blended finance

Sustainable and resilient transport and trade facilitation in times of pandemic and beyond: Key challenges and opportunities

Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation [Ninth session]

Sustainable and resilient transport and trade facilitation in times of pandemic and beyond: Key challenges and opportunities

Geneva, 12–14 July 2022

The ninth session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation will be held from 12 to 14 July 2022 in room XVIII of the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The session will commence at 10 am on Tuesday, 12 July 2022.

Background and purpose of the meeting

The disruption from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and uncertainty about a lasting recovery are stark reminders of how unprepared transport and logistics are in the face of disruptions. Pandemic-induced shifts in supply, consumption and demand patterns, the rise in logistical bottlenecks, port congestion and delays, the surge in shipping rates and costs, and deterioration in service reliability have all become a constant feature of the current transport and logistics landscape.

The short-term outlook remains one of continued disruption amid emerging virus variants and new waves of infections, as well as a riskier geopolitical landscape. Several trends are making a rapid return to “normal” more challenging, while at the same time generating opportunities for transport and logistics, including trade facilitation. Transport and logistics are facing multiple imperatives spanning digitalization, climate change mitigation and adaptation, transition to low carbon fuels, environmental sustainability, and energy and food security. Addressing the challenges, balancing competing priorities and seizing opportunities call for adequate policies and strategies that prioritize the future proofing of transport and logistics.

The ninth session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the key issues at stake and provide recommendations on the best way forward, identify priority action areas, in particular for the most vulnerable group of countries, among these the least developed countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, and define the role of relevant stakeholders, including from industry, Government, the public and private sectors and development partners and financial institutions.

Nomination and participation

Online registration is mandatory. To register, please use the following link: Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation. Nominations and communications concerning representation should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat, Intergovernmental Outreach and Support Service, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10; emails: meetings@unctad.org and trade.logistics@unctad.org.

Member States of UNCTAD are requested to nominate experts in the relevant fields by 30 June 2022. Experts, who will participate in the meeting in their personal capacities, are expected to have proven expertise in the subject areas and may be selected from governmental and non-governmental organizations, the private sector or academia. Specialized agencies and intergovernmental bodies that wish to participate in the meeting, as well as non-governmental organizations in the general category and those in the special category that wish to participate as observers, are requested to register by the same date.

Further information and contact details

All enquiries concerning substantive issues should be addressed to the coordinators in the substantive division, Mr. Jan Hoffmann and Ms. Wendy Juan; tel: 41 22 917 2032; fax: 41 22 917 0050; email: trade.logistics@UNCTAD.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org.

Enhancing MDBs as Catalyzers of Private Finance

2022 FfD Forum side event: Enhancing MDBs as catalyzers of private finance

Wednesday, 27 April, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm (EDT)

This event is being held as part of the programme for the SDG Investment Fair. For registration, please visit this link.

For more information about the Fair, visit https://www.un.org/development/desa/financing/events/april-2022-sdg-investment-fair.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

Understanding the Impact of SDG Investments by Refining Sustainability Reporting

2022 Financing for Development Forum side event: Understanding the impact of SDG investments by refining sustainability reporting

Thursday, 28 April, 8 am to 9 am (EST)

This event is being held as part of the programme for the SDG Investment Fair. For registration, please visit this link.

For more information about the Fair, visit un.org/development/desa/financing/events/april-2022-sdg-investment-fair.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. 

NGO Committee on Financing for Development monthly meeting

Dear NGO Committee on FfD members & interested NGO colleagues,

The next  NGO Committee on Financing for Development meeting will take place by Zoom on December 8 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm EST.  The agenda and minutes of the meeting are posted to the meeting folder, which can be accessed here. Additional documents will be posted over the weekend. Kindly review the documents before the meeting. 
The Zoom invitation is included below. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Financing for Development is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com.

The global debt crisis and the role of private creditors

Sharing responsibilities as well as benefits? The global debt crisis and the role of private creditors

The results of the G20 initiatives to relieve the debt of the Global South, which has been hard hit economically by the pandemic, are sobering. Many eligible countries are reluctant to enter into negotiations. They fear that debt relief will cut off their long-term access to private capital markets and cause them to lose the confidence of private investors. These concerns have been reinforced by creditors, especially from the private sector. And the G20? Despite its commitment to private sector participation in the Common Framework for Debt Treatments, it has so far not found the political will to make such participation mandatory. However, this would be a key step to shield debtor countries from uncooperative creditors and achieve substantial debt relief.

