Multilateral Diplomacy for Sustainable Development:
Advancing Pakistan’s SDG Agenda through Strategic Global Partnerships

By Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad | Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations

In 2016, Pakistan became the first country to integrate the SDGs into our national development agenda.

I am honored to contribute to this Special Edition of Development Advocate Pakistan, which coincides with the 80th session of the UN General Assembly and the decisive final stretch towards the 2030 Agenda.

Adopted in 2015, the global development agenda was a triumph of multilateral diplomacy: nations, large and small, uniting around a shared blueprint for the people, planet, and prosperity.

For Pakistan, the SDGs are not just an abstract framework, they complement our national development priorities. In 2016, we became the first country to integrate the SDGs into our national development agenda. Since then, the presentation of two Voluntary National Reviews at the UN’s High-Level Political Forum have demonstrated our continued political commitment to its implementation. 

Domestically, Pakistan has pursued ambitious reforms to expand fiscal space, strengthen social protection, promote renewable energy, and build climate resilience. The Uraan Pakistan National Economic Transformation Plan 2024–2029 charts a roadmap for accelerated inclusive growth, built on five pillars: Exports, E-Pakistan, Environment, Energy and Infrastructure, and Equity. Social Protection Initiatives such as the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) are also advancing multiple SDGs simultaneously.

The Living Indus Initiative aims to restore ecosystems and protect one of the world’s great river basins, supporting climate adaptation and biodiversity. Moreover, we are transforming Pakistan into a ‘digital nation’ by enabling a digital society, digital economy, and digital governance. 

Yet, like most developing countries, we face challenges in our development journey. Limited fiscal space, recurring climate shocks, and unequal access to finance threatens to slow or reverse development gains. The 2022 floods displaced millions and caused damages exceeding US$30 billion.  Globally, developing countries face trillions of dollars in SDG and climate financing gaps.

UN Photo

While domestic efforts are crucial, multilateral diplomacy and strategic partnerships are essential to mobilize finance, facilitate technology transfer, and engage the private sector.

Pakistan has consistently advocated across different multilateral fora for a more inclusive international financial architecture which effectively addresses debt distress, liquidity crises, and structural vulnerabilities across the Global South, including most recently at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development.

Moreover, we have amplified the voices of countries confronting the existential threat of climate change. One notable example was during Pakistan’s tenure as Chair of the G77 and China in 2022, wherein we placed the ‘loss and damage’ at the center of the climate debate, culminating in the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27.

Pakistan has also leveraged strategic partnerships with the UN development system to translate diplomacy into tangible outcomes. The SDG Investor Map and the SDG Investments and  Climate Financing Facility, developed with UNDP and UNDESA, show how blended finance, technical expertise, and the convening power of the UN can help close critical SDG financing gaps.

As the UN marks its 80th Anniversary, the world faces rising inequality, deep divides, and intensifying climate threats. The risk of stalled or reversed development progress is real. Yet the multilateral system, reformed, revitalized, and strengthened, remains our best hope for collective solutions. That is why it is important to ensure that the efforts for reform, including the UN Secretary General’s UN80 initiative, should lead to a stronger, first for purpose UN, better able to deliver across all three pillars—peace and security, development and human rights.

Pakistan will continue to champion sustainable development and its inseparable link with peace and prosperity. Only through sustained collective efforts and enduring partnerships can we transform the 2030 Agenda from aspiration into a shared reality, honoring our responsibility to present and future generations.