As prepared for delivery

Mr. President, members of the Executive Board, colleagues and friends, 

We gather today for the 2025 annual session of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board at a pivotal moment in the history of development - a time marked by cascading crises and unprecedented possibilities. 

This Executive Board session is also my last as the Administrator of UNDP. As I conclude this eight-year journey, I do so with a great sense of gratitude for our collective achievements towards better standards of living and larger freedoms for generations to come. These achievements would not have been possible without the experience and dedication of an extraordinary group of people. I extend my sincere gratitude to our Member States and partners for their trust in our work; our financial contributors, whose investments have advanced development through UNDP's efforts and strengthened our institutional integrity; and our dedicated teams who commit - day in, day out - their professional lives to the extraordinary goals of the United Nations (UN). 

I am especially grateful to you, our Executive Board, for your unwavering support throughout my tenure. Your feedback and guidance, the challenges we have faced together and the successes we have shared, have all been invaluable. 

I am also humbled, standing in a long line of UNDP Administrators, from the late Paul Hoffman, who was chosen sixty years ago to head the development arm of the UN, all the way to my immediate predecessor, Helen Clark, the first woman Administrator of UNDP. I am confident that I leave behind a strong, resilient organization – ready for my successor to steer through the turbulent times ahead. 

Today - with a presence in 170 countries and territories, delivering close to $5 billion a year in support, and a global network of partners from Member States, to the UN family, financial institutions, the private sector, civil society, philanthropies and academia - UNDP remains the backbone of development in the UN system. As the UN commemorates its 80^th anniversary and UNDP its 60^th, UNDP has – as our partners put it - “evolve(d) in step with the complex challenges we face.” Created by the General Assembly’s decision to merge the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance and the Special Fund for Economic Development, our initial focus was on providing capital for economic growth in the newly independent nations. The early UNDP also acted as a fund for UN agencies investing in developing countries. Even then, Secretary-General U Thant acknowledged UNDP resident representatives for their work in economic development and “building peace”. Over the years, UNDP adapted to changing needs – from introducing the human development paradigm, to supporting sustainable development programming after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and pioneering new approaches in crisis contexts, to harnessing digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to advance development today. These efforts have improved millions of lives. 

Excellencies, 

Global development is at a critical juncture. Global growth is ‘divergent and uncertain’, while multiple crises and risks - from rising conflicts to climate change - are pushing millions of people into poverty, undermining decades of investments that we have collectively made in sustainable development.

These disruptions coincide with alarming cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is projected to decline by 9 to 17 per cent from 2024 to 2025. Such a drastic reduction in ODA threatens the global development goals, hampers the UN’s ability to deliver results, and erodes the foundation of multilateral cooperation. Our work is directly impacted. For the first time, UNDP’s core funding is expected to fall below 10 per cent of total contributions in 2025, a stark indicator of shrinking flexible resources and a growing dependence on earmarked funding. The outlook for 2026 is even bleaker, compromising UNDP’s support for national development priorities and eroding its operational integrity. 

With a definitive shift in official development assistance frameworks, maintaining the status quo is no longer feasible. Yet, development is not an outdated concept - it is the bridge to a world where inequalities are reduced, environmental limits are respected, and innovation benefits all members of society. Only in such a world - enabled through human development and a renewed vision of national security rooted in human security – can we advance the safety and security for all. As the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann aptly said, "Development isn’t charity - it’s the smartest security policy we have."  

These shifts will require UNDP to continue its journey of evolution. From my own journey with UNDP, I have seen it embrace and grow with the possibilities of change. I have no doubt that with your support and the support of its partners, UNDP will continue to successfully deliver on its mandate, supporting countries to eradicate poverty, invest in resilient societies, and transform their economies to leverage the unprecedented opportunities of the 21^st century. 

The Arc of Transformation

When I assumed leadership in 2017, the organization faced three challenges: 

1. First, addressing ongoing funding concerns, with core resources having almost halved from about $1.1 billion in 2007 to $612 million in 2017, a growing imbalance between UNDP's regular and non-core resources, and a limited funding base that restricted our institutional flexibility and strategic independence.
2. Second, preparing UNDP to be ‘reform ready’, with a renewed focus on development priorities, in line with General Assembly Resolution 72/279 to reposition the UN development system (UNDS).
3. Third, revitalizing UNDP’s approach to programming - reducing fragmented projects and consolidating investments through more coherent, future-driven policy offers. 

