In a first round of informal consultations, Member States exchanged general views on the main elements of the draft ministerial declaration of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). Guiding these discussions were a set of questions prepared by the co-facilitators in advance of the meeting.

In a letter dated 27 February 2026, Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone Michael Imran Kanu and Permanent Representative of Albania Suela Janina asked Member States to identify:

• The key successes in advancing the SDGs and how these can be scaled up and replicated;
• Emerging challenges and trends that continue to hinder progress towards the SDGs;
• Transformative, equitable, innovative, and coordinated actions to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs over the remaining four years to 2030, including in follow-up to the Pact for the Future, the Sevilla Commitment, and the Doha Political Declaration;
• Priority actions to advance the implementation of the SDGs undergoing in-depth review in 2026, while creating synergies with each other and with other Goals;
• Lessons learned and good practices from the voluntary national reviews (VNRs); and
• Messages and guidance to inform preparations for the 2027 SDG Summit.

Speaking at the first informal consultation on 10 March, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Lok Bahadur Thapa said the declaration must “send a clear and confident signal that multilateralism delivers results…, reaffirm unity of purpose,” foster partnerships, and identify accelerators and obstacles to the achievement of the SDGs.

The EU emphasized the need to “take accelerated, just and transformative actions in the remaining years to 2030 and beyond, to reverse alarming trends, consolidate hard-won gains, [and] rebuild trust and reinvigorate a rules-based multilateral system.” The EU called for building on the political momentum from the Summit for the Future, the Sevilla Commitment, and the World Social Summit, as well as from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the Global Digital Compact, the Third UN Ocean Conference, the 2023 UN Water Conference, and the Second Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4).

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) underscored that the ministerial declaration should prioritize concrete measures to accelerate implementation of the SDGs under review and recognize their interlinkages with other Goals. HLPF 2026 will conduct in-depth reviews of 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).

Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (CANZ) called for the declaration to be “aligned with the spirit of UN80” in being “concise, action-oriented, and realistic within a resource-constrained environment.”

HLPF 2026 will convene from 7-15 July under 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]