UN Economic and Social Council Forum – PM Imran stresses on development-oriented policies

Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday inaugurated the Special High-Level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Forum on Financing for Development (FfD).

In his opening remarks, the Prime Minister underscored that the Forum was an important opportunity to adopt decisions for mobilising finances needed by developing countries to recover from COVID-induced recession and maintain the path towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

While deploring “vaccine nationalism” and export restrictions, the Prime Minister called on the international community to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccine was “available to everyone, everywhere, as soon as possible.”

The Prime Minister recalled his five-point agenda for emergency financial support to developing countries including debt relief and restructuring, creation and redistribution of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), larger concessional finance, and an end to illicit financial outflows from the developing countries.

Addressing the need to transform the world economy into one that is development-oriented and environmentally sustainable, the Prime Minister highlighted the need for massive mobilization of public and private investment on sustainable infrastructure and climate finance, especially in the developing countries.

The Prime Minister noted that the United Nations was well placed to take the lead in formulating and coordinating the implementation of a plan to make the transition to a green global economy by creating an inclusive, multi-stakeholder mechanism.

The Prime Minister’s participation and statement in the ECOSOC FfD Forum today was a continuation of his global advocacy for the provision of fiscal space for developing countries’ recovery from the public health and economic crises triggered by the COVID-19 Pandemic, as well as for the promotion of “green” and sustainable development in the Global South.

The Prime Minister has been a leading voice internationally to enhance global cooperation and solidarity to promote these objectives.

The 4-day FfD Forum is being held from 12-15 April 2021, under Pakistan’s Presidency of ECOSOC. A number of world leaders are participating in the meeting to address the themes of resilient recovery, recurrent debt crises, pandemic response and recovery, liquidity for vulnerable countries, and a climate resilient future.