Bangkok--28 Jul--UN
Senior ministers and representatives from theprivate sector and civil society in Asia and the Pacific affirmed theimportance of enhancing innovative financing sources, modalities andpriorities for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development in the region, on the sidelines the High-Level Political Forumon Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York on Monday.
Moderating the high-level panel on 'Financing for Development to Ensure NoOne is Left Behind,' United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ExecutiveSecretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia andthe Pacific (ESCAP), Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, highlighted that domesticresource mobilization is key to implementing the 2030 Agenda but that lowtax-to-GDP ratios, low capitalization of markets and inadequate financialinclusion are critical challenges for the region.
"Sustainable financing requires all countries to strengthen their publicfinancial management by tapping all public funding sources and reorientingexpenditure to leave no one behind," underlined Dr. Akhtar during the paneldiscussion organized by ESCAP in partnership with the Republic of Korea.
"To achieve this, structural weaknesses in tax policy and low taxcollection rates, especially in Asia-Pacific developing countries must beaddressed," she said.
Dr. Akhtar also stressed that financial inclusion is required to supportimplementation of the 2030 Agenda, and that this will require a strongpolitical commitment to provide banking services to the more than 2 billionadults currently without access around the world.
Mr. Oh Joon, Ambassador and the Permanent Representative of the Republic ofKorea to the United Nations underlined that the Asia-Pacific region "canenhance its domestic resource mobilization by realizing its tax potential,nurturing the private sector and encouraging the development of STI."
"The region has donors as well as middle-income and least developedcountries, making it suitable for south-south and triangular cooperation,"said Mr. Joon. "The growing private sector of the region can also be
tapped into for sustainable development," he added.
Featuring panelists from Australia, Sri Lanka, Georgia, the Philippines,Viet Nam and Vanuatu, the side event provided another important opportunityfor the senior ministers in the region to further strengthen momentum andto scale up consolidated efforts for recalibrating the regional financialarchitecture to
lay down a solid foundation for supporting implementationof the Sustainable Development Goals.