Devanand Ramiah

The global economy is facing both expanding opportunities and rising challenges， including the increasing gap in financing needed for development worldwide. The United Nations Development Programme holds the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals at the core of its mandate and welcomes all efforts that have the potential to accelerate their achievements on a global scale.

Given its massive financing flows and investments in infrastructure， institutional capacities and people， when properly aligned the Belt and Road Initiative has the potential to significantly contribute to unlocking important resources， and to enhancing sustainable human development in partner countries. Aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with the SDGs more closely can unlock large-scale financing flows for infrastructure investment and sustainable development in Belt and Road partner countries and enhance the provision of global public goods.

A recent survey conducted by the UNDP， with more than 700 Chinese companies investing in Belt and Road partner countries， finds that the key challenges companies face are in the areas of financing， laws and regulations， labor relations， and community engagement. For instance， in developing markets where their regulatory frameworks are not yet mature， investors and enterprises face the challenge of non-clarity and a lack of effective enforcement of policies and laws.

As the survey underlines， there’s an increasing need for improving the overall business climate and business practices so that sustainable investments can thrive， enhancing both institutional and human capacity， as well as strengthening regulatory frameworks in the partner countries where they don’t exist.

With Chinese enterprises， we aspire to promote sustainable investment that can incorporate environmental， social and governance（ESG） factors into the business decision-making process， so as to better manage risk and generate sustainable， long-term returns.

Through facilitating a platform for stakeholder collaboration， policy engagement and implementing key pilot projects， the program focuses on strengthening partner countries’ capacities to address bottlenecks and regulatory gaps by establishing a network to promote sustainable investment， and enhance the economic， social and environmental dividends of Belt and Road investments both in selected pilot countries and beyond.

As a trusted development partner with an extensive global network and expertise， the UNDP hopes to help shape the Belt and Road Initiative as an inclusive platform for economic growth and regional cooperation where sustainable investments can thrive. This will serve our ultimate goal of effectively mobilizing and utilizing resources for the successful implementation and acceleration of the UN 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

The author is UNDP resident representative in China.