G77 chairman calls for sustainable development, food security

Group of 77 (G77) chairman Munir Akram on Tuesday urged international financial institutions to support global efforts for sustainable development, food security, and long-term sustainability of debt.

The United Nations (UN) must play a leading role in this regard, Akram said at the 60th session of the Commission on Social Development, one of the eight commissions established by the UN Economic and Social Council to assist it in carrying its work.

To recover from the pandemic and transit to environmentally sustainable economies, 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars must be invested annually in sustainable infrastructure in developing countries, said Akram, who is also the permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, the G77 chairman called for mobilizing resources to enable pandemic-hit developing countries to eradicate poverty and hunger and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"Unprecedented times call for an unprecedented response from the international community based on the principles of responsibility sharing and global solidarity," Akram said.

"To save the present and succeeding generations from the scourge of poverty and hunger, the international community should build a global architecture based on the developmental needs of peoples -- a global system in which no one is left behind," he added.

Akram cited a complex triad of challenges facing the world -- the pandemic of coronavirus, the economic slowdown in developing countries and the existential threat from climate catastrophe, noting that these factors had reversed progress towards the 2030 Agenda and implementation of the SDGs.

Also, Akram called for ensuring global and equitable access to safe, timely, and effective COVID-19 vaccines at affordable prices.

Pakistan took over the chairmanship of the G77 last month.