Good morning.
Today marks an important moment in the partnership between the Government of South Africa and the United Nations.
We are gathered to launch a new Cooperation Framework, but we are also gathered to reaffirm a deeper commitment: that the decisions we take, the partnerships we build and the resources we mobilise must translate into real improvements in people’s lives.
This means that our commitments must be felt in homes, schools, workplaces and communities, and in the opportunities available to every child.
This Cooperation Framework is therefore not simply a document to be signed; it is a programme of action for working together with greater focus, greater discipline and greater urgency as we enter the final stretch to 2030.
We meet at a decisive moment, globally and here in South Africa.
Globally, the latest assessment of the Sustainable Development Goals reminds us that progress is real, but it is not yet fast enough.
Only 36 per cent of measurable targets are on track or making moderate progress; nearly half are advancing too slowly, and others have regressed since 2015.
The message from New York is clear: the Sustainable Development Goals continue to work where political will, sustained investment and cooperation come together, but they are not moving fast enough, evenly enough or inclusively enough.
That global picture is sobering, but it should not lead us to pessimism; it should lead us to focus, to accelerate, and to make every partnership count.
Here in South Africa, the picture is also one of progress and unfinished work. Important gains have been made through social protection, expanded access to services, stronger data systems and resilient public institutions.
At the same time, poverty, inequality, unemployment, climate vulnerability and insecurity continue to place pressure on people and communities.
These pressures also affect trust, social cohesion and the protection that people expect from institutions, and they remind us that development must speak not only to national indicators but also to lived experience in communities.
In this context, social cohesion is part of the development agenda because it strengthens the bonds of trust across communities, protects the dignity and rights of all people, including migrants and displaced persons as well as host communities, and helps address the pressures that arise where poverty, inequality, unemployment, insecurity and human mobility intersect.
For that reason, the Cooperation Framework must support solutions that are principled, practical and rooted in South Africa’s constitutional values, ensuring that no community feels abandoned, no person is dehumanised, and no challenge is addressed outside the rule of law.
These realities call for action, urgency and partnership.
They also remind us that the next four years cannot be business as usual; they must be years of acceleration, implementation and measurable progress.
In this period, South Africa has an important opportunity not only to advance the global goals, but to realise its own national aspirations as articulated in the National Development Plan Vision 2030 and translated into the Medium-Term Development Plan 2024 to 2029.
It is therefore fitting that we gather today to renew our partnership and reaffirm our shared commitment to South Africa’s future.
Before I go further, allow me to express my sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of South Africa for the leadership, trust and collaboration that have brought us to this important milestone.
In particular, I wish to thank the Honourable Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Minister Maropene Ramokgopa, and Minister Ronald Lamola of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, as well as the Director-General in the Presidency, the Acting Director-General of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, and all government departments that have worked with us throughout this process.
I also wish to acknowledge the leadership and colleagues of the United Nations Country Team, as well as development partners, business, labour, civil society, academia and communities whose perspectives helped shape this Framework.
The quality of this partnership reflects the seriousness of the task before us, and it also reflects an important principle: this Framework is not the United Nations’ agenda for South Africa.
It is South Africa’s national development agenda, expressed through the National Development Plan, the Medium-Term Development Plan and the country’s Sustainable Development Goal commitments, with the United Nations in support.
That distinction matters because sustainable development cannot be imported; it must be nationally owned, country led and built through genuine partnership.
The role of the United Nations is to stand alongside Government and the people of South Africa, bringing global experience, technical expertise, convening power, data and evidence, and international solidarity in support of the country’s own development journey.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
One of the hallmarks of strong partnerships is the willingness to learn, and we approached this new Cooperation Framework as an opportunity to build on what has worked, listen carefully to what has changed, and sharpen our collective contribution for the years ahead.
We began by asking a more important question: what have we learnt, and what must we now do differently?
The independent evaluation of the previous Cooperation Framework offered valuable lessons for this next cycle: the importance of sustained alignment with national priorities, strong implementation arrangements, better use of data, and a clearer line of sight from United Nations support to tangible development impact.
To design this Cooperation Framework, we therefore undertook extensive consultation and a thorough Country Analysis that looked not only at today’s socioeconomic, political and development landscape, but also at the transition South Africa must make from present constraints towards a more inclusive, resilient and rights-based future.
That analysis highlighted South Africa’s considerable strengths, including strong institutions, broad social protection systems, rich natural and human resources, and extraordinary potential for innovation and growth.
It also confirmed the persistence of poverty, inequality, unemployment, violence, infrastructure constraints and climate risks, while pointing to the opportunities presented by South Africa’s young population, digital transformation and green transition.
Building on that foundation, this Cooperation Framework sharpens our collective focus, strengthens coherence across our efforts, and looks ahead with ambition to the opportunities and challenges of the next four years.
It is organised around three mutually reinforcing priorities: supporting inclusive growth, decent work and social inclusion; strengthening accountable governance, rights and safety; and building resilience through sustainability, climate action and risk preparedness.
Together, these priorities seek to create a more prosperous economy, stronger and more trusted institutions, and more resilient communities.
It aligns directly with the Medium-Term Development Plan and the National Development Plan, while placing Sustainable Development Goal acceleration, implementation discipline and measurable results at the centre of our collective efforts.
This also means using data not only to describe development, but to guide choices, target support, scale what works and hold ourselves accountable for results.
Most importantly, it focuses our efforts where the United Nations can add distinctive value and make a catalytic contribution.
Ultimately, development is not measured by the number of strategies, frameworks or indicators we produce; it is measured by whether people’s lives change.
It is measured by whether more children are learning, more young people are finding meaningful work, more businesses are growing, and more families are living with dignity, peace, safety and the assurance that protection systems will support them when shocks occur.
