Distinguished Members of the Committee for Development Policy,
Mr. Chair,
Dear Colleagues,
I am delighted to meet with you again this year.
For six decades, UN DESA has been proud to have hosted the Committee for Development Policy and its secretariat¡ªsince its inception in 1966.
Your wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary development expertise has fundamentally strengthened how the United Nations addresses the most complex challenges to sustainable development.
In today¡¯s fractured global development landscape, your expertise and guidance are more essential than ever.
Your independence as a Committee is the cornerstone of your impact. My Department, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, remains deeply committed to supporting your normative and analytical work, and safeguard that independence.
Let me assure you that despite the widely publicised budget and staffing constraints facing the United Nations, supporting this Committee remains a key priority of UN DESA.
Many decades after its inception, the Committee remains uniquely positioned to shape how ECOSOC and the broader UN system accelerate sustainable development for all.
The need for such guidance could not be more urgent. UN DESA¡¯s flagship report, the World Economic Situation and Prospects, shows that growth in Least Developed Countries (LDCs)¨C and globally ¨C remains far below pre-pandemic averages.
Our forecasts reveal that smaller LDCs face the most persistent headwinds.
Security challenges, limited fiscal space, high debt burdens, and policy uncertainties are limiting their opportunities. These countries are confronting compounding, unprecedented challenges, including the worsening impacts of climate change and a rapidly widening technological gap. Elevated trade tensions and recent tariff hikes further weigh on their growth prospects.
And these countries are among the most vulnerable to the weakening of the multilateral system.
A sharp decline in Official Development Assistance (ODA) is draining an important source of concessional financing meant for investment, social protection, and climate resilience. The steepest proportional declines are projected for LDCs and sub-Saharan Africa. Bilateral ODA to LDCs has been falling every year since 2022.
High debt levels and borrowing costs compound this fiscal squeeze: LDCs devoted 19.3 per cent of their government revenues to service interest payments in 2025, severely limiting their fiscal space.
Stronger international support is therefore imperative to foster resilient and sustainable growth. Delivering on the key priorities of the Sevilla Commitment, including clearer debt workout modalities and scaling up concessional and climate finance, is essential to mitigating systemic risks and fostering a more stable, equitable global economy.
Dear Colleagues,
As we enter the final half-decade of the SDGs, we must build on what we have learned to accelerate development.
Your rigorous expertise and forward-looking guidance are crucial in these times of profound global change. Your discussions this week on principles and approaches for global development, as well as specific areas such as trade, financing for development, and measurements, will help chart the way forward.
I encourage you to identify ambitious, actionable and transformative pathways for the UN system and our international partners. We rely on your insights to help developing countries, especially LDCs, forge new resilience and accelerate progress towards the SDGs and beyond.
I wish you success in your deliberations and I look forward to the outcomes of your plenary.
Thank you.