World Development Information Day

   The 2026 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follow-Up (FfD Forum) – a key mechanism of the Financing for Development process, will be held on 20-24 April 2026. Country strategies and regional perspectives on Sevilla Commitment implementation Country strategies and platforms Regional perspectives on Sevilla Commitment implementation General Debate The Forum this year assumes added importance and a critical role in mobilizing momentum and concrete solutions from the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) held in Sevilla in June 2025. The 2026 Forum will feature in-depth reviews of four action areas - on Domestic and International Private Business and Finance, International Trade as an Engine for Development, International Financial Architecture and Systemic Issues, and Data, Monitoring and Follow-up, as well as Special focus on Debt and Debt Sustainability, International Development Cooperation and Development Effectiveness, and Domestic Publi...

   The roundtable, at the margins of the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development (FFD Forum) and SDG Investment Fair, aims to provide a high-level platform for dialogue on Africa's debt challenges and the reforms needed to strengthen both global debt governance and domestic debt management systems within the broader Financing for Development agenda. Specifically, the roundtable organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union (AU) will seek to: Present the key findings of the 2026 Economic Governance Report by ECA on debt governance and its implications for debt management systems in African countries. Examine the policy priorities articulated in the Common African Position on Debt and their implications for reforming the global financial architecture. Identify institutional and policy reforms needed to strengthen transparency, accountability, and coordination in public debt management. Discuss how the Financing for Development pr...

This side event, organized by The Permanent Mission of Egypt, Permanent Mission of Italy, Permanent Mission of Spain, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, aims to achieve two core objectives: 1) showcase FAO's strategic approach related to the use of debt swaps as instruments to promote food security, nutrition, and climate; and 2) gather a range of relevant sovereign and multilateral actors that have been engaged in recent years in debt-for-food security swaps, as well as other. In an effort to render agrifood systems more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition), debt swaps can be of critical assistance to low-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs). These countries tend to register a limited capacity to access financing and high levels of sovereign debt and often house high levels of food-insecure population, which implies tha...

During the week of the IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, the Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors of developing countries will launch the Borrowers' Platform to improve their debt management capacity. The initiative is Member State-led, with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) serving as the secretariat. With remarks by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors from eligible developing countries:H.E. Mr. Ahmed Kouchouck, Minister of Finance, Egypt H.E. Mr. Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Pakistan The Borrowers' Platform was agreed by Member States at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (July 2025) under the Sevilla Commitment. It addresses a gap in the international financial system, where developing countries remain underrepresented while creditor coordination has expanded. The Platform will: Strengthen South-South cooperation and knowledge-sharing...

Opening press conference by United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, at the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3) in Awaza, Turkmenistan from 5-8 August 2025. Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, It is always a pleasure to be in Turkmenistan. And I thank President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the people of Turkmenistan for their warm welcome. Your hosting of this important global gathering is a testament to the country's commitment to international cooperation and sustainable development. For the elements of the press of Turkmenistan, I have to say, as I mentioned this morning, that I've been coming to Turkmenistan for almost two decades. And in my visits to Turkmenistan, when I was High Commissioner for Refugees, I was extremely impressed by the fact that Turkmenistan has solved one of the most difficult problems that we have today in the world: the problem of statelessness, especially when an Empire or a Federation, or at the time also the Sov...