While there are still headwinds today, we have translated these and other challenges into opportunities.

How did we pivot?

First, we stabilized by expanding and diversifying our funding base and investing in being ‘reform ready’. This was about more than adaptation; it was about redefining our role as the development pillar of the UN. Then, we reimagined development by investing in being ‘future ready’. #FutureSmartUNDP wasn’t about chasing trends. It was about anticipating them.

The results were transformative: 

•  Programme delivery grew to $4.8 billion in 2024. Behind this number are real impact: millions of lives improved, billions leveraged in sustainable finance, innovative partnerships catalysed, and economic and governance systems transformed. We set ambitious ‘moonshots’ to achieve large-scale, transformative outcomes. Together, we have made significant strides. With a wide range of partners, UNDP has contributed to increasing access to essential services for 160 million people, financial services for 259 million, clean energy for 82 million people; and jobs and livelihoods for 2.6 million in 46 crisis affected countries. We have supported 816 million registered voters to participate in 57 elections in 43 countries and mobilized an additional $50 billion for governance that engaged over 4,000 partners. To support countries address one of their greatest challenges, we helped promote $867 billion of investment in the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Seventy-three percent of UNDP’s investments in programming advanced gender equality.
• Our programming is committed to leaving no one behind. In 2024, 80 per cent of UNDP’s programmatic core funding targeted least developed countries (LDCs), where development needs are highest, and 50 per cent of expenditure was directed towards 61 fragile contexts.
• Core contributions unlocked additional resources and we diversified our funding. In 2024, for every $1 of core funding, UNDP mobilized $7 in additional investments. We diversified our funding base, with 60 per cent of UNDP’s contributions now coming from programme countries and multilateral partners. I would like to recognize the 40 Member States who contributed core resources to UNDP in 2024, notably the top 15 contributors - Germany, the United States, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Denmark, the Republic of Korea, Qatar, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Australia – and the 14 programme countries led by India, China, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye. I would also like to acknowledge the 94 programme countries who invested $1.2 billion of their own resources through UNDP programmes in their countries.
• We increased efficiency, with 92 cents of every dollar now spent on development programmes over the course of the current Strategic Plan - up from 88 cents in 2018. 

Excellencies, 

The UN system is being called upon to deliver with greater efficiency, collaboration, and impact. UNDP has responded to this call as the operational backbone of the UN.

Our operational infrastructure has long supported the wider UN system’s ability to function cohesively and cost-effectively. As noted by the UN Board of Auditors, the establishment of an empowered Resident Coordinator (RC) function would not have been possible without the UNDP “backbone”. To ensure the RC function was operational by January 2019, UNDP undertook 4,000 legal, financial, and administrative steps across 131 countries. For the next three years, UNDP served as the principal operational service provider for the new RC function, administering $204 million in its first year. Since 2018, UNDP’s cumulative cost-sharing contribution to the RC system will amount to almost $80 million (from core resources), in addition to the 1 per cent coordination levy, amounting to over $42 million (from non-core). 

UNDP continues to enhance and expand its services to the UN system today. In 2024, UNDP provided support services to over 70 UN entities. Managing common services across 113 UN Country Teams (UNCTs), we helped generate $46 million in savings for 40 UN agencies - including $37.5 million through streamlined administrative services. Through the Common Back Office model, UNDP now offers over 70 service lines to 15 UN agencies, reducing duplication, enhancing efficiency, and achieving a 95 per cent client satisfaction rate.

Today, with a resilient organization and the draft of our next Strategic Plan in your hands, UNDP is well positioned to continue its mission – eradicating poverty, leveraging the promise of the digital age. 

Four key principles guided our journey through turbulent times: 

1. First, courage to invest and experiment with our partners. We identified emerging development frontiers through consultations and strategic foresight, investing in development finance, innovation, and digital transformation as Strategic Plan enablers. This catalysed new partnerships with philanthropy, private sector, and organisations like the Gates Foundation and the International Standards Organization (ISO).
2. Second, embracing new programming approaches. We shifted from isolated projects to globally networked hubs, leveraging UNDP’s collective strengths and the digital revolution. This approach produced new policy-driven solutions, including our Crisis Offer that positions UNDP at the frontlines of crisis response and resilience building across our largest country programmes, and our Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Offer, which is fully aligned across the 10 priorities adopted in the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS at the SIDS4 Conference.
3. Third, commitment to building an agile 21^st century public institution. We transformed our digital infrastructure through initiatives like the Quantum enterprise resource planning (ERP) system – now serving 10 UN agencies and 40,000 personnel worldwide - enabling automation, cost optimization, and improved service delivery.
4. Fourth, confidence in UNDP’s unique value. We leveraged our multidimensional development mandate and global expertise network that connects the local context to the global – to help countries implement intergovernmental agreements and meaningfully contribute to intergovernmental forums such as the Group of Seven (G7), the Group of 20 (G20) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. 

