IDOS Deputy Director at conference on the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Mumbai

Following on Professor Dr Anna-Katharina Hornidge’s participation in the Think7 Summit in Japan, Dr Axel Berger, Deputy Director of IDOS, attended the T20 Mid-Year Conference in Mumbai from 10-12 May.

He moderated a session on 11 May, in which he reflected together with panellists Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, South African Institute of International Affairs, G.A. Tadas, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, Fahmida Khatun, Centre for Policy Dialogue, and Fabio Veras Soarees, Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) on new cooperation formats to accelerate the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly with regard to cooperation between the G20 and countries of the Global South. As part of their active participation in the Global Solutions Summit in Berlin, 15-16 May, Anna-Katharina Hornidge and Axel Berger also contributed their expertise on the G7 and G20 and discussed with international representatives from politics, academia and civil society what role club governance formats can and should play in dealing with current global challenges. In a panel discussion with Andreas Schaal, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Ronnie C. Chan, Hang Lung Properties, and Luciana Servo, IPEA, Anna-Katharina Hornidge emphasised that international cooperation must always take priority in tackling global challenges. At the same time, she also pointed out that the G7 and the G20 should not be the only ones to look at, but that the Group of 77 should also be more involved in discussions. The extent to which the G7 in particular can contribute to strengthening cooperation between the so-called Global North and the Global South was also the topic of a hybrid event organised by the Instituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) on 29 May. With a view to Italy’s G7 presidency in 2024, Anna-Katharina Hornidge and Italian and Japanese representatives from politics and the private sector shared their perspectives on the development agendas of the G7 countries and discussed ways to improve coordination between development partners.

In addition to its work on the potential of multilateral governance formats for international cooperation, IDOS also addressed concrete challenges in the field of international development cooperation in May. Building on the expertise of various IDOS research projects, Anna-Katharina Hornidge reflected in policy advisory activities on the role postcolonial approaches can play for German development cooperation. Meanwhile, Axel Berger discussed the status of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda as a panellist at a conference of the United Nations Association of Germany on 24 May and in a lecture on 26 May in Cologne, highlighting both the systemic causes for the lack of progress in implementing the 2030 Agenda and milestones already achieved. Axel Berger also contributed his expertise on international trade and investment agreements at the Africa Day in Berlin on 24 May and moderated a panel discussion on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Together with the speakers, State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth (BMZ) and Samaila Zubairu (President and CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation), he reflected on how AfCFTA can contribute to facilitating a climate-positive growth trajectory on the African continent and how the BMZ’s new Africa Strategy will be operationalised in the support for the AfCFTA.