“Financing sustainable development in a changing global economy to accelerate SDG implementation”

New York, 6 October 2026

Madam Chair,

My Delegation welcomes this important discussion on financing sustainable development in a changing global economy. This is particularly pertinent given that, as Pope Leo XIV observes, “the economy is not an end in itself, but an essential yet partial aspect of the social fabric.”[1]

The 2030 Agenda recognizes that “eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.”[2] However, with only four years remaining until 2030, progress remains uneven. The reasons are many, but among the more pressing is the persistent shortfall of resources available to those countries and communities that are most in need.

In this regard, it is important to underscore that financing for sustainable development is about more than just mobilizing greater volumes of resources. It is also about ensuring that financial systems and economic structures remain oriented towards the promotion of integral development of the human person and the common good.

Therefore, my Delegation would like to highlight three considerations.

Firstly, the current global economy calls for a fairer and more inclusive international financial architecture. The circumstances of a person’s birth should not determine the respect for one’s inherent God-given dignity or the opportunities an individual is able to access. Similarly, the economic circumstances of a country should not limit its ability to meaningfully participate decisions that shape its development.

 Therefore, developing countries must have their perspectives meaningfully included in decisions that affect their fiscal space. Reforming this architecture becomes a recommitment to genuine multilateralism, where no nation is merely a recipient of decisions made elsewhere.

Secondly, it is impossible to discuss financing the SDGs without acknowledging the burden of unsustainable debt that so many developing countries are carrying. Currently, over three billion people live in countries that allocate more funds to debt servicing than to healthcare or education investments. This has led to children being deprived of an education and families and entire communities being trapped in cycles of poverty.

Debt can be an important tool for development when it enables countries to invest in their people. However, when servicing debt comes at the expense of essential investments in human development, financial obligations can hinder the very development they are intended to support.

My Delegation therefore encourages the international community to continue working towards a more effective and equitable debt architecture. This would provide countries facing unsustainable debt burdens with the necessary space to invest in their people and advance their development priorities.

Thirdly, financing sustainable development requires careful consideration of the priorities for allocating global resources. At a time when global military expenditure continues to rise and many developing countries still face severe constrains on financing basic development needs, greater attention must be given to the consequences of these choices on human persons. As Pope Leo XIV has observed, “increased military spending is presented as the only response to an uncertain future or perceived threats. Meanwhile, the real cost falls on the poorest, who see resources for healthcare, education and social services being reduced.”[3]

Investment in healthcare, education, food security, decent work, and climate action is not peripheral to building peaceful and resilient societies: it is at its very core. 

Madam Chair,

There is a need for an international financial architecture that is more inclusive, debt arrangements that do not undermine integral human development, and for resource allocation that gives due priority to genuine and lasting peace, prosperity and development.

My Delegation therefore encourages this Committee to advance an approach to financing sustainable development that places the human person at its center and recognizes that economic and financial systems are ultimately instruments for the service of the common good.

Thank you.

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[1] Pope Leo XIV, Message to the Participants in the 31st Argentine Industrial Conference, 13 November 2025.

[2] A/RES/70/1, Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Preamble.

[3] Pope Leo XIV, Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas, 204.