Nirmala Sitharaman. Credit PTI
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged the private sector to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Saturday, saying it is the joint responsibility of all stakeholders to participate and contribute to this initiative.
Speaking at an event held on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Marrakesh, Morocco, the minister expressed confidence that the MDB reform process resulting from G20 discussions will encourage multilateral development banks (MDBs) to increase their investments in developing countries.
Finance Minister stated, “The 17 SDGs adopted by United Nations member states in 2015 were aimed at addressing a wide range of social, economic, and environmental challenges by 2030”.
She went on to say, “India under its Presidency has called upon all G20 members to collectively resolve to fully and effectively implement the 2030 Agenda and accelerate progress toward the SDGs, in a timely manner.
“It is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to participate in and contribute to this endeavor”, the Finance Minister said, noting that the SDGs provide a shared roadmap for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. “I invite the private sector to come forward and join the pursuit of this global vision”.
Global progress on SDGs is lagging, with only about 12% of targets met, she said.
With only seven years left to achieve the common goals outlined in Agenda 2030, she believes it is critical to work toward reducing the financing gap by developing global collaboration and allocating financial resources to these objectives.
“For the first time, during India’s G20 Presidency, the agenda of Sustainable Finance has been extended to cover financing for SDGs, in addition to Climate Finance”, Sitharaman explained.
She stated that novel financing options such as blended finance and risk-sharing tools, which might be leveraged to leverage private investment for scaling up sustainable finance, are needed to overcome the SDGs financing gap, particularly for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).
Highlighting the importance of the reform of the MDBs, she said: “These institutions (MDBs) have stood by us for nearly 70-80 years, but gradually now showing signs of fatigue and because of that many of the objectives which were to be served other than restoring Europe after the war, are still waiting to be served”.
“These very institutions will now have to be revived to meet the current challenges of the 21st century,” she remarked.
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