1st Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development

Nine years after the historic agreement on financing for development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, United Nations Member States once again convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to renew the push for sustainable development financing and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Faced with sky-high debt burdens and costs of capital, developing countries have limited prospects of financing the Sustainable Development Goals,” stated António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations in a video message to the conference.

He continued: “The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development provides a unique opportunity to tackle these challenges head on. It opens the door for world leaders to adopt ambitious reforms to deliver affordable long-term financing at scale – and deliver the SDG Stimulus. And it presents a unique opportunity to reform an international financial system that is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair.”