Through this transformative journey, I learned an enduring truth: UNDP and its partners will not give up on delivering results for the countries and the people that we serve. Two areas were at the heart of UNDP’s evolution during my tenure. 

Deepening our integrator role & investing in our future-readiness 

Prudent financial management during 2017–2018 and an early review of UNDP’s business model laid the groundwork for future progress. By 2020, we restructured reserves, diversified funding, and created fiscal space to enhance UNDP’s ‘integrator function,’ and its future-readiness. The evolution of the Strategic Plans over my tenure – including the draft before you – reflect this commitment. 

Advancing SDG integration

In support of national development priorities, UNDP advances integrated approaches and development solutions, working closely with all UN RCs and UNCTs through the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (CFs), while nearly 80 per cent of UNDP country programme results integrate two or more signature solutions and enablers. Our ‘SDG Push’, which is fully incorporated into the CFs and Common Country Analysis guidance, offers data and diagnostics to help partners identify trends and priorities in more than 100 countries. 

The Climate Promise 2025, which builds on the success of UNDP’s Climate Promise 2019, now coordinates joint support from 30 UN agencies and assists over 90 countries in raising their climate ambitions as they prepare the third round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Our work on NDCs is integrated with our Nature Pledge, which supports national biodiversity strategies and action plans, to simultaneously enhance climate and biodiversity outcomes. This holistic approach, implemented in close partnership with the UN Environment Programme, the Conventions on Biological Diversity and Climate Change, the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund, leverages UNDP’s portfolio of support on energy, adaptation, nature and resilience - worth $2.37 billion in 2024. Research by UNDP, in partnership with the OECD and Germany, also demonstrates that the 2025 NDC update represents a strategic opportunity to align climate ambition with economic growth and development.

We have strengthened integrated solutions and UN inter-agency collaboration in crisis settings by demonstrating that investments in development during crises are essential to alleviate the pressure on humanitarian funding and break the cycle of aid dependency and fragility. In doing so, we have dispelled the misconception that development assistance must recede when a crisis occurs. 

For example, UNDP’s stabilization approach, implemented in partnership with the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, the European Union (EU), Norway, and others, paves the way for the peacebuilding and recovery work of other UN entities and international financial institutions. Since 2015, UNDP’s stabilization programmes have delivered $2.1 billion, benefitting nearly 17 million people across Iraq, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique and other countries, and enabled over 6 million people to return home. In some of the world’s most difficult and complex settings—Afghanistan, Gaza, Haiti, Myanmar, Ukraine, Yemen and elsewhere - UNDP has stayed and delivered. Working with partners including, the Asian Development Bank, the EU, Japan, Kuwait, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the World Bank, UN agencies and community-based organizations, we have safeguarded essential services, protected livelihoods, and helped preserve national and local systems. Our work on crisis prevention, risk anticipation and early recovery protects hard-earned development gains. For example, UNDP’s Crisis Risk Dashboard aggregates various indicators into a single platform used across over 30 countries. This allows governments, UN entities and other analysts to monitor signals related to food prices, religious violence, hate speech and socio-economic trends, and take preventative action. UNDP’s forthcoming report on Development at Risk builds on this work by looking at the impact of complex risks and growing uncertainty and their implications for policy and public action.

Excellencies, 

An organization that does not evolve with the times is destined to become irrelevant. Together with my leadership team, we have sought to empower UNDP with a spirit of innovation to transform the way we think, invest, manage and deliver. This pivot towards the future came together in the Strategic Plan, 2022-2025, which identifies development financing, strategic innovation and digitalization as our global enablers. These targeted investments have yielded substantial results.