It is also measured by whether opportunity reaches those who have been left furthest behind.
That is the true promise of this Cooperation Framework.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Development challenges do not exist in isolation, and neither should development solutions.
Consider, for example, a child born today in Lusikisiki, Giyani, Upington or Alexandra.
That child’s future will not be shaped by one programme, one institution or one intervention alone; it will depend on whether Government, communities, business, organised labour, civil society, development partners and the United Nations work together to create the conditions for that child to thrive.
It begins with quality early childhood development, continues with children learning to read for meaning, and requires access to quality health care, nutrition and protection.
It depends on young people acquiring the skills needed for the green, digital and care economies, and on creating pathways to entrepreneurship, innovation and decent work.
It also means living in communities that are safe, resilient, socially connected and supported by capable, trusted institutions.
That is not a collection of separate development programmes; it is one coordinated and integrated development journey.
That is why this Cooperation Framework focuses on catalytic pathways that reinforce one another.
When we invest in early childhood development, quality education and skills for the future, we strengthen productivity, innovation and competitiveness.
When we support micro, small and medium enterprises, we expand opportunities in the green, digital, care and township economies, and open pathways to decent work, job creation and poverty reduction.
When we strengthen governance, accountability and responsive public institutions, we build trust between citizens and the State.
And when we invest in climate resilience, biodiversity and sustainable food systems, we protect livelihoods while creating new opportunities for inclusive growth.
Together, these investments create the conditions for transformational change.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If there is one message that has emerged consistently throughout the development of this Cooperation Framework, it is that South Africa’s development priorities are clear.
The challenge before us is not knowing what needs to be done; it is accelerating how we do it, together and at scale.
This is why our partnership over the next four years must focus relentlessly on three linked imperatives: creating decent employment, especially for young people; reducing poverty; and increasing productivity.
These are not simply economic objectives; they are the foundation upon which inclusive, peaceful and resilient societies are built.
Today, South Africa’s official unemployment rate remains above 30 per cent, while youth unemployment continues to affect nearly one in every two young people in the labour force.
Behind these statistics are millions of South Africans whose aspirations, talents and ambitions are waiting to be unlocked, and creating opportunities for them is perhaps the single greatest investment we can make in the country’s future.
But economic progress alone is not enough; it must be accompanied by social cohesion, trust, inclusion and protection, so that communities experience development not as a distant policy promise, but as a practical improvement in their safety, dignity and opportunity.
Development succeeds where institutions are responsive, where communities feel heard and included, where rights are protected, and where people believe they have a stake in their collective future.
Social cohesion is therefore not simply a social objective; it is a development imperative because trust, inclusion, rights and protection determine whether reforms endure and whether people experience progress as shared.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Another important lesson from the previous Cooperation Framework was that successful partnerships do not require more coordination structures; they require stronger collaboration around shared goals.
Implementation of this Framework will therefore be anchored in South Africa’s existing national systems and coordination mechanisms, including the Cabinet Cluster System and the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Sustainable Development Goals.
This reinforces national ownership, strengthens accountability, reduces duplication and supports a genuine whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to development.
That is the implementation partnership we must now carry forward.
Excellencies,
As South Africa sharpens its focus for the years ahead, so too does the United Nations.
Across our global system, the Secretary-General’s UN80 initiative is challenging us to become more agile, integrated and effective, so that our support is organised around country priorities rather than institutional silos.
For South Africa, this means one United Nations: working more deliberately together, reducing fragmentation, aligning our capacities, and bringing the full strength of the United Nations system behind one national vision.
Our agencies may have different mandates, but our purpose is shared: to support South Africa in achieving its own development aspirations, and to do so in a more integrated, coordinated and accountable way, with our expertise, partnerships and resources aligned behind shared results.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr António Guterres, has reminded us: “The development to-do list is not just homework. This is hope work. And action is the price of hope.”
Those words speak directly to this moment because today’s signing is an act of hope, urgency, unity and resolve, but it must now be matched by action.
That action must be practical: stronger coordination, better use of data and evidence, financing that reaches the priorities that matter most, and partnerships that bring Government, the United Nations, business, labour, civil society, academia, development partners and communities together around shared results.
The Framework also recognises that ambition must be matched by financing, especially at a time when global development financing is under pressure. Stronger resource mobilisation, integrated financing approaches and partnerships with public and private actors can direct capital and capability towards the priorities that scale up what works and accelerate Sustainable Development Goal progress.
It is aligned with South Africa’s own planning systems and priorities, and it seeks to strengthen, not duplicate; to connect, not fragment; and to accelerate, not complicate.
As we sign this Framework, we are committing ourselves not only to partnership, but also to the discipline of implementation, accountability and results.
Tomorrow morning, South Africans will not ask whether we launched a Framework; they will ask whether the right policy interventions, innovations, partnerships, governance and financing approaches are helping to create jobs, improve schools, grow businesses, make communities safer, and give children greater confidence in the future.
Those are the questions that matter, and those are the questions this Cooperation Framework must help us answer.
The United Nations is deeply honoured to continue this remarkable partnership with the Government and the people of South Africa.
Honourable Minister and Distinguished Delegates...
Our work now is not only to sign a Framework, but to make it matter.
We must ensure that it becomes visible in delivery, credible in results, and meaningful in the lives of people.
If we do this with discipline, courage and partnership, then when we reach 2030, we should be able to say that South Africa and the United Nations did not simply mark the final years of the Sustainable Development Goals.
We helped accelerate sustainable development.
We helped turn commitment into progress where it mattered most.
And above all, and we helped keep faith with the people this Framework is meant to serve.
I thank you.
