For generations, development has been the quiet engine behind global progress: extending life expectancy, defeating diseases, and bringing millions more girls into the classroom. Yet the systems that once sustained human development are buckling under the weight of new realities. In 2024, global military spending reached a record high of US$2.7 trillion, marking a decade of growth, but global security continued to deteriorate. Our world is also beset by a tangle of crises: climate change fuels conflict, debt constricts development, and inequalities and geopolitical rivalries undermine peace and stability. Spiralling needs are being met with dwindling resources.

As the UN convened its 80th General Assembly, under the Presidency of Germany’s Annalena Baerbock, we continued to confront a stark reality: the strategies that delivered progress in the past will not deliver the future any of us wants. 

The world urgently needs a bold reimagining of development–one that delivers integrated solutions, accelerates innovation, tackles the underlying causes of crisis and displacement, and is anchored in steadfast international cooperation and sustainable financing.

This is not empty rhetoric. The partnership between Germany and UNDP provides a blueprint for what forward-thinking multilateralism can achieve. Consider Gaza, where, since the onset of the war, UNDP has been on the ground to provide immediate support as part of the humanitarian response. Amid widespread devastation, these activities are currently scaling up, with Germany’s support. During a recent visit to the region, German Development Minister Alabali Radovan pledged support to help meet the basic human needs of displaced families in Gaza. The project will supply urgently needed temporary shelter along with essential services, such as short-term job opportunities, emergency rehabilitation of wastewater hotspots, and psycho-social counselling. These initiatives will provide a lifeline for families while laying the groundwork for long-term recovery. 

Or Ukraine, where more than half the country’s energy capacity has been destroyed by the ongoing full-scale war, leaving millions—including the most vulnerable—at the mercy of protracted blackouts. Hospitals, schools, and kindergartens have been plunged into darkness. Germany and UNDP, together with the European Investment Bank, are responding by installing decentralized renewable energy solutions, including solar energy systems, in critical public infrastructure. This keeps essential services running while simultaneously accelerating Ukraine’s shift to a cleaner energy future.

Yet development impact extends far beyond individual crises. Through flexible core funding, Germany significantly strengthens UNDP’s work in 170 countries and regions. The results, from 2019 to 2024, speak volumes: 816 million registered voters participating in elections, 84 countries strengthening conflict prevention and peacebuilding, and 177 million people are accessing clean energy solutions. Achievements of this scale are never the work of one. They are the result of investment, adaptation, and, above all, a willingness to work together in the face of daunting challenges. 

We must also dispel a persistent myth that investing in development abroad comes at the expense of our own prosperity and security. The truth is the opposite: development is security. To tackle the underlying causes of forced migration, prevent the next conflict, and shield our children from climate breakdown and pandemics, we must act together. In our interconnected world, progress elsewhere is inseparable from progress at home.

But world leaders must commit to this vision, because partnership and international cooperation are not simply the right thing to do–they are the foundation of global stability and prosperity. Investment in climate, health, and improving life opportunities for all is not charity. It is a down payment on our collective future. 

The UN remains an irreplaceable arena for these efforts. We can draw a direct line between the creation of the UN 80 years ago and the prevention of a third world war. Even in periods of deep division, it has served as the world’s meeting ground, not only to deliver humanitarian aid but to negotiate responses to our greatest challenges. 

Today, this message is more urgent than ever. The world is witnessing the highest number of armed conflicts since the end of the Second World War, yet military spending alone will not guarantee security. Decades of experience have shown us that true peace is built on investment in people and societies. 

At the current trajectory, projections indicate that global military spending could potentially climb to $6.6 trillion by 2035, which is equivalent to almost five times the level at the end of the Cold War. Yet, for between $230-280 billion annually, or around 10 percent of the $2.7 trillion spent on militaries last year, the world could eliminate the extreme poverty gap globally.

As Germany reaffirms its partnership with UNDP, Annalena Baerbock presides over the current UN General Assembly, and Germany seeks a seat on the Security Council, its leadership underlines a simple truth. The 80th UN General Assembly must be a clarion call to the international community: the secure and prosperous future we want will not simply arrive. It will be driven by policies that recognize the critical role of development in ensuring security, stability, and human progress. And it will be built by those bold enough to invest in it. 

This article was originally published in German in Table.Media.