PM to address UN's key panel dealing with financial gaps to implement SDGs

UNITED NATIONS: Prime Minister Imran Khan will address U.N.'s high-level panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) on Thursday, which was formed to help address the financing gap for implementing the anti-poverty Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The 15-member panel was launched in March by the presidents of UN General Assembly (UNGA) and UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The event is being convened to present the interim report of the FACTI Panel, which identifies the major gaps in implementation and the systemic shortcomings of the existing international frameworks for tax cooperation, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering.

Officials said it will provide a high-level forum for discussing the priority actions for addressing the identified challenges, particularly in light of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on progress toward the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The event will bring the FACTI Panel chairs together with high-level representatives from member states. It will also foster a discussion amongst civil society, international institutions, academia and the business sector to explore the issues highlighted in the FACTI Panel’s interim report.

The event will consist of two parts: a high-level segment and a moderated panel discussion among invited speakers with a brief interactive dialogue.

In his capacity as ECOSOC president, Pakistan's UN Ambassador Akram, is also set to speak in FACTI's moderated session.