UNGA Side Event

New York | 19 September, 2023 

Building upon insights from the new FES Global Census 2023 – an international survey gauging public opinion on multilateralism and key issues of international cooperation – this high-level discussion with Germany's Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze, and UN leaders, explored how to update and optimize the multilateral architecture to foster the provision of global public goods. The panel also discussed how particularly the multilateral development banks and the United Nations need to adapt their business models to leverage their strengths and mandates.

The event, co-hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), FES New York, and the UN Foundation, further built on recent reform initiatives, notably the "Our Common Agenda" process and an ongoing reform process at the World Bank. Both reforms aim to enhance the effectiveness of major development stakeholders, and so accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Opening Remarks: 

• Michael Bröning, Executive Director, FES New York

Panel:

• Svenja Schulze, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development
• Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
• Anna Bjerde, Managing Director for Operations, World Bank Group
• Richard Gowan, UN Director, International Crisis Group

Moderator:

• Sara Burke, Senior Policy Analyst, FES New York