11 July 2017: The Governments of Bangladesh and Canada, under the auspices of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, hosted a side event during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) during which speakers discussed the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships for development.

Michael O’Neill, Assistant Secretary General and Director, UNDP Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy, moderated the event. Kazi Shofiqul Azam, Permanent Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh, noted that the Global Partnership supports best practices and emphasized that partnerships involving all stakeholders at the country level are essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda.

Monowar Ahmed, Additional Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh, discussed the experience of the Bangladesh Partnership Forum, which convenes annually. He also noted that the landscape of development financing is evolving at the international and national levels, and is no longer dependent on traditional financing partners. He said new funding partners from the South, the private sector, and civil society organizations are now contributing as well.

Ambassador Michael Grant, Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the UN, pointed out that his country had recently become part of the steering committee for the Global Partnership and stressed that Canada supports inclusive, multi-stakeholder approaches. He highlighted Canada’s recently announced feminist international assistance policy, which seeks to promote gender equality and help empower all women and girls, and noted that it is anchored in the 2030 Agenda. He also summarized Canada’s work co-chairing groups with Jamaica on SDG finance and with Mexico on effectiveness in triangular cooperation.

Tara Nathan, Executive Vice President of Public-Private Partnerships at MasterCard, said that MasterCard is in the “secure payment space,” and works on projects that allow digital infrastructure to enable commerce. She reviewed ways in which secure payment options have the ability to impact global objectives, and stressed the need to embrace the profit motive and find ways for the private sector to make money while implementing the SDGs.

Joshua Mugodo, Director, Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Kenya, said resource mobilization is important for Kenya, including domestic resource mobilization, and stressed that his country is committed to playing a lead role in the implementation of the Nairobi outcome document. The Nairobi outcome document resulted from the second High-Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, which convened from 28 November to 1 December 2016, in Nairobi, Kenya. It contains sections on opportunities and challenges, shared purpose, and mandate and working arrangements.

Patricia Blankson Akakpo, Programme Manager NETRIGHT Ghana and Co-Chair of the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness, discussed the Ecuadorian experience with forming multi-stakeholder partnerships, and noted the importance of “sufficiency” of information for citizens. She said multi-stakeholder strategies should be made permanent, promote the integration of human rights and the involvement of citizens, and emphasize “primary stakeholders.” She also noted the need to foster accountability within partnerships. [Event Webpage] [Nairobi Outcome Document] [IISD Sources]