I am pleased to participate in the High-Level Political Forum this year and thank you for the invitation to this important debate.

Investing in the Sustainable Development Goals is among the most important issues we are facing in the recovery from COVID-19. How can we incentivise the right investments in the right regions for the right goals?

Over the past year, the EU in a Team Europe approach has mobilised more than EUR 40 billion to address the consequences of COVID-19 across the world.

But we must go beyond this, as COVID-19 has magnified the financing needs to meet our global commitments.

We therefore also fully support the measures to address debt and liquidity challenges through the G20 and the IMF. We welcome the engagement of the private sector and non-Paris Club creditors.

Moreover, public funds have a crucial role to play in catalysing private capital and directing it to emerging economies and developing markets.

A major part of the new EU international cooperation instrument, NDICI-Global Europe, is designed to leverage up to ten times the financial volume in public loans and private investment. We aim to facilitate investment in partner countries that would otherwise not happen.

We are working with partner governments to develop sustainable and comprehensive financing strategies. I am pleased that work on Integrated National Financing Frameworks is underway in over 70 countries.

Resources need to be channelled to the right investment opportunities. Financial instruments linked to sustainability can help significantly in mobilising private finance in support of the SDGs. But domestic reforms and mobilisation of domestic resources is also crucial.

Clearly we need to do much more collectively, particularly in channelling private sector resources to countries with under-investment. I count on the High Level Political Forum to also drive the change in the approach.