Development Cooperation with Middle-Income Countries

A/RES/78/162View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 19cDevelopment cooperation with middle-income countries, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

10 versions · 2009–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/149

2025A/RES/80/149Development cooperation with middle-income countriesLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/162Development cooperation with middle-income countriesCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/215Development cooperation with middle-income countriesCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/231Development cooperation with middle-income countriesCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/230Development cooperation with middle-income countriesCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Development Assistance Economic Cooperation Among Developing Countries Economic Growth Middle-Income Countries South-South Relations Technical Cooperation

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2025.

2025A/80/418Development cooperation with middle-income countries report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

33 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

Acknowledges the efforts made and successes achieved by many middle-income countries in eradicating poverty and achieving the internationally agreed development goals, as well as their significant contribution to global and regional development and economic stability;

Also acknowledges that identifying structural gaps can improve the understanding of development needs of developing countries, including middle-income countries;

Underlines that, for many middle-income countries, official development assistance, including financing on concessional terms from different multilateral financial institutions, remains important;

Also underlines the need for sustained efforts towards achieving debt sustainability in middle-income countries in order to avoid a debt crisis, and the importance of debt restructurings being timely, orderly, effective, fair and negotiated in good faith;

Calls for improved international debt mechanisms to support debt review, debt payment suspensions and debt restructuring, as appropriate, with an expansion of support and eligibility to vulnerable countries in need, commits to continuing to assist developing countries in avoiding a build-up of unsustainable debt and in implementing resilience measures so as to reduce the risk of relapsing into another debt crisis, recognizes the importance of new and emerging challenges and vulnerabilities in regard to developing country external and domestic debt sustainability and calls for strengthened multilateral actions and coordination by all creditors to address the deteriorating debt situation;

Recognizes that, with 62 per cent of the world’s poor population concentrated in middle-income countries, development cooperation, policy dialogue and partnerships with those countries can contribute to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals and targets;

Welcomes the solidarity of middle-income countries with other developing countries, in particular the financial, technical, technology transfer on mutually agreed terms and capacity-building support being provided by middle-income countries, particularly to the least developed countries, including through South-South and triangular cooperation, while stressing that South-South cooperation is a complement to, and not a substitute for, North-South cooperation, and in this regard calls upon the United Nations development system to continue its ongoing efforts to mainstream support to South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation;

Also welcomes the outcome document of the second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, held in Buenos Aires from 20 to 22 March 2019, and notes decisions 21/1 and 21/2 adopted by the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation at its twenty-first session, held from 30 May to 2 June 2023;

Recalls that the creation, development and diffusion of new innovations and technologies and associated know-how, including the transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms, are powerful drivers of economic growth and sustainable development;

Requests the United Nations development system to ensure that it addresses the diverse development needs of middle-income countries in a coordinated manner through, inter alia, an accurate assessment of the national priorities and needs of these countries, taking into account the use of variables that go beyond per capita income criteria;

Emphasizes the need to urgently develop measures of progress on sustainable development that complement or go beyond gross domestic product in order to have a more inclusive approach to international cooperation, including in the consideration of informing access to development finance and technical cooperation, and stresses the call for a United Nations intergovernmental process, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including international financial institutions, multilateral development banks and regional commissions, in line with their respective mandates, on measures of progress on sustainable development that complement or go beyond gross domestic product, building on existing initiatives;

Calls upon the United Nations development system, in line with its resolutions 71/243 and 75/233, to continue to support developing countries in their efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development goals and their development objectives, requests the development system to address, within existing resources and mandates, the special challenges facing the most vulnerable countries, as well as the specific challenges facing middle-income countries, in line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in this regard takes note of the report of the Secretary-General, which includes the assessment of the outcomes of existing strategies within the United Nations development system related to middle-income countries;

Encourages all United Nations entities, funds and programmes to further develop specific strategies to engage and provide tailored support to middle-income countries, including for leveraging and mobilizing finance for sustainable development;

Reiterates the request to the United Nations development system to continue to develop its support to middle-income countries with respect to their specific challenges and diverse needs, recognizes that a gradual shift from a traditional model of direct support and service provision towards a greater emphasis on integrated high-quality policy advice, strengthening institutions, capacity development and support for the leveraging of partnerships and financing is needed, including through additional support for integrated national financing frameworks at the country level, and invites the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, under the leadership of the Secretary-General, to develop a joint framework of collaboration with multilateral development banks to improve synergies at the regional and country levels, including specific attention to middle-income countries, as set out in the Secretary-General’s road map for financing the 2030 Agenda, 2019–2021;

