UK urges UN Second Committee to focus on development finance and delivery

The UK urged the United Nations General Assembly’s Second Committee in New York to focus on delivering existing development commitments, addressing barriers to finance and keeping its agenda focused. Ambassador Kate Foster delivered the statement on 6 October; the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office published it on 7 October. The position matters to countries facing costly borrowing and debt pressures as the committee debates how to fund the Sustainable Development Goals.

Foster, the UK’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, said many developing countries face high borrowing costs, mounting debt and insufficient investment. She called for implementing the Sevilla financing commitments and building a fairer, more inclusive global financial system. The statement set out UK priorities; it did not announce a new funding amount or programme, or record an adopted committee decision.

Why development finance dominates the committee’s debate

The Second Committee handles economic and financial issues. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said financing sustainable development would be a major focus of its current session, amid global uncertainty and competing priorities. It described the discussion as an effort to mobilise resources that could speed progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN coverage of the committee’s 6 October general debate reported calls for changes to access to finance and to the international financial system. Delegates described an annual $4 trillion gap in financing for the development goals, alongside debt pressures, expensive borrowing, declining aid and limited room in national budgets. Those concerns help explain the practical stakes of Foster’s call for implementation.

The Sevilla Commitment was adopted in July 2025, according to UN coverage of the debate. Foster said the UK was ready to work with partners to put those commitments into effect. She described a UK approach that uses official development assistance alongside expertise and innovation to encourage sustainable investment, and argued that finance must be matched to countries’ priorities and coordinated across institutions.

What the UK said about trade, technology and climate

Foster also called for an open, rules-based trading system. She said the UK would work for committee discussions that respect existing mandates and agreed multilateral rules, with an emphasis on practical measures capable of attracting consensus. On technology, she said developing countries should be able both to benefit from new tools and to help shape how they are developed and governed, on voluntary and mutually agreed terms.

On climate and nature, the UK called for implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Foster identified climate and nature finance, adaptation and resilience among the priorities, alongside efforts to keep a 1.5°C warming limit within reach and reverse biodiversity loss. She said the UK would continue delivering its national climate contribution and biodiversity strategy and action plan, and called on other countries to submit their plans.

The speech also linked development to women’s participation in economic life. Foster said the UK would defend agreed commitments on women’s rights and empowerment, including sexual and reproductive health and rights. Her statement placed those commitments alongside finance, trade and climate as subjects on which the UK wants the committee to concentrate.

How the UN Second Committee’s work proceeds

Foster urged the committee to spend less time renegotiating previously agreed language or revisiting matters addressed elsewhere. In her view, that would give delegates more time to carry out commitments already made. The argument is a UK position on how the committee should work, as well as on which policies it should discuss.

The committee opened its 81st session on 1 October. Its programme includes trade and development, illicit financial flows, poverty eradication and information and communications technology for sustainable development, according to UN meeting coverage. The breadth of that agenda provides the setting for the UK’s appeal to focus discussions on delivery.

The next scheduled financing discussion is a joint thematic meeting with the Economic and Social Council on 19 October. UN DESA says it will address approaches to financing the development goals. A dialogue with regional commissions is planned for 20 October, and the committee is due to complete its work by 25 November. Those meetings will provide opportunities to see which financing priorities other delegations pursue and whether the UK’s proposals enter the committee’s work.