Yunus at UN: ‘Closing $4 trillion SDG financing gap essential for shared prosperity’

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has called for urgent global action to close the USD 4 trillion annual financing gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stressing that commitments must turn into actions to ensure “an economy of dignity, shared prosperity, and resilience.”Delivering his speech at the opening segment of the First Biennial Summit for a Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Global Economy: Implementing Commitments on Financing the Sustainable Development Goals at the UN headquarters on Wednesday, Yunus said poverty should never be a barrier to one’s dreams and financial inclusion is an instrument of justice.Highlighting Bangladesh’s experience, he said when a woman starts a business, when youth gain solar power and IT access, and when children in settlements attend schools with nutrition and sanitation, “transformations become real and enduring.”Referring to the Seville Commitment, Yunus identified five priorities to better finance the SDGs: mobilizing domestic resources fairly with progressive tax systems; ...

• 24 Sep 2025