The co-facilitators of the negotiations on the Ministerial Declaration of the high-level segment of the 2025 session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) have circulated a “zero draft” Ministerial Declaration. They have also made available an indicative timeline for the negotiations.

In a letter dated 31 March 2026, Permanent Representative of Albania Suela Janina and Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone Michael Imran Kanu state that the zero draft is based on the interventions made during the first informal consultation on 10 March and written inputs.

The seven-page document highlights the current trends, successes, challenges, and their impacts on accelerating the implementation of the SDGs and outlines priority actions for advancing transformative, equitable, innovative, and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs for a sustainable future for all. It also contains elements pertaining to voluntary national reviews (VNRs) and to the Goals undergoing in-depth review this year – SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals).

In July, 36 countries will present VNRs of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the national level. These are Albania, Algeria, Bahrain, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt, Estonia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kiribati, Liberia, Malawi, the Marshall Islands, Mozambique, Norway, Moldova, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Switzerland, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Tanzania, and Uruguay.

According to the co-facilitators’ indicative timeline, the second informal consultation will be held on 17 April, to hear views from delegations and invite written comments on the zero draft Ministerial Declaration. The third and fourth informal consultations (both closed) will convene from 11-12 May and from 21-22 May, respectively. If needed, a closed fifth consultation will be held from 15-16 June. The co-facilitators plan to place the draft Ministerial Declaration under the silence procedure before the end of June.

Held on the theme, ‘Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for a sustainable future for all,’ HLPF 2026 will take place from 7-15 July, convening from 7-10 July under the auspices of the ECOSOC, followed by a three-day ministerial segment of the HLPF, from 13-15 July. [HLPF 2026 Outcomes]