Pakistan stands firm on SDG commitment, urges global financial overhaul

NEW YORK: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting ongoing efforts to bolster financial security and expand educational access.

Speaking at the UN’s High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) Ministerial Segment in New York, Ishaq Dar said that with only five years until 2030, just 35% of SDGs are on track due to setbacks from the pandemic, food, fuel, and finance crises, and worsening climate impacts, which have undone development progress and widened inequalities.

He underscored Pakistan’s initiatives, including the Benazir Income Support Programme, Digital Youth Hub, and a push for 60% renewable energy by 2030, while urging swift global financial reforms to provide developing nations with concessional funding, debt relief, and climate finance, emphasizing the need to act on the Compromiso de Seville roadmap immediately.

“Despite these challenges, Pakistan remains fully committed to achieving the 2030 Agenda. Our national development strategies, such as Uraan Pakistan (Take-Off Pakistan), are aligned with the SDGs,” he noted.

“Our social protection initiatives, including the Benazir Income Support Programme and Benazir Nashonuma (Child Growth Programs), are designed to ensure no-one is left behind.”

Ishaq Dar said that to harness the potential of our youth, we have launched the Digital Youth Hub and are expanding access to quality education through Danish Schools and new university campuses,” he added.

“We are scaling up climate action, targeting 60% renewable energy by 2030, and enhancing resilience through initiatives such as Recharge Pakistan and the Living Indus. Our revised nationally determined contribution is nearing finalization,” he told.

Ishaq Dar said, “We have also undertaken key macroeconomic reforms to stabilize our fiscal outlook and make the investment climate even more attractive. The Special Investment Facilitation Council is channelling direct foreign investment in priority sectors.”

“While national efforts are essential, these cannot succeed in isolation,” he said and called for deep reform of the international financial architecture, critical for implementing the SDGs.

He urged that developing countries needed scaled up access to concessional and grant-based resources, meaningful debt relief, and scaled-up climate finance in order to bridge the SDG Financing Gap.

“The Compromiso de Seville, adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, offers a clear roadmap. Its implementation must begin without delay,” he stressed.

The deputy prime minister said, “As we commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations, the Secretary General’s UN80 initiative offers an opportunity for a critical re-think to strengthen the three pillars of the United Nations and renew our commitment towards timely achievement of the SDGs.”