Development finance

In a global landscape defined by widening fiscal gaps and rising development needs, UNDP invested $10.3 million in core resources to establish the Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH), which alongside its partners has promoted more than $867 billion of public and private investment in the SDGs since 2022. Through the SFH, UNDP has:

• Co- created the Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) with the EU and 20+ agencies in 86 countries. Since 2021, INFFs have leveraged $16 billion in new finance and aligned another $32 billion with the SDGs.
• Supported governments with national budget reviews and sustainable debt instruments that have aligned $430 billion with sustainable development and have helped raise $31 billion through thematic debt issuance. For example, Mexico’s SDG bonds returned to the market in 2021 with a $1.38 billion offering, while the New Development Bank issued a $750 million SDG-linked bond, with UNDP support.
• Increased domestic resource mobilization through the joint OECD-UNDP Tax Inspectors Without Borders Initiative, which has contributed $2.3 billion in additional tax revenue in developing countries since 2015.
• Promoted the alignment of $380 billion in private capital towards the SDGs, including through partnerships with institutional and private investors, private and national development banks and financial centres; and provided advisory services and training to more than 150 private sector organizations on SDG-aligned management practices. 

We deliver results that partners can co-invest in. UNDP hosts several initiatives – including the Better than Cash Alliance, the Financial Centres for Sustainability (representing around 80 per cent of the global equity market) and the Sustainable Insurance Forum (members regulate 92 per cent of the global insurance market). Building on the track record of the SFH, UNDP has established a new Project Office for Sustainable Finance in Dublin, made possible through a €7.5 million investment from the Government of Ireland. 

Innovation

By strategically leveraging core funding, UNDP has created a space to experiment, learn, and scale new approaches to support countries in navigating 21st-century development challenges:

• Our Accelerator Labs, the world’s largest and fastest sustainable development learning network, have sourced over 6,000 development solutions in 115 countries. Some 70 per cent of these experiments have gone to scale—a remarkable 2-in-3 success rate. Around half of Lab’s engagement partners come from the private sector. In Ghana and Nigeria for example, the Accelerator Labs jumpstarted a $25 million partnership with the Mastercard Foundation to back 10,000 young SDG innovators.
• Our timbuktoo initiative aims to scale up Africa’s innovation ecosystem by supporting 10,000 tech start-ups. In 2024, it created innovation hubs and satellite university pods in 13 African countries.
• Since 2017, Youth Connekt Africa has empowered more than 12 million youth, giving them access to role models, peers, resources, technologies and skills, while in Asia and the Pacific, Youth Co:Lab, a UNDP- Citi Foundation partnership, has unleashed the dynamism of 28,000 young social entrepreneurs by supporting innovations that advance the SDGs. 

Strategic innovation, catalyzed in partnership with Denmark, has propelled UNDP’s portfolio approach, a new way of planning, aligning and managing projects. Over 70 country offices have adopted it, with partners investing close to $500 million in this work over the last few years. An EU - UNDP partnership (with a $50 million investment to date) uses the portfolio approach to connect municipalities, innovators and entrepreneurs to transform urban development in cities across Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Asia Pacific. 

Digital transformation 

UNDP’s launched its first Digital Strategy in 2019. This evolved through the Data Strategy (2021) and the Digital Strategy (2022–2025). UNDP’s new AI Sprint, launched in 2025, now pushes this further by embedding AI governance and literacy across our operations.

Today, digital innovation is embedded across the organization. Through our ‘digital-by-default’ approach, digital outputs have become a standard consideration of programme design and delivery. Seventy per cent of all UNDP projects now include a digital component, and over 90 AI applications are already deployed. 

This internal transformation has translated into powerful external results: 

• In 2024, UNDP supported 70 countries in their design of national digital strategies and deploying digital solutions that reached over 200 million people. For example, a small core-funded initiative in Mauritius—just $25,000—seeded a $4.4 million eHealth system, transforming national patient care.
• Our Digital Readiness Assessments in over 40 countries, laid the foundation for large-scale public service reform, which in Trinidad and Tobago, evolved into a national strategy that secured $8.2 million in public investment.
• UNDP has become a leader in supporting Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), serving as a knowledge partner for the Indian G20 Presidency in 2023 and co-launching a universal framework on DPI safeguards with the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies.
• With Italy, last year’s G7 President, we recently launched the AI Hub for Sustainable Development to support private sector innovation in Africa to make AI more accessible and inclusive.
• In partnership with the International Telecommunication Unio (ITU), through SDG Digital, we have amplified global digital efforts, inspiring over $1 billion in commitments from stakeholders to drive digital development.