Invites the President of the General Assembly to convene a meeting during the seventy-ninth session of the Assembly, within existing resources and in a format decided by the President, to discuss the structural barriers for middle-income countries in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and explore the impact of new approaches that go beyond gross domestic product, which could inform international development cooperation, including policy and financial decisions, and requests the Secretary-General to consider these discussions in the drafting of his report on the implementation of the present resolution;

Welcomes the convening by the President of the Economic and Social Council of a specific segment on the challenges and needs of middle-income countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time, during the 2023 high-level political forum on sustainable development, and encourages the upcoming presidencies of the Council to continue this good practice so as to advance the efforts to address the diverse and specific development needs of middle-income countries at the United Nations;

Recognizes the importance of the role of the private sector, as well as of the role of public-private partnerships, in meeting the challenges of sustainable development for middle-income countries and other developing countries;

Encourages Member States to advance innovative pathways to achieve sustainable consumption and production, in line with United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 4/1 of 15 March 2019;

Welcomes the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, which includes the multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, the inter-agency task team on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals and the operationalization of the online platform;

Notes that digital-led growth in the services sector, notwithstanding its challenges, can help middle-income countries to achieve sustainable development and harness opportunities in the global market;

Looks forward to the elaboration of a Global Digital Compact to bridge the digital divides and to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Recognizes the great importance of providing trade-related capacity-building for developing countries, including African countries, the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States, countries in conflict and post-conflict situations and middle-income countries, including for the promotion of regional economic integration and interconnectivity;

Acknowledges that good governance and the rule of law at the national and international levels are essential for achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions, including sustained and inclusive economic growth and the eradication of poverty and hunger;

Notes with concern that access to concessional finance is reduced as countries’ incomes grow, and that countries may not be able to access sufficient affordable financing from other sources to meet their needs, encourages shareholders in multilateral development banks to develop graduation policies that are sequenced, phased and gradual, and encourages multilateral development banks to explore ways to ensure that their assistance best addresses the opportunities and challenges presented by the diverse circumstances of middle-income countries;

Urges multilateral development banks to bring forward actions to mobilize and provide additional financing within their mandates to support developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, supports multilateral development bank reform efforts and calls for tangible progress in this regard, including through securing increases to grants and concessional finance, better leveraging their capital bases and considering ways for the respective boards of the multilateral development banks to increase their capitalization, and encourages dialogue between multilateral development banks and other financial institutions;

Recognizes that Governments will have the primary responsibility for follow-up and review at the national, regional and global levels in relation to the progress made in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and targets and that quality, accessible, timely and reliable disaggregated data, including through strengthened capacity in improving access to data at the national and local levels, will be needed to help with the measurement of progress and to ensure that no one is left behind, and in this regard reiterates the commitment to intensifying efforts to strengthen statistical capacities in developing countries, including middle-income countries;

Welcomes progress by middle-income countries in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 and in reporting through the Sendai Framework monitor, and encourages the United Nations system to continue to support middle-income countries to develop national and local disaster risk reduction strategies;

Reaffirms the commitment at the very heart of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind and commit to taking more tangible steps to support people in vulnerable situations and the most vulnerable countries and to reach the furthest behind first;

Recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed middle-income countries, including those moving into higher income, at risk of losing many of their hard-won gains in development and that more needs to be done for a sustainable recovery with regard to resource mobilization efforts, poverty eradication, tackling food insecurity and malnutrition, universal health coverage, strengthening health systems, pandemic response and preparedness, returning children to school, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, the promotion of decent jobs and social protection, achieving debt sustainability, the reduction of inequalities, closing digital divides and enhancing North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation, and in this regard calls for support to middle-income countries in pursuing approaches to enable equitable, inclusive and just transition pathways for sustainable development;

Calls for advancing the elaboration of a specific inter-agency, comprehensive, system-wide response plan, taking note of the mapping exercise conducted by the Secretary-General and his recommendations, aimed at better addressing the multidimensional nature of sustainable development and facilitating sustainable development cooperation and coordinated and inclusive support to middle-income countries based on their specific challenges and diverse needs;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its eightieth session, within existing resources, an action-oriented report on the implementation of the present resolution, including a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the support available to middle-income countries in pursuing suitable approaches to enable inclusive and just transition pathways for sustainable development, including the impact of new and inclusive development approaches;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eightieth session, under the item entitled “Globalization and interdependence”, the sub-item entitled “Development cooperation with middle-income countries”.

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