Readout: Ministers Champagne and Johnson Smith co-preside a second meeting with UN Member States on addressing the COVID-19 financing challenge

May 19, 2020 – Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, and Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, today co-presided via video conference a second extraordinary meeting of the United Nations Group of Friends of Sustainable Development Goals Financing.

This meeting, which reconvened Ambassadors from across the membership of the United Nations, featured presentations on the climate finance and COVID-19 challenges from Mark Carney, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance and Mahmoud Mohieldin, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The group discussed additional actions to respond rapidly to the global economic crisis facing developing countries and support their efforts to build back better for more resilient societies. They also took note of the work being conducted by the UN to improve developing countries’ access to financing to support their SDGs and climate action objectives.

The Foreign Ministers committed to continue working together to strengthen the multilateral system and to meet again as required to review progress on the COVID-19 financing challenge.