Statement at the Joint meeting of the Second Committee and the Economic and Social Council

Reimagining Public–Investor Partnerships: Systems Finance for Inclusive Sustainability Transformations

Delivered by Ms. Husniyya Mammadova, Counsellor

14 October 2025

Mr. Chairman,

We meet today with only five years left until 2030, and the world’s financing architecture remains fractured—trapped in institutional and sectoral silos.

Our experience shows that project-based interventions are no longer sufficient; what is truly needed is financing for systems—capital strategically orchestrated to deliver structural transformation and long-term resilience. This shift requires reimagining the roles of both public and private capital.

Azerbaijan has learned this lesson, particularly through our post-conflict recovery and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We moved from fragmented projects to integrated frameworks that blend state budgets, concessional loans, and private partnerships. This enables coherent investments across energy, connectivity, and social infrastructure.

This systemic approach is underpinned by our innovative use of the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) and the SDG Investor Map to mobilize domestic resources. This framework is delivering results: 82.3% of Azerbaijan’s 2022 consolidated budget expenditures were aligned with national SDG targets. This domestic innovation, which has been praised as a model in a 2025 UNDESA publication, is critical for achieving SDG alignment.

Our second focus is on the green and digital transitions, and this is where the power of public-investor partnerships is most evident.

Azerbaijan is on track to become a major exporter of renewable electricity by 2040. These are not just state investments; they are large-scale Public-Private Partnerships that de-risk the transition and bring in global expertise.

• The gigawatt-scale solar and wind projects, spearheaded by major international partners like Masdar and ACWA Power, are prime examples.
• These partnerships are not confined to energy. They are deliberately linked with smart grids, digital infrastructure, and green jobs, ensuring that the private capital contributes to a holistic system.

Simultaneously, the "Digital Silk Way", including the Trans-Caspian fiber corridor, is strengthening Eurasian connectivity. This combination of systemic investments across energy and ICT creates powerful multiplier effects across the SDGs.

Systemic transitions must be just and inclusive. In Azerbaijan, gender equality is embedded in our national SDG strategy. We are expanding women’s access to entrepreneurship finance and digital skills. These measures ensure that our transitions are not only green and digital, but also just and inclusive.

Furthermore, in Karabakh and East Zangezur, we are deploying systemic financing for food systems transformation. Initiatives like climate-smart irrigation, sustainable land restoration, and digital agricultural marketplaces integrate agriculture, water, and rural livelihoods, delivering durable transformation.

Mr. Chairman,

Systemic solutions cannot stop at national borders; they require solidarity, trust, and the collective orchestration of diverse capital flows.

We strongly support the calls for ECOSOC and the General Assembly to convene and discuss these approaches. To truly achieve systemic change globally and to implement the spirit of the Seville Commitment, the international community must address the existing fragmentation in global finance. This requires a strong commitment from the Global Financial Institutions—specifically, an accelerated process for reforming their capital and governance structures to better reflect the urgent needs of the 21st-century development agenda and to mobilize the trillions required for the SDGs. Their role is to de-risk, catalyze, and align private capital with national systemic priorities.

Azerbaijan strongly supports the shift from financing projects to financing systems. Our experience illustrates both the promise and the challenges of this critical shift. We are ready to engage with all partners to scale up this agenda in the crucial years ahead.

Thank you.