The UN Secretariat issued an advance unedited version of the report of the 28th session of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The report (E/2026/33) highlights the Committee’s emphasis on the importance of structural transformation, innovation and technological diffusion, and fiscal and debt sustainability to accelerate sustainable development to 2030 and beyond.

Addressing the next steps in global development under unprecedented challenges to the multilateral system, CDP called for a three-pronged approach to advance development, which combines: a renewed effort to forge genuine consensus towards an effective and inclusive multilateral development system; the pursuit of pragmatic solutions to address short- and medium-term challenges, such as through South-South and regional cooperation and coalitions of the willing; and the prominence of national agency, ownership, and capacity.

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The Committee also proposed a set of principles for Member States to consider as they prepare for the 2027 SDG Summit, according to the report. CDP stressed the importance of commitment to the SDGs and recommended that more support and attention be given to South-South mutual learning, experience sharing, and cooperation.

The report summarizes CDP’s review of the current least developed country (LDC) criteria and their application in preparation for its 2027 triennial review of the list of LDCs, as well as its review of the development progress of two recently graduated countries (Bhutan and São Tomé and Príncipe) and six graduating countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Nepal, Senegal, and Solomon Islands.

The report highlights national ownership as key for the development of effective transition strategies, noting that moving from ownership by a single government office to whole-of-government and whole-of-country approaches is often difficult. Macroeconomic instability, political volatility, conflict, climate change, reductions in official development assistance (ODA), and heightened uncertainty in global trade emerged among the challenges affecting most countries, according to the report. “The commitment to graduation has been a common factor for safeguarding progress and developing smooth transition strategies, even though moving from strategy development to effective implementation and monitoring remains difficult for many,” it notes.

CDP’s 28th session convened in New York, US, from 23-27 February 2026. Its report will support deliberations during the 2026 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July. [Committee for Development Policy: Report on the 28th Session] [HLPF 2026]