Statement by Helen Clark to 35th Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee
Original source: IMF
The first year of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development coincided with a challenging year for the global economy. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) in its latest World Economic Situation and Prospects report estimates that the world economy expanded by only 2.2 per cent in 2016, the slowest rate of growth since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. This reflected weak investment, trade, and productivity growth as well as heightened policy uncertainty. Low commodity prices since mid-2014 exacerbated economic difficulties in many commodity-exporting countries. Economic prospects in several regions were impacted by conflict and geopolitical tensions.