'The Machinery for Delivering the Pact is in Place and Delivering' - UN Deputy Secretary-General Takes Stock of the Pact for the Future

Madam President, 
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

My thanks to you Madame President, for convening this important meeting.

Nearly two years ago in this building, Member States adopted the Pact for the Future. Today I would like to share where I think we stand on the commitments made, how far along the road the Pact has travelled, and what it will take to go the distance.

First, let’s consider the road conditions.

Countries are navigating one of the most complex geopolitical landscapes in recent history.

You are facing debt pressures, conflict, climate impacts, and declining resources for development; each new shock or crisis striking before you have recovered from the last.

In six years: a pandemic, war in Europe, and now the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz choking energy, food and fertilizers supplies.

In that landscape, the SDGs remain our benchmark, and the Pact for the Future is our political compass.

The UN80 Initiative is how we equip the United Nations to deliver on both.

So, how are we doing?

Let me share where the Pact's commitments stand, starting with financing.

Multilateral development banks are finding ways to lend more from the capital they already have – that amounts to at least $700 billion in additional lending capacity. The borrowers' platform is up and running. ECOSOC is hosting a new dialogue on credit ratings. The reform of IMF surcharges is underway.

On how we measure progress itself, the High-Level Expert Group appointed by the Secretary-General delivered its proposal for going Beyond GDP within a single year – capturing the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development together – and the intergovernmental process to act on it has begun.

On our institutions, the reviews of ECOSOC and the HLPF are keeping these bodies fit for purpose. I thank the co-facilitators, the Permanent Representatives of Barbados and Malta, for their stewardship.

On the country level impact, and under the leadership of Resident Coordinators, UN Country Teams are using the Pact as a practical framework to align national priorities with SDG acceleration efforts.

In several countries, Cooperation Frameworks now reflect Pact commitments on financing, social protection, digital transformation, and institutional reform.

On future generations, Country Teams are supporting governments to embed long-term thinking in policymaking, providing assistance with strategic foresight, and assessing national laws to better protect the interests of new and future generations.

On digital transformation, the UN just concluded its very first global dialogue on Artificial Intelligence. 

Meanwhile, the Global Digital Compact is guiding national efforts to expand digital public infrastructure, close digital divides, and ensure new technologies work for everyone.

Finally, the machinery for delivering the Pact in-country is in place and delivering.

This is where the UN80 Initiative comes in. Its purpose is simple: a United Nations better able to support you in turning commitments into results.

Results that are visible, credible and responsive to your national priorities, including those you set out in your Voluntary National Reviews.

In practice, that means stronger Resident Coordinator leadership.

Country Teams that draw on the full policy, technical, and operational depth of the system.

Better use of data, foresight and expertise, and fewer overlapping mandates, processes and presences placing a burden on your governments.

All of this is about better implementation and better support for you and your priorities.

Excellencies,

Governments cannot deliver this agenda alone, and the good news is, they are increasingly choosing not to.

Across regions, more countries are opening their Voluntary National Reviews to civil society, business, local authorities and young people to bring their expertise and experience into the accounting.

The picture that emerges is fuller and more honest, and that is how national ownership takes root, how accountability deepens, and how the 2030 Agenda becomes a whole-of-society effort.

In closing, let me say this: the Pact will move at the speed you move it.

Your leadership, your policies, your investments, your willingness to share what works – these decide whether the commitments made here become the tangible progress that was promised to people two years ago.

So, in today's roundtables, I would ask you not to hold back.

To tell us what is working, so others can borrow it. 

To tell us where you are stuck, so we can help clear the way.

To tell us what support you need and be specific. The more specific, the better able we are to act on it.

I look forward to hearing your views on the road ahead.

Thank you.

These remarks were delivered by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed at the "Taking Stock of the Pact for the Future" informal meeting.