Speaking at the opening segment of the event launched by the President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, “Accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in middle-income countries, emphasizing the environmental dimension”, Mr. Hilale. , in this context, indicated climate action, disaster risk reduction, the fight against biodiversity loss, prevention of desertification, land degradation and drought, promotion of sustainable agriculture, as well as protection, restoration and sustainable use of ecosystems. The heart of the group’s priorities.
He noted that many MICs have made progress in implementing commitments made under the Paris Climate Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Sendai Framework and other international multilateral agreements on the environment. There is no way to translate all these promises into reality. Mr. Hilale stressed in this regard that global and ambitious measures aimed at mitigation, adaptation, reduction, prevention and management of disaster risks must be clearly defined and supported through concessional and non-concessional financing.
Highlighting the “vital” role of middle-income countries in global biodiversity conservation, the ambassador said “correct and predictable” financial and technical support from all sources is critical to protecting nature and complementing national efforts to achieve sustainable consumption and achievement. Production methods.
He noted that building the capacity of middle-income countries means greater opportunities for building the capacity of all developing countries through South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives.
Due to the limitations of the GDP scale, the majority of MICs are excluded from many forms of support in all dimensions of sustainable development, including environment-related aspects, Mr. Hilale further pointed out. This has had a negative impact on access to climate and biodiversity finance, fundraising for mitigation and adaptation and other avenues of international development cooperation, he said.
“Given the increasing debt burden due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises, it is also important to consider innovative financing mechanisms that can expand the financial space of middle-income countries to implement their global environmental obligations,” he said. was added.
According to the ambassador, it is time to intensify the use of credit transfers for nature and climate at the global level by mobilizing international financial institutions and multilateral development banks, so that developing countries can mobilize effective financing channels to invest in their sustainable development.
Finally, Mr. Hilale stressed that the specific needs and priorities of middle-income countries should not be left out, stressing that through “concrete and achievable” solutions, these countries will succeed in increasing their economic growth and respond better to external shocks and crises. .
Morocco’s chairmanship of the Group of Friends of the BRI is further recognition of the important role played by the Kingdom in promoting and protecting the priorities of emerging and developing countries within the United Nations. multilateral.
Middle-income countries are the broadest category of United Nations member states and rank 110th out of 193 members of the international organization.
