16 September 2019: The chair of the UNGA’s economic and financial committee has briefed delegates on plans for the 74th session. He emphasized the need to discuss new economic models, pursue innovative economic thinking, and provide guidance as governments implement the 2030 Agenda.

The Chair of the UNGA’s Second Committee for the 74th session is Cheikh Niang, Permanent Representative of Senegal. Saying the Committee will be guided by the 2030 Agenda, Niang announced that the session’s theme will be: ‘Inclusive societies based on new economic models and sustainable use of natural resources.’ He noted his interest in focusing on innovation and “new thinking” on economic issues, and he said the Committee’s deliberations could “provide crucial guidance and inspire focused action” as Member States pursue implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The provisional programme of work and timetable for the session are available at the Committee webpage. Per the documents, the Committee will begin its substantive work on 7 October 2019. The two keynote addresses that will open the session are expected to highlight, respectively, the double bind of income poverty and time poverty, and emerging economic models and economic transformation. The Committee then will conduct a general debate before taking up its 12 agenda items for the session. A joint meeting will be convened with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on “ecosystem approaches for shifting the world onto a sustainable pathway.”

Niang outlined the items on the Committee’s agenda, as well as special events, milestones and topics that discussions are expected to address. These include:

• On small island developing States (SIDS), the monitoring and review framework for the SAMOA Pathway, which will be discussed at a high-level meeting of the UNGA on 27 September 2019;
• On climate, ways to build on the Climate Action Summit taking place on 23 September 2019;
• On landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), accounting for the upcoming midterm review of the Vienna Programme of Action in December 2019;
• On biological diversity, dealing with the SDG and Aichi targets that have a 2020 deadline;
• Plans to commemorate the UN’s 75th anniversary in 2020;
• On the least developed countries (LDCs), giving early guidance to the Fifth LDC Conference in 2021; and
• On UN system operational activities, following up on the funding compact, and giving guidance for the next QCPR, including on regional and multi-country office reviews.

The briefing took place on 16 September 2019, in New York, US. Niang introduced the members of the Committee’s bureau for the session, and the UN Secretariat provided information on updates to the e-Delegate portal. [SDG Knowledge Hub Sources]