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; leveraging innovative finance and social business; reforming the global financial architecture and debt governance; enforcing transparency and citizen participation; and accelerating investments for the most vulnerable, including in climate-smart agriculture, healthcare, education, and resilient housing.

He also cautioned against UN budget cuts and shrinking Official Development Assistance (ODA), saying such measures would be “counterproductive” for countries like Bangladesh that host 1.3 million Rohingyas while facing climate shocks and economic turbulence.

The Seville Commitment charts the course; our humanity calls us to journey on it, Yunus concluded.