partnering with the private sector, and enhancing international development cooperation. Financing the SDG would also need unprecedented coordination and cooperation between the public and private sectors, facilitated by international development agencies and multilateral development banks .

Among other areas, the three-day Conference will discuss how to scale up investment and international development cooperation to adequately finance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region.

Delegates will also explore how countries can strengthen and diversify financial flows, as well as innovative financing approaches such as taxation, capital markets, non-bank financial schemes, climate finance, small business and supply chain financing and FinTech solutions.