In the run-up to the joint meeting of G20 health and finance ministers this October we have invited international experts from academia, government, and financial institutions to discuss the following questions among others:

  • Is there empirical evidence that debt relief excludes countries from much-needed development finance?
  • On what grounds could the participation from the private sector in official debt relief initiatives, comparable to other creditors, be expected?
  • In what ways can the G20 compel private sector participation and equal burden-sharing?

Further event details will be forthcoming, but please stay apprised of updates here: https://ny.fes.de/

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-New York, please visit ngocsd-ny.org.

Public dialogue on the progress of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development

Dear colleagues,

You are cordially invited to an informal public dialogue on the progress of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF on FFD), in preparation for the 2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report. The public dialogue will be held on the 21st of October (Thursday), 9:00 – 10:30 EDT, virtually via MS Teams.

Representatives from the Secretariat, the five major institutional stakeholders (World Bank Group, IMF, WTO, UNCTAD and UNDP), and other Task Force members will brief Member States and external stakeholders on their work. A short presentation will be followed by an interactive discussion to solicit feedback and input. We welcome the participation of all delegations and all stakeholders in this briefing and look forward to your contributions to the dialogue.

If you are interested in attending the briefing, please click here to register and you will receive a specific calendar invitation for the event.

Background information on the briefing is available on the Task Force website. For further information please contact Mr. Peter Chowla (chowla@un.org), Ms. Poh Lynn Ng (ng6@un.org), and Ms. Jie Wei (weij@un.org).

Kind regards,

Navid Hanif

Director, Financing for Sustainable Development Office, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com.

Financing a sustainable recovery: the role of debt-relief instruments

Dear Colleagues,

Please join us for an HLPF Side Event on “Financing a sustainable recovery: The role of debt-relief instruments.”

This virtual side event, which is part of the Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond Initiative, is jointly organized by UN DESA and UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN ESCWA), with participation of UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC) and UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the IMF.

The event brings together UN and other international experts to present and explore efforts to develop instruments for debt relief and restore fiscal space, for countries’ COVID response, climate action and the SDGs. The session aims to strengthen international and regional discourse on debt relief, especially in relation to climate change and the upcoming COP26.

The side event will take place on Thursday, 15 July 2021 (7:30 am – 9:00 am, New York/EDT) on WebEx.

Click here to register for the event and for more information, including the full concept note.

We welcome the participation of all stakeholders. You are most welcome to share this invitation with your networks.

Kind regards,

Navid Hanif

Director, Financing for Sustainable Development Office
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. 

Financing Global Climate Action and Promoting Digital Solutions

Financing Global Climate Action and Promoting Digital Solutions

Session 4 of the UN DESA Global Policy Dialogues for Climate Action

  • How has the COVID-19 crisis put climate finance at risk? 
  • What are examples of good projects that are leading the path to jumpstart more investment in climate mitigation and adaptation efforts?
  • What are some of the innovative applications of digital technology for mitigating the climate crisis?

Join UN DESA, finance experts, policymakers, and climate and sustainable development practitioners for a discussion of the best approaches for ensuring that climate financing measures are included in rebuilding efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that such efforts are inclusive and help the most vulnerable. Additionally, experts will discuss emerging digital solutions to the climate crisis, including ideas related to the Internet of Things, for climate adaptation and mitigation and ways to scale them up.

Register here by 29 June 2021: bit.ly/climate30june

More information: bit.ly/DESAdialogues

The event is free and open to all, and will be streamed live on UN DESA’s Facebook page. It will be held in English with captions available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The event is made possible by the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund. All are welcome!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org.

