The government, private sector, and the UN in Nepal jointly emphasised on mobilising sufficient development finance to achieve Nepal’s key development targets including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
During 'The Financing for Development Dialogue: Nepal’s Road to the Summit of the Future' organised by the United Nations Nepal (UN Nepal) in partnership with the Finance Ministry and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), here today the stakeholders in finance and development highlighted the requirement of additional investment to achieve sustainable development and accelerate structural transformation of the economy.
Speaking at the inauguration session, the deputy prime minister and finance minister Bishnu Prashad Poudel pointed out that in developing countries, a significant portion of revenue is spent on debt servicing, leaving little for development investment. He emphasised that Nepal is no exception and called for collaboration between the government, private sector, and development partners to mobilise resources. Poudel also stressed the importance of formulating a common position for the upcoming Summit for the Future at the UN and noted that this dialogue would contribute to that effort.
Four years after a series of global shocks – including the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts and economic instability – the SDG financing gap for developing countries like Nepal has ballooned to $4 trillion annually. The financing gap and accompanying debt challenges have worsened poverty and inequality, putting the world off track to meet international targets set in 2015.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, on the occasion, underlined that as Nepal spearheads towards graduation from its Least Developed Country (LDC) status, bold and decisive actions to strengthen economic foundations is needed by focusing on domestic reforms, advancing financial inclusion and gender equality, embracing digital transformation, and advocating for international cooperation.
Like FNCCI president Chandra Prasad Dhakal highlighted the need for efforts at all levels to mobilise investment for development, particularly in the context of declining foreign direct investment, revenue, and foreign aid. He also mentioned that the federation has been organizing special programmes to promote investment in Nepal and abroad and that a facilitation desk has been established to assist with foreign investment.
In the dialogue, participants dived deep into the most pressing issues for accelerating progress towards SDGs — financing or lack of it — at the time of rising geopolitical tension, post-pandemic weaker economic recovery, more frequent and intense climate-related crisis, existing inequalities and disparities including those related to gender and social marginalisation, and a new trade dynamic driven by protectionism and disengaged multilateralism, among others.
No comments:
Post a Comment