Opening Remarks by Ms. Nashida Sattar

Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Mongolia

1 February 2021

Good morning Deputy Minister Mungunchimeg, members of the working group and colleagues, I am pleased to be here today with you at the first Technical Working Group Meeting of the Integrated National Financing Framework or INFF

Meeting the SDGs will be a challenge, particularly given the devastating impact of COVID-19. In these challenging times, achieving the national development goals and SDGs will require actors across public and private sector to work together. As such, I am pleased to see here today various sector representatives

The key challenge we have is related to effective governance that demands the re-orientation of how public and private actors engage with each other to achieve the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development

Yet, mobilising and channeling resources in the increasingly complex financing landscapes presents significant challenges for governments. Governments are called to manage many diverse resource streams in a way that maximizes impact for unprecedented challenges including the pandemic, inequality and climate change. Meeting this challenge requires a more strategic and holistic approach. A call from countries was made clear under the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, to formulate Integrated National Financing Frameworks

With the support from United Nations and European Union, increasing number of countries are ‘pioneering’ the INFF and we are pleased to see Mongolia joining the ranks.

The INFF can only be a success if it is truly nationally owned. As such, we are pleased to see the Government Action Programme Implementation Plan recently approved by the Parliament specifically stating that INFF will be overseen by the Minister of Finance.

INFF will facilitate for the Government and its partners to align financial and development policies and mobilize different sources of financing to achieve the national sustainable development goals and targets.

The INFF development is very timely as Mongolia and many others are facing formidable challenges due to Covid-19 pandemic that is threatening not just to slow down but to roll back the country’s progress toward SDGs. INFF will have to play a vital role in the coming years in mitigating and addressing these challenges.

I would also like to thank the Joint SDG Fund for funding the Joint Programme and the INFF development in Mongolia.

I look forward to fruitful discussion today.

Now, it is my pleasure to invite Ms. Laura Lucas, UNDP consultant for INFF development, to provide an overview of the concept of INFF, its importance and value added to the existing financing system.