[Virtual HLPF Side Event] Overcoming systemic challenges to address hunger, unemployment and healthcare

Overcoming systemic vulnerabilities and financing challenges for a fairer and sustainable future- intentional collaborative actions to address hunger, unemployment and healthcare in the context of COVID-19

A virtual conversation organized by the NGO Committee on Financing for Development-NY

Panel discussion: 8:00 – 9:00 am New York Time
Breakout session: 9:00 – 9:30 am

Register by July 12: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUuf-ihrjkvHdblKZvD5FxOqkbpFnnjd1U_

According to recent figures from the World Food Program (WFP), lives and livelihoods of 265 million people in low and middle-income countries will be under severe threat as a result of corona virus pandemic. This is nearly double the 135 million people in 55 countries that the Global Report on Food Crises 2020 has estimated as facing acute hunger as a result of conflict, the impact of climate change and economic crisis prior to the onset of COVID-19. ILO estimates that as many as 25 million people could become unemployed, with a loss of workers’ income of as much as USD 3.4 trillion due to COVID19 globally. The evidence from the drastic effects of the pandemic clearly speaks to a broken system , social safety nets, health care, and social protection systems, that are either severely lacking or completely missing and that will continue to amplify poverty and income, wealth, health, gender, trade, debt and market inequalities in many of the developing and least developed countries.

As Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared, “The best defense against disease outbreaks and other health threats is preparedness, which includes investing in building strong health systems and primary health care. […] If we don’t invest in both, we will face not just health consequences but the social, economic, and political fallout that we’re already experiencing in this pandemic.” Now is the time to reevaluate, invest where it is needed the most, and fix these broken systems, because if we do not nobody else will.

The panel will explore financing challenges in the aftermath of COVID -19 and strategize on how best to build effective collaboration and partnerships between, pubic private and civil society organizations to address hunger, unemployment and healthcare. Panelists will share specific challenges faced by migrants, women, workers in the informal and agricultural sectors, and micro small and medium enterprises as they strive to revive their livelihood and economy. We will hear voices from the communities most impacted by the lock downs and fall-out from COVID-19. Panelists will also share positive impacts of measures they have taken to address the challenges and propose further action to reevaluate, reinvest and rebuild.

Moderator:

Anita Thomas, Chair, NGO Committee on Financing for Development

Speakers:
Harsh Mander, Director, Center for Equity Studies, India
Ziada Nabembezi Zalwango, Co-Founder and Programs Director at ZACHEDO, Uganda
UN Member State Representative (TBC)
Representative from ILO (TBC)
Representatives from Sub-national Government / Planning Forum, Kerala, India (TBC)

Cosponsoring organizations:

Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund (DBA Women First International Fund), Salesian Missions Inc., New Humanity Focolare Movement, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Financing for Development is a substantive committee of the Conference of
NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. To learn more about the work of the Committee, visit ngosonffd.org.

[Virtual Monthly Meeting] NGO Committee on Financing for Development – NY

Dear Committee Members,
 
The next  NGO Committee on Financing for Development meeting will take place by Zoom  on July 1 from 1:00- 3:45 pm.  I am thrilled to share that Dr. Lester Salamon, Director of the Center for Civil Society Studies, Johns Hopkins University will be joining us from 2:00 – 2:45 pm to speak on “Philanthropication” a people-centered approach to development financing. We have extended our normal meeting time by 15 minutes as Dr. Salamon has requested a bit more time for his presentation.  
 
Dr. Salamon is a world renowned expert on civil society organizations and pioneered the empirical study of the nonprofit sector in the United States and has extended this work to other parts of the world. He has published more than 20 books including  Philanthropication thru Privatization: Building Permanent Endowments for the Common Good (il Mulino Press) where he investigates a way to capture all or a portion of the enormous privatization transactions under way around the world for autonomous charitable endowments serving the social and economic needs of citizens. Please review the background documents uploaded to the shared folder and do come prepared with questions and to engage in the conversation. 
 
Please also invite any of your colleagues who might have an interest in this topic. 
 
The Zoom invitation is included below. Please note that you will need to register to access the meeting. 
 

When: Jul 1, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkceCtrTIiHNI2NNN9Z93U445N5Ad6iSTB

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 
All documents (listed below) for the meeting, including background materials for Dr. Salamon’s presentation are being uploaded to the July1 2020 Google folder . You can access the link here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pOpDnKlwA6O0TiTcV6wdh9MwXx9rQcq6?usp=sharing
1. Meeting material
  • Agenda for the July 1 meeting
  • Minutes of the June 3meeting” 
  • Annual report and financial report
  • Project description 
2.COVID-19 (& FfD related) reading materials
 
3. Upcoming events and other updates (please email me information on any upcoming events to be posted )
 
Best,
 
Anita Thomas 
Chair, NGO Committee on Financing for Development,
A Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CoNGO) 
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