Inputs to the Outcome Document

Remittances and diaspora investments are a major source of external private finance crucial for achieving SDGs, but their full potential remains largely untapped. Member States should acknowledge their potential and renew and expand their commitments to maximize their impact to development, ensuring access to formal, affordable, and secure remittance services through supportive regulations, improved payment systems, digital solutions, and promoting financial inclusion for both migrants and their families back home. At the same time, Member States should facilitate and support diaspora investments to homeland SMEs by creating diaspora engagement strategies and supportive environments, capacity-building for diaspora members, involve them in policy development, remove investment barriers, and provide adequate mechanisms to crowd in their investment.

Reducing poverty, ending hunger and fulfilling the 2030 Agenda is possible by increasing targeted investments where they are needed the most. Increased financing for food systems as key accelerators to achieve the SDGs is needed along with better targeting of vulnerable groups, including rural communities, small-scale producers (especially women and youth) and Indigenous Peoples to leave no one behind. Recommendations include increasing ODA for sustainable food systems, climate adaptation and rural development, strengthening PDBs and MDBs, leveraging remittances, and rechanneling SDRs to mobilize grater investments for sustainable food systems, rural development and climate adaptation.

Linked to 70% of the SDG targets, digital infrastructure is a cornerstone for developing digital economies and achieving the SDGs. Yet, with 2.6 billion unconnected people, building the necessary infrastructure to achieve universal connectivity requires significant funding. Closing the investment gap necessitates optimizing traditional investments, while also identifying adequate financing mechanisms to improve project attractiveness and attract new investors. Multi-stakeholder collaboration is crucial for devising innovative strategies to bridge the financing gap, ensuring universal, meaningful connectivity by 2030.