The Forum on Financing for Development was held over three days at the UN headquarters in New York. It examined the state of progress of the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Abeba Action Agenda and ended with the approval of the outcome document. The outcome document was completed thanks to the work carried out in negotiations in the past few weeks, led by Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations and by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations, Lazarous Kapambwe.
“We are very pleased with the result,” said the Ambassador, “an ambitious document from a particularly important year, during which, for the first time, the international community will take stock of the progress made on the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Abeba Action Agenda.” The approved outcome document is now the reference point for all future meetings on how to finance development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which include the fight against poverty, hunger and climate change, access to energy, water, education and healthcare and gender equality.
During her speech at the Forum, Mariangela Zappia stated: “In this document, we have managed to pinpoint the greatest obstacles and agree upon a series of specific recommendations for each of the seven action areas in the Addis Abeba Action Agenda which will help us guide the work of the public sector and to gain a more active commitment from the private sector and civil society.” “My plea,” she added, “is to keep the momentum going, as we are facing many challenges.”
The Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development’s annual report, which influenced the negotiations leading to the outcome document, exposed how much of a thorny issue it still is to find the resources needed to finance the Agenda, despite the progress made.
