Portugal highlights concrete initiatives at the 2026 ECOSOC Partnership Forum

Portugal participated in the 2026 ECOSOC Partnership Forum, held on 27 January, under the theme “Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda”. The Forum highlighted partnerships as a key driver of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under review at the 2026 High-level Political Forum: SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

In its national statement during the plenary session, Portugal stressed that partnerships are essential to delivering on the 2030 Agenda in an increasingly fragmented international context, and reaffirmed ECOSOC’s role as a platform for coherence, coordination and accountability within the United Nations system.

Portugal highlighted concrete partnership initiatives aligned with the SDGs under review. On SDG 6, it showcased the Global WaterGov Coalition and South-South cooperation initiatives such as LusoReg to strengthen water governance. On SDG 7, Portugal referenced initiatives expanding access to clean energy and innovative financing tools, including a debt-for-climate swap with Cabo Verde. On SDGs 9 and 11, it emphasized efforts to strengthen resilient digital connectivity and data-driven housing and urban governance.

Portugal also underlined the cross-cutting importance of SDG 17, highlighting the implementation of the Sevilla Commitment and its engagement in the Sevilla Platform for Action. In its capacity as Vice-President of the High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation, Portugal reaffirmed its commitment to promoting triangular cooperation as a practical means to scale solutions and deliver results.

The full statement as delivered is available on the UN Journal:

https://estatements.un.org/estatements/30.0010/20260127150000000/otutvJfpuFP/WRVEVproHt_nyc_en.pdf