The High-level Meeting of Middle-Income Countries, jointly organized by Morocco** and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, was recently held in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, with the participation of representatives of more than 50 countries and international organizations. Under the theme "Solutions to the Development Challenges of Middle-Income Countries in a Changing World", the conference focused on key issues such as South-South and triangular cooperation, climate and innovation finance.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said in her speech that middle-income countries account for about 3 4 of the world's population and are the main engine driving world economic growth. But with 62% of the world's poor living in middle-income countries, existing financing frameworks cannot meet the complex needs of developing countries.
The persistent obstacles are a clear indication of the challenges facing middle-income countries and the missed opportunities for growth, stability and sustainable development. "Amina called for a significant increase in development funding; undertake the necessary reforms of the international financial institutions to better reflect the economic contributions and needs of middle-income countries; Adopt new measures of development in addition to the traditional GDP criteria to take into account the full range of dimensions of sustainable development.
Morocco holds the rotating chairmanship of the United Nations Group of Friends of Middle-Income Countries. Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Burida said that many countries are committed to promoting economic and social development, but cannot obtain sufficient funds for development. Middle-income countries are a barometer of the level of global sustainable development and play an important role in regional and global peace and stability. He called on the international community to give more support to middle-income countries, while calling on them to put sustainable development at a higher level of the agenda.
The conference issued the Rabat Declaration, which called for strengthening fair, just and inclusive cooperation for sustainable development. The participating countries pledged to safeguard the common interests of middle-income countries and explore innovative and effective sustainable development paths through South-South and triangular cooperation, capacity building and experience exchange. Eduard Christo, Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to Morocco, said that the high-level meeting demonstrated the strong commitment to development and the determination of all parties to build a better future.