Building on principles that guided our journey and investments, UNDP’s work on innovation, digital and AI is now integrated into a new policy hub that will significantly improve the impact of our support to partner countries and increase UNDP’s operational efficiency. 

A UN system enabler

UNDP continued to invest in the success of the UN system through the entities we host. We provide the institutional platform, and since 2018, over $115 million from our core resources to UN entities that service the entire UN system: 

• UN Volunteers: Last year alone, more than 14,000 UN Volunteers contributed to the mandates of 59 UN entities in 169 countries. This includes nearly 3,000 UN Volunteers in countries with UN peacekeeping and political missions, where they acted as frontline responders at the intersection of peace, development, and humanitarian action.
• UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF): Continues to put its unique capital mandate at the service of the UN system to unlock finance, particularly in LDCs. For example, UNCDF has provided end-to-end support for the issuance of the Tanga green bond in Tanzania, which raised approximately $20.8 million in local currency to finance the expansion of the city's clean water infrastructure. This was Tanzania’s first-ever subnational green bond and one of the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• UN Office for South South Cooperation: Supports developing countries’ efforts to collaborate through South-South and triangular cooperation. During the last decade, the UN Fund for South South Cooperation, the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Fund, the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, and the Group of 77 (G77)/ Perez Guerrero Trust Fund supported 140 projects in 120  countries, implemented through 23 UN entities - in areas including climate, food security, health, education and infrastructure.
• Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office established and hosted by the UNDP as a service to the UN development system, continues to serve as the centre of expertise on inter-agency pooled funding mechanisms. Over the past two decades, it has managed a cumulative portfolio of $20 billion, with annual disbursements of $1 billion for development, humanitarian, peace and transition, and climate programmes. 

Investing in delivering with the highest levels of transparency and accountability 

At UNDP, delivering results efficiently, transparently and with accountability is not just about compliance - it is about delivering transformational results with integrity, even in high-risk contexts. 

• Transparency: In 2024, UNDP was recognized as the second most transparent UN agency in the Aid Transparency Index. Our Transparency Portal enables real-time tracking of over 4,000 projects.
• Accountability: For 19 consecutive years, UNDP has received unqualified audit opinions from the UN Board of Auditors, reflecting a robust financial control environment. In 2024, 89 per cent of projects also received unqualified audit outcomes, a significant rise from 75 per cent in 2023.
• Results-based oversight: The 2025 launch of the UNDP Performance App introduced a real-time system to track progress across five core dimensions - impact, accountability, efficiency, values, and people - equipping managers with the data to make timely, evidence-informed decisions.
• Risk management: UNDP upholds a zero-tolerance policy on fraud, corruption, and misconduct. In 2024, this commitment was reinforced by appointing the Chief Risk Officer at the Under-Secretary-General level. A new Integrated Risk Module enables proactive risk identification and mitigation across our operations.
• Ethics and Integrity: Engagement with the Ethics Office grew significantly in 2024, with 8,400 participations in sessions, a 31 per cent increase from the previous year. Targeted training on preventing sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment reached 4,000 staff members, while the “Speak Up Culture” initiative - piloted in 12 offices - is cultivating safer, more ethical workplaces, where very voice is empowered and heard.

With our ‘People for 2030 Strategy’, now in its third phase, we are ensuring that the organization has the right capabilities and people to deliver impactful, transparent, accountable results.

Staying ahead of the curve

As a result of all our collective investments, UNDP is now recognized as a leader across five categories in the UN 2.0 System Wide Assessment vis a vis 51 other entities. This positions us ahead of the curve as we prepare our next Strategic Plan. 

We have shared the draft Strategic Plan 2026-2029 with you, and deeply appreciate the constructive feedback received. The overarching mission of the Strategic Plan is to advance human development while reducing planetary pressures. 

The Plan is designed around fewer, more integrated results, sharply focusing on what the evidence shows UNDP does best: delivering systems-level change through integrated solutions driven by national priorities. This evidence comes from unprecedented consultations in designing the Strategic Plan, an independent review of our business model, and a global survey of 11,000 development partners in 147 countries. 

The framework of the draft Strategic Plan includes four integrated objectives: Prosperity for All, Effective Governance, Healthy Planet, and Crisis Resilience. These are powered by three accelerators: Digital and AI Transformation, Gender Equality, and Sustainable Finance. We achieve maximum results when we combine different parts of the puzzle – for example, using digital financial services and market access platforms to increase women’s incomes, or deploying renewable energy solutions to enhance healthcare delivery. 

