Remarks by Minister Carlos França at the G20 Development Ministers' Meeting – Italy, June 29th, 2021

Thank you, Chair.

I congratulate the Italian presidency for the initiative of calling this meeting, which is the first ever stand-alone meeting of G20 Development Ministers. This format raises the political profile of discussions on development, and I hope it will be preserved in future presidencies.

This meeting provides us with an opportunity to reflect and exchange views about the cooperation our countries provide to developing and least developed countries around the world.

In this context, we should also recall that many G20 members are emerging economies that provide cooperation to third countries, while also facing many of the challenges affecting development.

Most of the G20 emerging economies provide South-South and triangular cooperation which, in many aspects, differ from the traditional North-South initiatives. The G20 Developing Working Group is therefore a laboratory for the convergence of our international cooperation practices and standards, as well as for the identification and sharing of good practices that may benefit not only LDCs, but also most of our own countries.

The works carried out this year are a good example of that.

Works on “scaling-up green, social and sustainability bond issuances in developing countries” are very promising, as they may help mobilize additional resources, with longer-term perspectives and in alignment with social, economic, environmental and climate objectives.

For the same reasons, Brazil endorses the G20 support for the implementation of “Integrated National Financing Frameworks” (INFFs) in developing and least developed countries, always bearing in mind that engagement in INFFs must be voluntary, country-owned and should not be attached to any kind of conditionalities.

Brazil also supports the “common vision” to promote greater alignment of resources freed up by G20 initiatives such as the Debt Service Suspension Initiatives (DSSIs), the Common Framework and the possible allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These initiatives have the merit of fostering greater transparency on debt and allocation of resources. Nevertheless, the implementation of this common vision is still not clear for many of us and will require further work, in cooperation with the finance track, until the end of the Italian presidency.

Brazil is also very supportive of the workflow on “territorial development and localization of SDGs”. The Sustainable Development Goals may become reality only in the national and subnational levels, with the involvement of local governments, the private sector and civil society.

We hope that the current SDG focus on intermediary cities and urban-rural connectivity, as well as the establishment of a corresponding G20 Platform on SDG Localisation and Intermediary Cities to be operationalized by OECD and UN-Habitat, may allow for a fruitful exchange of experiences among cities and for concrete contributions to the implementation of SDGs in the local level.

Thank you.