[2024-07-13] Ban Ki-moon urges action on sustainable development at Beijing conference

Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, stressed the potential of China’s Global Development Initiative to accelerate sustainable development, and called for expedited implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at a high-level conference in Beijing.

Ban made the remarks at the Second High-Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development, where he called for supporting SDG Acceleration Actions — initiatives voluntarily undertaken to accelerate the SDG implementation by governments and any other non-state actors, individually or in partnership.

“Global Development Initiative, GDI, and advocate its alignment with the 2030 Agenda. This GDI has the potential to accelerate sustainable development, there is no doubt about it. The critical question, therefore, is how to ensure supports [for] SDG acceleration actions, especially when we face a series of intertwining changes and setbacks,” Ban noted.

The conference, themed “Promoting Sustainable Development: Continuous Actions for a Better Future”, runs from Thursday to Saturday in Beijing, with over 160 countries and international organizations represented.

The Global Development Initiative, proposed by China three years ago, focuses on shared development and hastening the UN’s sustainable development agenda, with development, action, and unity as its top priorities.

Last July, at the inaugural conference, China announced the establishment of a global development project and funding pool, raising specialized funds from domestic and foreign financial institutions. To date, the project pool has exceeded 1,000 projects, with over 500 completed or in progress.

During the three-day conference, China has signed new cooperation agreements with organizations like the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Discussions among participants cover topics such as promoting modernization in the Global South, energy transition, sustainable development, and global youth responsibilities in the digital age.

Source: Bastille post Global