Nearly 600 mln USD of investments pitched to accelerate progress toward SDGs: UN

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Colombia, Eswatini and Malawi on Thursday pitched nearly 600 million U.S. dollars' worth of high-impact, investment-ready projects in sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture and digital connectivity at the 7th edition of the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Investment Fair.

Representatives from governments and the private sector gathered at the UN headquarters in New York for the Dec. 1-2 event to encourage investments in the SDGs.

Founded in 2018, the fair has become a leading platform for SDG investment, presenting over 10 billion dollars' worth of projects in infrastructure, green energy and agribusiness. The SDG investment destinations span 20 countries across all regions.

Building on global efforts to boost climate financing at the UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt, the fair also features an event to promote clean energy investments in Colombia. These will make a significant contribution to the country's transition to renewable energy, while improving social conditions in La Guajira and other regions of the country, according to a press release of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Scaling up private investment is crucial to achieve the SDGs. Despite a rebound of foreign direct investment in 2021, private investment in infrastructure in developing countries remains low relative to historical averages, whereas the least developing countries have the lowest rates of investment in sustainable development and that remains a key challenge. The fair is the platform to address it, the release said.

"Private investment flows into relevant SDG sectors are still largely failing to reach the ground in developing countries that need it the most," said Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development Navid Hanif. "We have put a strong focus on this edition of the fair on how to mobilize private investment in least developed countries."

Against this backdrop, the fair convened a policy discussion to explore unique challenges and success stories of the least developed countries in attracting private capital for sustainable infrastructure, leading up to the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) next year.

"The SDG Investment Fair ... has helped the Kenyan Government to showcase priority investment opportunities in Kenya across multiple sectors to a global audience of investors, financiers and technical experts," said Stephen Jackson, UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya, one of the panelists joining the fair.

Hosted by the Financing for Sustainable Development Office of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the SDG Investment Fair facilitates a range of activities in New York City, as well as capacity building at the national level to enhance the investment readiness and bankability of projects and SDG financing vehicles in participating countries.