Global Development Initiative Supported by China Emphasizes Inclusive Growth
A High-level meeting on Global Development Initiative (GDI) cooperation outcomes was hosted by the Government of China on 19 September, during the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly.
In the past two years, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng noted, the countries that have endorsed the GDI, “cast the Yes vote” for development, expanded the “circle of friends” for cooperation, enriched the “resource pool” for development, and built a “toolkit” for joint development.
Addressing the meeting, UNOSSC Director Dima Al-Khatib emphasized that the “relevance of the Global Development Initiative to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and South-South and triangular cooperation cannot be overstated.”
“GDI provides strong stimulus and, more importantly, a platform to reinvigorate global development partnerships and promote stronger, greener, and healthier development, aligning perfectly with our shared aspiration and commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dima Al-Khatib. “China’s unwavering support to South-South and triangular cooperation and their success in eradicating extreme poverty serves as an inspiration and valuable example for the whole developing world.”
Hosted by Government of China, in partnership with UNOSSC, a Seminar on South-South Cooperation in Cross-border E-commerce for Poverty Eradication and Global Sustainable Development were organized online and in person respectively in 2022 and 2023.
- The first segment of the seminar took place online in March 2022, with 1100 participants from more than 90 countries and territories, with nearly equal gender participation.
- As a follow-up to the online Seminar, in July 2023, an two-week in-person Seminar program was organized in China. Policymakers and practitioners from 14 developing countries attended the program in China.
The GDI of the Government of China aims to support the timely achievement of all 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by revitalizing global development partnership, and promoting stronger, greener and healthier global development.
As of October 2022, more than 100 countries and international organizations have expressed their support to the GDI, and close to 70 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI at the UN.
An Interagency Task Force established for the GDI aims to:
- Provide technical and analytical support for GDI cooperation, including promoting policy dialogues, sharing best practices and undertaking on-the-ground operational activities;
- Focus on issues, including but not limited to: poverty alleviation, food security, public health, development financing, climate change, digital economy and industrialization;
- Generate initial ideas and findings of inter-linkages between different priority areas of the SDGs and the GDI and identify various clusters of cooperation entry points between UNDS and Group of Friends as enablers for accelerating the achievement of the 2030 Agenda; and
- Identify possible gaps and opportunities in advancing the 2030 Agenda by tapping into the GDI through such a process and advise the Group of Friends for their future collaboration with the UN.