Senior UN official commends China's proactive role in fostering development cooperation

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- UN Undersecretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin on Thursday commended China's proactive role in fostering development cooperation by launching the Group of Friends of Global Development Initiative (GDI).

The world is at a critical moment in its pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The COVID-19 pandemic threatens decades of hard work toward the eradication of poverty. It has pushed children out of school, with the potential to weaken critical avenues of social mobility. It has increased hunger, and set back gender equality, said Liu at the launch meeting of the group.

According to the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2022 report, the global economic recovery is facing significant headwinds, including new waves of COVID infections, persistent labor market challenges, lingering supply chain disruptions, and rising inflationary pressures, he said.

"Facing these crises, the message is clear. It is time for action at scale. It is time for collaboration and effective multilateral cooperation. It is time for innovation and transformative change," he said. "Together, we need to urgently raise the political ambition on global development partnerships, in order to accelerate progress."

"In this connection, we welcome China's proactive role in fostering development cooperation, mobilizing resources for the SDGs, and creating general awareness of the most urgent actions in key priority areas. We appreciate China's leadership in establishing a Group of Friends of GDI, which can contribute significantly to engaging a diverse array of stakeholders," said Liu.

He expressed the hope that the GDI will help enhance international development cooperation, especially in support of the least developed countries and other developing countries.

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs stands ready to continue its support for this initiative and its Group of Friends, he said.