Intervento della Vice Ministra degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, Marina Sereni, al Dibattito Generale del del “2022 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development.” —
Distinguished Representative, Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to join you today in this important “Financing for Development” Forum.
Let me start by emphasizing that the war in Ukraine is not only putting lives at risk but also creating major disruptions to livelihoods, economies, food security and health worldwide. Its consequences will add to the ones deriving from the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change – and will be felt in particular by developing Countries.
Italy is fully committed to peace as well as to continued engagement towards the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda.
On global health, Italy has contributed so far 385 million euro to the Covax Facility and has donated over 50 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. This is not enough: indeed, we are working on “last mile” initiatives to increase absorption capacities on the ground and strengthen health systems.
On economy, as G20 Presidency, Italy has been one of the main sponsors of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) that contributed to relieving the impact of the pandemic in beneficiary Countries. In 2021, we also supported an unprecedented general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of 100 billion $ by the International Monetary Fund to help Countries most in need to cope with the pandemic. Our efforts should now focus on the implementation of the Common Framework at Country level [Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia have applied so far] so as to provide sustainable solutions to address debt challenges.
On climate, we are now at a crossroads. Industrialized Countries must deliver on our climate finance commitments, focusing on adaptation. Let us intensify our collective efforts and involve non-State actors and the International Financial Institutions, in the run up to CoP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh.
In order to deliver on the USD 100bln climate finance goal, Italy pledged USD 1.4 bln yearly for the next five years, including the creation of a dedicated Italian Fund for Climate, with about USD 1 bln yearly for five years.
Last, cities and local governments must continue to lead the transformative potential of SDGs. During the G20 Presidency, Italy prioritized the intermediary Cities and localization of the SDGs. We are grateful that Indonesia is bringing forward that discussion.
Italy commends UN-Habitat for its tireless work and welcomes the Local 2030 Coalition as valuable Platform of the United Nations for knowledge sharing and partnerships.
Let me conclude by mentioning Italy’s candidature for hosting Expo 2030 in Rome, with the main theme “People and Territories: urban regeneration, inclusion and innovation”. The vision is to “regenerate” territories where we live in, by promoting green and digital transformation.
Thank you for your attention.
