Inputs to the Outcome Document

Voting right imbalances persist in international financial institutions with respect to the population and size of the economy of their member states. Aiming for greater influence on financing policy decisions impacting developing countries, Asia-Pacific member states should continue on institutional reform discussions. However, strengthening of regional financial institutions in parallel as a complementary approach.

This brief focuses on the importance of strengthening the coherence and consistency of the international development system with respect to financing sustainable development and climate ambitions. It highlights the fragmented approaches to financing currently prevalent and underscores the need to integrate international commitments regarding sustainable development and climate ambitions with national investment planning and financing processes. A similar integrated approach is called for at the global level as well.

Public debt distress has three distinct underlying causes which should be evaluated and addressed differently. Similarly, traditional bilateral, non-traditional bilateral and commercial creditors have shared but differentiated responsibilities in sovereign debt restructuring. Proper resolution of sovereign debt distress should ideally be guided by these two principles/realities, while continuing with pragmatic second-best approaches. Debtor countries should also hold their side of the bargain by ensuring accountable and productive use of borrowed funds and effective public debt management.

This policy brief highlights the challenges faced by Asia-Pacific developing economies, in particular LDCs, in tapping the potential of digital trade opportunities to finance sustainable development and discusses some potential policy solutions. It focuses on promoting domestic resource mobilization, fostering international cooperation, and supporting LDCs to participate in digital trade. The key recommendations include closing the digital divide, establishing coordinated digital tax frameworks, strengthening regulatory cooperation, and building digital-trade capacity for MSMEs and marginalized groups.

Asia-Pacific experience suggests a central role of rationalized tax structure, strengthened tax administration, and reduced wasteful tax exemptions in episodes of swift tax revenue enhancement. Nevertheless, to achieve greater and sustained results in the longer term, broader socioeconomic progress and improvements in public governance are equally indispensable. Meanwhile, better exploration of tax potentials of direct income and wealth taxes and of the region’s booming real estate markets will be key for further public revenue enhancement.

This brief focuses on the importance of strengthening financial regulations that can accelerate private financing towards the Sustainable Development Goals in the Asia-Pacific region. The brief puts forward actions to deepen banking and capital markets in Asia and the Pacific, as well as outlines a new approach that combines concessional and private finance in the least developed countries in Asia and the Pacific.

This policy brief explores innovative approaches to mobilizing climate finance, focusing on both public and private sector contributions. It highlights the urgent need for scalable finance solutions, given global economic volatility and rising debt levels in developing countries. Key solutions include unlocking alternative funding sources, leveraging debt restructuring, scaling blended finance, and utilizing innovative financial instruments. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) plays a critical role in catalyzing such investments and driving climate action, particularly in support of the most vulnerable.

The global finance landscape remains fragmented, insufficient, and not fit-for-purpose, limiting access for developing countries most in need. Urgent reforms are required to simplify access, scale up concessional finance, and mobilize private sector capital through blended finance mechanisms. Strengthening country ownership and improving transparency across financial flows are key priorities. The Fourth Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) should advocate for these reforms to close the sustainable development finance gap and accelerate progress toward global goals, especially for vulnerable and low-income countries. FFD4 must be the running point that transforms global financing landscape into a truly inclusive, scalable, impactable, fit-for-purpose and sustainable engine for achieving the SDGs, Post-2015 development Agenda, and Paris Agreement goals by 2030.

Financing for Gender Equality

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.

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.

IFC’s brief outlines some of the necessary conditions for continued growth in the application of blended finance for private sector projects in emerging markets and developing economies to address global challenges like climate, fragility, food security, and gender. Enhanced transparency, new sources of flexible concessional finance, and continued collaboration between stakeholders are identified as key factors in helping the market scale to meet the SDG funding gap.

This policy brief emphasizes the need for financing inclusive structural transformation to foster economic growth, create decent jobs, and ensure sustainable development. Developing countries face challenges due to limited financial resources, premature deindustrialization, and a shift towards low-productivity sectors. The brief recommends strengthening national public development banks, forming public-private alliances, and adopting tailored macroeconomic frameworks. These efforts, combined with social partner involvement and multilateral cooperation, are crucial to overcoming financing barriers and supporting long-term, inclusive development.

Investment is necessary but not sufficient for achieving inclusive economic growth and decent work. The ILO MNE Declaration provides an investment framework for coherent and synergistic policies concerning job creation, enterprise development, formalization, skills development and protection of workers’ rights. Consultation with social partners can ensure that decent work is prioritized while also enabling enterprises to grow. And dialogue between host and home countries could lead to better alignment of policies and ODA to support investment facilitation for development.

This brief presents evidence on coverage and financing gaps for universal social protection (USP), offering actionable recommendations for FfD4. The ILO estimates that to ensure at least a social protection floor, low- and middle-income countries require an additional investment of US$ 1.4 trillion (3.3 per cent of the aggregate GDP) of these countries. To close the financing gap countries must increase investment in social protection, raising effective coverage by 2 percentage points annually (SDG indicator 1.3.1). At the international level, debt relief should move at a faster pace and access to international emergency financing must be enhanced to enable regular investment in USP in a climate-volatile world and avoid repeated rounds of austerity.

Scaling up the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions