(MENAFN- Gulf Times) President of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, stressed that the Second World Summit for Social Development (Doha 2025) presents an ideal opportunity to transition from charting plans to deploying practical solutions for the social challenges facing many of the world's communities.
Addressing the Doha Solutions Forum for Social Development, held Monday as part of the summit hosted by Qatar from Nov. 4‐6, Baerbock affirmed that the broad participation expected at the summit will help impart prolific experiences and explore the best solutions to address both current and future social challenges.
The summit broadly aims to unify efforts and share expertise to build practical and enduring solutions for global social development challenges, Baerbock underlined. She lavished praise on Qatar's role in backing international efforts to address social problems worldwide, particularly through hosting this monumental global event.
The real challenge before the international community today, in terms of social development, lies in the capacity to implement solutions effectively, failure of which exacerbates suffering. Therefore, the Doha Summit is a perfect platform for learning, inspiring ideas, and fostering joint action toward a better future for all, she highlighted.
The UN official cited a slew of successful global initiatives in social development, including the Sierra Leone initiative for enabling economic independence for persons with disabilities, which demonstrates empowerment through economic self-reliance rather than charity, achieved by removing barriers to employment, providing vocational training, and offering microloans for entrepreneurial projects.
Similarly, India's Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has opened over 531mn new bank accounts, expanding the scope of social services, while civil society organizations in Sri Lanka launched a digital platform that created more than 25,000 job opportunities, underscoring that such initiatives demonstrate the immense value of collaboration between governments, the private sector, and civil society, she outlined.
She pointed out that the massive challenge before policymakers lies in scaling such solutions and mobilizing essential resources to implement them on the ground. The global financing gap in social development, estimated at approximately US$4tn, underscores the urgent necessity to establish cooperative frameworks and innovative financial instruments capable of scaling pilot projects into large‐scale initiatives benefiting millions, particularly in areas such as digital transformation, infrastructure enhancement, and social inclusion, Baerbock noted.
She further indicated that public‐private sector partnerships, alongside civil society engagement, are the bedrock of achieving comprehensive development, emphasizing that the private sector should be conceived not merely as a source of funding but as a strategic partner in innovation and solution creation.
She stressed the importance of women's empowerment and providing opportunities for them to assume leadership across diverse fields, in addition to recognizing existing solutions, exploring novel ones, and sharing expertise to build a more just and enduring future. Annalena Baerbock World Summit for Social Development UN General Assembly

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