20 October 2017: Governments discussed the important role of partnerships in financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during a meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Global Partnerships. Participants also stressed the need for transparent business principles and respect for national priorities.

The meeting took place on 20 October 2017, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, as part of the UNGA’s Second Committee (Economic and Financial).

The UN Global Compact Executive Director underscored the need for making a strategic pivot from “funding” to “financing”, namely from moving from philanthropic resource mobilization to innovative financing and to putting markets to work for sustainable development.

Lise Kingo, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), introduced the Secretary-General’s report titled, ‘Enhanced cooperation between the UN and all relevant partners, in particular the private sector’ (document A/72/310). She noted that, across the UN, partnership approaches are evolving towards deeper and more strategic collaboration, increasingly focusing on innovation, scalability and impact. Kingo underscored the need for a strategic pivot from “funding” to “financing”, namely from moving from philanthropic resource mobilization to innovative financing and to putting markets to work for sustainable development.

The UNGC Executive Director highlighted some of the report’s recommendations for partnerships, including:

• UN entities should be encouraged to embed multi-stakeholder partnerships into their core business models.
• UN entities should build support among governments and the UN’s leadership for increased risk tolerance and integrate performance management criteria of relevant UN staff and management.
• UN entities should be encouraged to offer training and awareness‑building opportunities for all staff on the role of partnerships in advancing the 2030 Agenda.
• Companies who partner with the UN should make a public commitment to UNGC’s Ten Principles.
• Global Compact Local Networks and the UN system at the country level should strengthen collaboration and coordination.
• Resident Coordinators and other UN country team leadership could be formally tasked with outreach and engagement of local networks and the business community to advance national sustainable development priorities.

Maldives, for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), supported by Malaysia, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), said official development assistance (ODA) remains the core mechanism for development funding. She called for improved coherence and coordination among different platforms and groups. AOSIS also highlighted the Small Island Developing States Global Business Network, an online platform for sharing best practices to increase connections between regional private sector organizations and to improve inter-regional business alliances.

China, Morocco and El Salvador, for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), urged developed countries to honor their ODA commitments. CELAC said the international community must also work on methodologies that scale up the degree of development in middle‑income countries (MICs), explaining that they face “substantial” challenges.

Germany, for the EU, said a draft resolution on partnerships intended for the UNGA’s current session should be postponed to the 73rd session to enable further discussion and development. The Republic of Korea recommended the UN improve its partnership capacity and inter‑agency collaboration on partnerships, as well as increase cooperation between existing partnership initiatives.

Qatar favored strengthening cooperation among countries of the South to enhance regional partnerships. Thailand welcomed the UN development system reforms proposed by the UN Secretary‑General and called for enhanced partnerships with regional and subregional organizations, particularly along the commonalities with the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the 2030 Agenda.

Maldives stressed the need for countries to migrate from donor‑driven relationships to partnerships based on mutual respect and understanding and driven by national priorities. She also identified the need for more innovation‑based partnerships that could generate wide‑ranging co‑benefits by propeling inclusive economic growth. [UN Meeting Summary][Second Committee Website][Second Committee Calendar of Meetings]