Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Lok Bahadur Thapa, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), emphasized that sustainable development cannot be achieved by any country alone and requires political will and momentum. He addressed the ministerial segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), convened by ECOSOC to assess progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .
The HLPF will conclude with a negotiated declaration involving government ministers and heads of State, outlining concrete actions to advance the 17 SDGs. These include commitments to increase investment in SDGs and develop international rules for transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence. Additionally, 36 countries will present Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) sharing their progress and best practices .
The annual UN SDG Progress Report, published alongside the HLPF launch, shows that only 36 percent of SDG indicators with trend data are on track or showing moderate progress. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, ECOSOC President Thapa, and General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock acknowledged these challenges but also identified successful approaches to sustainable development. Financing, however, remains the most significant hurdle .
Guterres noted that developing countries face borrowing costs several times higher than wealthier nations and often spend more on debt servicing than national services, restricting their ability to implement the SDGs. He called for reforms to the global financial architecture to elevate the participation and voice of developing countries and improve their access to support .