Haoliang Xu, Assistant Secretary General of UNDP

Most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are not on track, said a senior official of the UN Development Programme here on Wednesday. Speaking to The Hindu in an exclusive interview Haoliang Xu, Assistant Secretary General of UNDP, who represented the organisation at the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting in Varanasi said access to concrete measures like finance and technology should be at the centre of the debate about the Global South and that at least 52 countries are facing “debt distress” that is forcing them to prioritise debt servicing over investing in human development goals.

“The SDGs are not in a good shape. Only 12% of the SDG’s targets are on track. There is a common recognition that SDGs constitute a universal agenda. But for the developing countries the main concern is finance and technology,” said Haoliang Xu.

Presenting the ‘Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report’ in April, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres had painted an alarming picture of the SDGs and said, “Progress on 50% is weak and insufficient. Worst of all, we have stalled or gone into reverse on more than 30% of the SDGs. Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been”.

Significantly, Haoliang Xu’s remarks came days after India highlighted the SDGs in the Development Ministers Meeting in Varanasi.

In his remarks at the Development Ministers’ Meeting (DMM) in Varanasi during June 11-13, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar pointed out that the SDGs that were already lagging behind have been further impacted by the pandemic. 

At the DMM Varanasi, Mr. Jaishankar placed forward an ambitious 7-year action plan for accelerating progress on the SDGs. He had described the SDGs as part of the “integrated and inclusive road-map for G20 actions”. He reiterated India’s commitment to the SDGs once again on Wednesday at the 18th CII Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The Indian plan for the SDGs includes fostering ‘Data for Development and Digital Public Infrastructure’, investing in women-led development, and securing globally just transitions to “accelerate progress across all the SDGs”.

Xu appreciated the Indian position and said, the main concern for the Global South should be “concrete actions” like accessing technology and finance.  

He presented a compelling portrait of the development concerns of the vulnerable parts of the world and said, “There are multiple crises at the same time in the world today. The world is dealing with nearly 30 active conflicts that have triggered problems in health, fertilizer, agriculture, energy”.

Another debilitating problem he highlighted is that a large number of developing countries are being forced to spend more on servicing debt as that is now a pressing challenge and said, “Nearly 52 countries are in debt distress or are close to debt distress”.  

Xu said there are debates over the scope of terms like “Global South” and “Global North” but “there is a consensus that developing countries need a lot of support”. “We need international solidarity and developing countries require concessional loans and debt relief,” said Xu.

The developed countries or the G7 bloc in the G20 should do more in supporting developmental requirements of the least developed countries said Xu who also noted that there are internal issues like “social protection, humanitarian support and the fallout of the Ukraine crisis” that they have to deal with while also supporting developmental requirements of the world.

He acknowledged the discussion on SDGs held in Varanasi will help subsequent discussions that are expected to take place in the SDG Summit scheduled during September 18-19 in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

“The next stop of the bus of development is the June Summit for a New Global Financing Pact that is cochaired by France. This is a very important stop towards the G20 and the SDG Summit. Our focus is on SDGs and also SDG stimulus that helps in creating fiscal space for developing countries to be able to achieve the SDGs and every meet is helping create a good outcome from the G20 summit that should also help the SDG summit,” Haoliang Xu said.