Secretary General of OECD, Distinguished Guests

We have heard today many examples of the importance of governance to make progress on implementation across the SDGs.

The underscores the criticality of SDGs 16 and 17 – the ‘institutional pillar’ of the SDGs which is so critical as an enabler of success across the Agenda.

We’ve heard of the challenges that governments face – from the need for greater institutional coherence to the struggle to integrate gender equality across all facets of government activity.  

And we have noted the need for bold political leadership and the capacity to work in new ways with different groups in society.  The purpose of the Global Hub for the Governance of the SDGs is to help governments and other stakeholders to be more effective in addressing these challenges.

While there is a substantial body of knowledge on different aspects of governance, we have been reminded of the need for connected knowledge and peer learning opportunities to ensure this knowledge is effectively brought to bear on a range of desired development outcomes at national and subnational levels. 

The Global Hub will operate as a “one-stop shop” for those working at national and sub-national levels to connect with knowledge and experience on governance across sectoral boundaries - we are putting the emphasis on leadership capacity to ensure implementation across sectoral boundaries.

From UNDP’s side we welcome the positive feedback from Member States today and clearly see the gap this partnership responds to.

We’re particularly grateful to the Governments of the United Arab Emirates, Romania and Colombia for showing leadership in this area, as well co-hosting this event with us. We will reflect further on all that we have heard and look forward to working together with all of you towards our common goals to transform development pathways, for planet, people and shared prosperity.

Thank-you.