Multilateral Development Banks led by the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund have hailed the adoption of a sustainable development agenda for the next generation.
The IMF, in an emailed statement, conveyed the institutions’ commitment to stepping up their support to ensure the success of the agenda.
At the United Nations General Assembly in New York two weeks ago, world leaders endorsed new Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious agenda that aims to end poverty, promote prosperity and to protect the environment.
Leaders of the MDBs – the AfDB, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank Group — and the IMF described the agreement as an historic landmark.
“The well-being of our planet and its people are at the heart of the new goals. They point the way towards greater prosperity and equality and will ensure more robust and sustainable economic growth,” the leaders said.
In July this year, at a Financing for Development conference in Addis Ababa, the institutions unveiled plans to scale up their finance and support for countries seeking to achieve the development goals, pledging to increase their financial contribution to more than $400bn over the next three years.
They vowed to examine how they could increase their own financing and also to work to ensure a greater mobilization of domestic resources and expanded funding from the private sector.
The President, AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, was quoted as saying, “The African Development Bank is fully committed to the successful implementation of the SDGs. We will work with our member countries, the private sector, civil society and other partners to deliver on the SDGs for Africa. The SDGs must work -and they must work for Africa.”
The President, ADB, Takehiko Nakao, said they were committed to supporting the 2030 agenda and helping their member countries in achieving these ambitious new goals in Asia and the Pacific.
“We will increase our support for inclusive and sustainable development by up to 50 per cent from 2017 to around $20bn a year. By 2020, ADB will double its climate financing to $6bn a year, about 30 per cent of its overall financing. We will also increase co-financing with other development partners, catalyse private sector investment, and help mobilise greater domestic resources.’’
The President, World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim, said the international community showed wisdom and courage fifteen years ago in adopting the Millennium Declaration, which set out eight ambitious goals to improve the lives of billions and bring the world together in closer cooperation and partnership.
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