Statement by President von der Leyen at the plenary session of the 4th UN International Conference on Financing for Development

Mr President of the Conference, Secretary-General Guterres,

Presidents,

Prime Ministers,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start with a basic fact: Last year, development aid worldwide stood at just over USD 200 billion. The Sustainable Development Goals' annual investment gap is, as Pedro Sánchez aid, in the trillions of USD. To close this gap, we quite simply need a change of paradigm, new ways of mobilising much more finance. This is the core of the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla' that we agreed on today, and it is exactly what Europe aims to achieve, together with our global partners.

Let me make three points in three minutes: First, how to make the most of public investment. The European Union provides 42% of the world's development aid. We are proud of this, and our commitment is here to stay. At the same time, it is good that new donors are now stepping up. So why don't we combine forces and set up joint investment programmes that play on our respective strengths for maximum impact? This is the agreement we have just reached with India, to invest together in third countries. And we will extend the same offer to other rising donors who share our goals. Second, domestic taxation. This is the most sustainable source of funding for services like healthcare or education, and a fair tax system is vital to attract private investment. This is why we must bring to life the G20-OECD agreement on international corporate tax rules. This will bolster revenues in developing economies. And it is also a matter of fairness, because everyone should pay their fair share. My third point, we need the private sector. The private sector must get on board, and this is the heart of Europe's Global Gateway investment programme. We are attracting private capital in transformative development projects that create local growth and local jobs. In the first 3 years, Global Gateway has mobilised almost EUR 180 billion in investment in our partner countries. We are on track to overshoot our initial target of EUR 300 billion in 7 years. And, at the Global Gateway Forum in October in Brussels, we will announce further progress. So, to conclude, our message today is simple: Europe is ready to invest and to innovate. In these times of global uncertainty, you can count on us to support multilateralism. And to my good friend Ngozi, I listened very carefully to you: You have my full support to reform WTO.

Thank you very much. And I wish us a successful conference.

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