Addis Ababa, 26 July 2024 In a significant gathering this week in Addis Ababa, finance and foreign ministers called for a comprehensive overhaul of the international financial system to better serve developing countries. The First Preparatory Committee meeting of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development concluded with a strong focus on bridging the gaps in financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reforming the international financial architecture. This meeting, held on July 26, 2024, emphasized the urgency of channeling substantial financial resources towards sustainable development in Africa and other developing regions.
Nine years after the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, United Nations Member States once again gathered in Ethiopia to renew their commitment to sustainable development financing and the SDGs. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, highlighted the dire financial challenges faced by developing countries. In a video message, he stressed that the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development offers a critical opportunity to address these issues, calling for ambitious reforms to provide affordable, long-term financing at scale and to stimulate SDG progress.
The global context of the past four years, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, and economic instability, has exacerbated the financing gap for developing countries, now estimated at USD 4 trillion annually. This gap, alongside escalating debt challenges, has intensified poverty and inequality, derailing progress towards the 2015 international targets. The meeting underscored the structural flaws in the current international financial system and the urgent need for reforms.
Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the FfD4 conference, emphasized the necessity of a dramatic reshaping of the financial system to meet global development needs. Proposals discussed included reforms in international taxation rules and new mechanisms to address sovereign debt crises.
Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, highlighted the leadership role of African countries in advocating for changes to global tax and financial systems. He stressed that the existing international financial architecture, established nearly 80 years ago, must be reformed to address the current challenges faced by African nations more effectively and inclusively.
The meeting, attended by representatives from 103 countries, multilateral development banks, United Nations entities, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and NGOs, covered a broad spectrum of financing issues, including debt, taxation, trade, private finance, development cooperation, technology, and data. Nearly 800 participants engaged in these discussions, setting the stage for future preparatory sessions.
This meeting was the first of four preparatory meetings leading up to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, set to take place in Sevilla, Spain, in 2025. The subsequent sessions will be held in New York in December 2024, February, and April 2025, with an intersessional multi-stakeholder hearing in New York in October 2024.
