President Paul Kagame has called on developing countries to apply more efforts in mobilizing resources and partnerships towards achieving the intended development. He made the remarks on December 12, while addressing the Effective Development Co-operation Summit taking place in Geneva, Switzerland. The three-day summit aims at chartering pathways for a just recovery across sectors and geographies from different global challenges including the pandemic, deepening climate emergencies, and many other economic shocks. The summit brings together global leaders and decision-makers on development cooperation policies and programs, civil society leaders, CEOs of the private sector, and other key actors including multilateral banks, parliamentarians, and academia. Kagame emphasized maintaining the urgency to get back on track for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, “Progress remains slow and in some cases, it is reversing.” This, according to him, requires new ways of doing things, especially in mobilizing resources and partnerships needed, especially among recipient countries. He drew this from reports indicating that the cost of meeting the SDG targets has increased by up to 25 percent. He noted that the focus should be on results and mutual accountability while learning lessons about what works and what doesn’t. “We just can’t be repeating ourselves over and over, stressing very important points and yet not moving forward on them.” The lessons of the pandemic and current global uncertainties are teaching us that everyone, rich and poor, is affected when there is a breakdown in trust, he noted. “Development cooperation that is more inclusive and open to innovative partnerships and that delivers for the people who need it most, is one way to build resilient systems nationally, regionally, and globally.” United Nation’s Deputy Secretary General, Amina J Mohammed, said that old traditional North-South aid models are simply not enough and are an inadequate response to the challenges of today and even bilateral aid alone will not deliver the type of impact at scale that can achieve the SDGs. While developing countries are expected to embark on integrated inclusive multi-stakeholder development processes, she added, “We also know that this is a shifting and fragmented landscape.” “It is time for development partners to rethink the way they work in order to lift the burden of achieving the SDGs by 2030 and enabling an inclusive and fair international system that can withstand shocks and deliver peace and prosperity.”
