Infrastructure crisis

Without infrastructure — including "info-structure" — there can be no development.

And without development support, many developing countries will be starved of the infrastructure they desperately need.

Infrastructure is the foundation of everyday life for people and economies.

From drinking water and basic sanitation, to electricity, connectivity and Internet access. From public services like schools and hospitals, to modern roads, bridges, tunnels, harbors and railways that keep people and goods moving.

And yet, billions in the developing world lack access to these basic systems.

This infrastructure crisis comes as people are facing a cauldron of challenges across our efforts to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights.

This includes soaring costs of living, rising inequalities and the existential threat of climate breakdown.

Meanwhile, progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement is slipping into reverse.

We must find and fund ways to generate economic growth, create decent jobs, transform energy systems and advance sustainable solutions for the 21st century.

Infrastructure is a crucial pathway. We can and must turn the infrastructure emergency into the infrastructure opportunity.

The Belt and Road demonstrates that we have a historic opportunity to build modern, green cities, communities and transportation and power systems that place resilience and sustainability at the heart.

That deliver services and decent jobs for people in a sustainable manner.

And I see the Belt and Road Initiative's potential to make valuable contributions in two key areas of action.

First — by advancing economic sustainability in developing countries.

Many developing countries are confronting dramatic financial challenges, drowning in debt and without fiscal space to implement the sustainable development goals.

It is time to make the global financial architecture truly global and fit for the 21st century.

At last month's SDG Summit, world leaders endorsed a commitment to reforming the global financial architecture to make it reflect the world economy of today, not the one of 1945.

Leaders also agreed that we can take actions right now to promote effective debt relief mechanisms — including by ensuring that countries are not locked into unsustainable debt — and channeling emergency financial support toward those countries that need it most.

And leaders also supported an SDG Stimulus of $500 billion per year.

Now, in this context, a dramatic context for the developing countries, the relevance of the Belt and Road Initiative is undeniable. It has included nearly $1 trillion in cumulative investments across more than 3,000 projects around the world.

The second key area for action is by advancing environmental sustainability.

The Belt and Road Initiative recognizes that infrastructure for infrastructure's sake is not enough.

The Belt and Road is an important instrument to make key investments a reality, driven by clear domestic demand, and in line with international best practices.

Investments that enable resilience and adaptation across national and local planning.

Investments that can help keep our 1.5-degree global warming limit within reach.

And investments that don't leave countries with stranded assets and the polluted dead ends of the past.

Many developing countries are confronting dramatic financial challenges, drowning in debt and without fiscal space to implement the sustainable development goals.

It is time to make the global financial architecture truly global and fit for the 21st century.

I recognize the efforts of the Green Silk Road initiative to anchor investments in sustainable solutions — an area in which the UN is poised to support.

But developing countries will need massive support for a fair, equitable and just energy transition towards renewables while providing affordable electricity to all.

We all agree that development cannot come at the expense of the air we breathe, the water we drink or the biodiversity that defines our planet's health.

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 Excerpts from the UN Secretary General's remarks at the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, 18 October 2023.