First Evaluation in China of the NDB-financed Luoyang Metro Project

A recording of these remarks can be found on Tencent.

Excellencies,

Chinese DG’s and DDGs present,

Senior Colleagues from the New Development Bank,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.

I would first like to thank the Independent Evaluation Office of the New Development Bank for this initiative and for the invitation for me to speak at the Stakeholders’ Knowledge Sharing Seminar for the First Evaluation in China of the NDB-financed Luoyang Metro Project. Partnerships play a pivotal role in connecting diverse stakeholders, unlocking growth potential, and accelerating a country’s development and progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Ms. Li, who is present here from Henan province, I was delighted to visit Henan province in September 2023 with several ambassadors on a trip that was organized by the China International Development Cooperation Agency. I was very impressed by the cultural heritage as well as the exponential economic growth the province has seen. Congratulations.

The world continues to confront a series of mutually interlocking shocks, causing the global economy to be more fragile than ever amid a challenging environment with increased instability. This reality has placed us far off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and we are seeing gaps, both between and within countries, widening, with the most vulnerable groups being the most affected.

Our prospects for 2024 remain uncertain, UN-DESA’s World Economic Situation and Prospects report, published in January 2024, global growth is projected to slow to 2.4% in 2024, with a high level of uncertainty in the wake of regional and global conflicts that are disrupting shipping lanes, persistent inflation in many developed economies, acute food insecurity, and increasingly frequent climate related shocks.

The narrowed policy space is conducive to impeding structural shifts, exacerbating disparities in development efforts, and dragging countries into a loop of unsustainable debt and weak growth, constraining the investment that is critical in all areas of the SDGs.

In order to pull the world out of this spiral of increasing inequalities and low growth, we need increased financing for development. As the UN Secretary-General Mr. António Guterres emphasized in his remarks at the General Assembly High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, “immediate steps should be taken by governments, and partnerships to address the urgent need for increased financing and reform of the international financial architecture to achieve the SDGs are critically needed.”

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates an annual global requirement of 3.5 to 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars in development financing to achieve the SDGs.

Apart from this staggering figure, which indicates the critical necessity of mobilizing more resources, the challenge of closing financial gaps more effectively underscores the importance of building effective partnerships between governments, international organizations, businesses and civil society, to leverage resources and expertise from all sectors of society to advance the world towards the SDGs.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Given the challenges in addressing the scale and depth of the high-quality financing needs for the SDGs, the United Nations in China seeks to identify and support meaningful partnerships, in particular for South-South-Cooperation to advance the SDGs.

During my time where I served as the UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya, there was a public-private partnership that led to the construction of an expressway from the airport in Jomo Kenyatta all the way to downtown, which on average would take 3-4 hours to negotiate that traffic. Today, that particular partnership has led to where the UN working together with the Government of Kenya and the Chinese company that constructed that road. No loan was taken – it was constructed as a PPP project – and over the next 15-20 years, the company will have an ROI of over 2.5 times what they invested. What I want to show is how the UN can play a role, in convening, in catalyzing, in connecting new relationships to advance the SDGs, in order to advance economic growth, in order to advance prosperity.

China has become an increasingly important player in international cooperation activities with its Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, which seek to advance development outcomes in partner countries, while enhancing policy coordination, connectivity and trade facilitation, financial integration and cultural exchange.

Here, the United Nations in China has actively partnered with the Government of China, particularly with the China International Development Cooperation Agency as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on these initiatives in providing technical advice and support to ensure that these initiatives are in line with the 2030 Agenda.

Last year in April, the United Nations in China, the China International Development Cooperation Agency, as well as the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations co-hosted an event in UNHQ on getting member states to understand the full value of the prospects of the Global Development Initiative and how it would give velocity to the SDGs.

We are currently progressing on the implementation of the UN-China-Africa Transformative Partnership Initiative, bringing together the UN in China and African countries, along with governments in both countries, to leverage Chinese financing and expertise to advance development outcomes in Africa. We are currently developing several projects in Horn of Africa countries, including a milk processing plant project in Eritrea that will be submitted for funding via China’s Global Development Fund.

While I have spoken a lot about the importance of partnerships and how we, as the UN in China, are supporting them, I would like to highlight the pivotal role multilateral development banks, such as New Development Bank, who are playing and are playing a critical role in building new partnerships for sustainable development. I commend the leadership of NDB for these very important initiatives that are underway.

By pooling resources across multiple countries, MDBs can invest in large-scale projects that an individual country may find too costly or risky, in many areas not just providing the financing necessary, but also as partners, technical advisors and catalysts for development. Through the efforts of MDBs, we have witnessed an acceleration in infrastructure investment, poverty alleviation and enhancement of economic opportunities in many regions.

The focus of MDBs on high-quality financing promises broad and more equitable usage of funding and resources to benefit all targeted groups effectively and efficiently, while prioritizing socially and environmentally responsible projects.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In recent years, we have not only confronted a health crisis, but also an economic and social one, exacerbating existing inequalities and development challenges. The recovery process presents an opportunity for partners including governments, the United Nations, multilateral development banks and all the other sectors to lead the way to build back better – in financing projects that are resilient, inclusive, and sustainable.

In conclusion, the role of partnerships in achieving the SDGs cannot be overstated. Our ability to mobilize resources, expertise, and partnerships is critical to our shared vision of a sustainable future.

As we gather here today, let us recommit to collectively addressing the current challenges, not just as financiers, but as partners in development, as architects of a better future.

The journey ahead is long and complex. But with our collective and unwavering efforts, and the guidance of the 2030 Agenda, which is the north star in the horizon, we can forge a path of more equitable, sustainable, and a prosperous future for us all.

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a very happy Year of the Dragon and we hope in this year we see more solidarity, more compassion, and more social connectivity between countries and people.

Thank you.