2025 High-level Meeting of the Development Cooperation Forum
Transforming international development cooperation: from global dialogue to action
Date: 12 - 13 March 2025
Location: United Nations Headquarters, New York
The DCF is available on the UN Web TV:
A Crucial Moment for Global Development
To navigate the evolving, multiple crises worldwide and rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the quality and impact of international development cooperation must be significantly enhanced. Nearly 600 million people face extreme poverty by 2030, with developing countries grappling with annual SDG financing gaps of up to $4 trillion.
Over the past decade, the international development cooperation landscape has expanded with new actors and approaches, offering fresh opportunities for collaboration and impact. However, this evolving complexity challenges efforts at coordination and efficiency to ensure resource are effectively aligned with countries’ long-term sustainable development priorities.
The outcome of this milestone meeting will shape policy actions throughout 2025, including at the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) and the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
What is the Development Cooperation Forum
Since 2008, the DCF has advanced an inclusive, dynamic approach to international development cooperation among UN Member States and all relevant actors and stakeholders. It serves as the global platform for evidence-based, balanced and forward-looking discussion of the latest trends, progress and emerging issues in international development cooperation.
By providing all relevant actors a space to identify priorities and share knowledge and experiences, the Forum strengthens coherence and coordination across diverse development cooperation efforts and modalities.
Core Objectives of the 2025 DCF
- Sharpen understanding of what international development cooperation must deliver in a world with rapidly evolving needs, priorities and vulnerabilities
- Promote better alignment between international development cooperation with nationally identified sustainable development needs and objectives
- Update and strengthen, through universal participation, the principles for effective, high quality and high impact international development
- Generate concrete recommendations for action at country, regional and global levels to create a more coherent and responsive development cooperation system
Who Was There
The Forum welcomed diverse perspectives from:
- Government ministers and officials
- Development cooperation and agency leaders
- Civil society organizations
- Private sector representatives
- Philanthropic organizations
- Local government leaders
- Parliamentarians
- International organizations
- Multilateral development banks
- National development finance institutions
Key documents
- Concept note and provisional programme
- List of Side Events
- Logistical Note
- Report of the Secretary-General on Trends and progress in international development cooperation (E/2025/8)
- Statement by Mr. Navid Hanif Assistant Secretary General of DESA