16 May 2014: The Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (ICESDF) held its Fourth Session, during which expert members discussed the draft report of the Committee. According to a briefing with the Co-Chairs on 16 May 2014, the Committee has reached agreement regarding a structure to mobilize all financial sources – international, domestic, private and public – using the Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration as guides for exploring synergies and complementarities between different financial flows. The fourth session took place on 12-16 May 2014, in New York, US.

ICESDF members highlighted key issues with the current international financial architecture, such as a decline in official development assistance (ODA) and the emergence of new actors and financial flows. They said the following require careful consideration: challenges associated with the global commons and increasing inequalities; limitations related to international trade and debt; enhancing transparency and accountability; and ensuring monitoring mechanisms that are acceptable at both national and international levels.

Expert members also identified as main needs to be addressed: incentivizing private flows; mobilizing domestic private flows and local capital markets; mobilizing current global assets and savings; creating an enabling international environment for private investment; and exploring complementary sources such as South-South and triangular cooperation.

According to the Co-Chairs, the private sector will have a central place in the new architecture of financing for development, while the public sector needs to provide what it has traditionally provided: healthy people; educated people; and the legal framework. They said the Committee is trying to find ways to strengthen and “co-create” new types of public-private partnerships (PPPs), building on successful examples such as the Busan Partnership or the UN Global Compact.

The timeline for the ICESDF’s preparation of its final report is as follows: it is currently receiving comments on the zero draft; it will circulate an annotated version on 22 June 2014, on which it will receive comments until 6 July 2014; and by 27 July 2014, the Committee will finalize the draft and disseminate it.

The Committee also will continue interactions with the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as its regional consultations, which include meetings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 2 June 2014, and Jakarta, Indonesia, on 10-12 June 2014. [IISD RS Sources] [ICESDF Webpage]