g7+ Secretariat organized a senior official meeting that took place virtually on 22 December 2020 to review progress the group has made in the year 2020, take note of the transition in member countries and to agree strategic priorities for the year 2021. Chair and Deputy Chair of g7+, Eminent Person of g7+, Deputy Minister for Budget and Development Planning of Ministry of Finance and Development of Liberia and focal points from member countries, attended the meeting. Deputy Director of the UN office of South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) was also invited to share how g7+ members can benefit from and share their experiences with the South-South Galaxy, a portal of rich knowledge and experiences.
The g7+ leadership reminded that the indirect social and economic impact outweighs the direct health effect of the pandemic in conflict affected countries that have already been mired in challenges such as wars, institutional fragility, and hence extreme poverty. The aftermath consequences of the pandemic are even more dire and long-lasting in these contexts. Therefore, the perspective of fragile and conflict affected countries needs to be given due consideration as the world embarks on “building back better”. The g7+ should continue providing platform to raise the voice of countries that are among the furthest left-behind. With the privilege of observer status at the UN, the g7+ has the opportunities to make even stronger impact on the global discourse. The strategic priorities agreed during this meeting include operationalizing the observe status through more consolidation and timely coordination.
Taking note of the progress made in member countries regarding peace processes and political transition, the g7+ leadership and members emphasized on the need for dialogue and inclusive settlements. Recognizing the importance of peer learning, the g7+ group committed to enhance sharing of experiences under the umbrella of fragile-to-fragile cooperation. The g7+ plan for 2021 includes facilitating sharing of experiences among members and with non-member countries in the global south whose trajectories can be inspiring.
The Deputy director of UNOSSC delivered presentation on South-South Galaxy, which is a platform to connect members, and experts and thus facilitate sharing of relevant experiences. Under the MoU between the g7+ and UNOSSC, the members of g7+ were invited to benefit from and share experience of their countries in the Galaxy. The g7+ Secretariat and the UNOSSC will further collaborate in mapping of relevant knowledge that can be shared among countries.
The meeting was concluded with the endorsement of the g7+ work plan for the year 2021.
The End
Progress in implementing the New Deal
Guinea-Bissau and Union of Comoros became the latest g7+ member to undertake a fragility assessment in March 2014 – bringing the total of fragility assessments conducted to seven. The PSG indicators developed from these assessments offer a menu that can help to measure progress against the PSGs. Somalia developed and signed their New Deal Compact, with funding of USD 2.7 billion pledged by development partners. With this funding set to be used within the country-owned and led framework of the New Deal, this is a BIG deal for Somalia and the g7+. Also during the year South Sudan did a remarkable job of country-wide consultation as they began to develop their own
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The g7+ should scale up its work of promoting a culture of peace and reconciliation based on self-reliance and ownership.
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The g7+ group and its members need to work harder to translate the principles of New Deal into reforms that can make aid more effective.
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The g7+ needs to double its efforts to steer the attention of the international community to addressing the root causes of conflicts and fragility.
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The g7+ members should fulfil their obligation to make regular financial contributions as established in the g7+ Charter.