Excellencies,

We recognize this is a time of profound uncertainty – marked by geopolitical turmoil, and severe constraints on development funding. We face the future with realism. Our response to the growing funding challenges combines short-term austerity measures with medium-term action to ensure the financial resilience of the organization.  

Our strategy began already a year ago with the Business Model Review (BMR) to enhance how UNDP creates, finances and delivers value. Implementation of the BMR action plan, with specific immediate and medium-term actions to further improve UNDP’s funding model and operational efficiency, is now well underway. As a second, follow up step, since the beginning of 2025 we have undertaken a series of immediate austerity measures to reduce operational expenditures, optimize resource use, and enhance our resource mobilization efforts, with strategic decisions to partially ringfence reductions of oversight offices and hosted entities. 

However, while these austerity measures and budget reduction will enable the organization to manage the financial shortfall expected in 2025, UNDP’s core-contribution outlook for 2026 has deteriorated significantly. Given the magnitude of the anticipated adjustments required, additional measures with proactive planning and early strategic decisions are essential to safeguard the future of UNDP and its mission. Through the current third phase, UNDP senior management agreed on key principles and measures across four areas —efficiency gains, cost reductions, income generation and strategic investment –to both produce savings in the 2026 budget cycle and ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the organization. We will also continue to modernize our business processes, increase efforts to further diversify and broaden our funding, and expand high-quality operational services to the UN system.

The draft Strategic Plan reflects this strategy and UNDP's continued commitment to efficiency and effectiveness, delivering maximum value for every dollar invested. 
As you review the draft Plan, I invite you to consider three key questions: 

1. Does the Plan take account of the uncertainties and risks of the current landscape?
2. Does it align with countries' evolving development priorities, while leveraging UNDP's unique strengths as a trusted multilateral platform?
3. Is it sufficiently adaptable to meet the diverse range of future scenarios we may encounter, including deepening funding challenges?

We hope you will be confident that the Strategic Plan meets these critical benchmarks. Its success depends on our collective commitment - a genuine partnership between Member States and UNDP - to bring this ambitious vision to life.

Looking ahead – Reimagining development and the role of UNDP in the 21^st century 

Excellencies,

UNDP's achievements stand as a testament to the continued relevance and importance of multilateralism. Development isn’t post-colonial paternalism – it is the dramatic reduction in extreme poverty, the halving of child mortality since 2000, the 89 per cent drop in renewable energy costs since 2010. These aren’t mere statistics but transformations in human dignity. 

While the world has evolved dramatically since 1945, the UN still remains essential as a platform where nations – small and large - resolve shared challenges despite divergent interests. This was recently demonstrated by the International Maritime Organization Net-zero Framework, adopted by 109 Member States, and the World Health Assembly’s adoption of the world’s first Pandemic Agreement.

Yet our work faces unprecedented challenges. The principles of global solidarity in development are being undermined by funding reductions precisely when the UN’s role is most critical. 

“It is essential that an organizational system as complex and crucial as the United Nations – subjects itself to rigorous and regular scrutiny to assess its fitness for purpose in carrying out its goals efficiently”

As the UN Secretary-General noted, our complex organizational system requires regular scrutiny to ensure effectiveness. The Secretary-General’s ‘UN80 Initiative’ seeks to reimagine the UN for the 21st century. UNDP is fully committed to providing development leadership within the UN80 Initiative's reimagining of multilateralism.

Excellencies, while the 20^th century asked development to mend fractures, the 21^st century demands we prevent them. Every so often, there comes a pivotal moment when bold things become possible. This is such a moment – one where you, as Member States, have the opportunity to shape the future and become the makers of history. 

While much of my remarks today have focused on UNDP – how together with our partners, we create, finance and deliver value - UNDP is an integral part of the United Nations, and its value proposition represents an asset to the entire UN system. 

While it will be up to my successor and their team to lead the evolution of UNDP during these dynamic times, allow me to end by returning to the concept of human development. I propose we reconsider human development – not as competing with national security - but by enhancing it through international cooperation that addresses insecurity’s root causes: poverty, inequality, climate change, and injustice. Future generations will judge us not by our plans but by our courage. 

I pass the baton, confident that my successor will honour UNDP’s 60-year legacy, and I thank you deeply for your unwavering support.