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STATEMENT BY VIVEK GANESH, FIRST SECRETARY, PERMANENT MISSION OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS AT THE UNCDF STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK (2026-2029) SEGMENT OF THE UNDP/UNOPS/UNFPA EXECUTIVE BOARD FIRST REGULAR SESSION, 5 FEBRUARY 2026, UNHQ, NEW YORK

5 February 2026

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Mr. President,

Executive Secretary, 

        Singapore welcomes the UNCDF Strategic Framework. It is a timely opportunity to reflect on how UNCDF can continue to add value within an increasingly crowded and resource-constrained development landscape. 

2      UNCDF occupies a distinct niche in the UN system. Its focus on the last mile—particularly in LDCs and SIDS—demonstrates how targeted, catalytic interventions can help unlock broader development impact. In this regard, UNCDF’s emphasis on market-building, blended finance and local-level solutions remains highly relevant. 

3      From Singapore’s own development experience, we have learned that sustainable growth is anchored not only in capital, but in the quality of institutions, regulatory clarity and policy coherence. Creating a credible and predictable investment climate is essential to crowd in private capital at scale. Public resources can play an important role, but they are most effective when used to reduce risk, build confidence and enable markets to function. One illustrative example from Singapore is the Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership, or FAST-P. FAST-P brings together public institutions, development partners and private capital up to $5 billion to help de-risk and mobilise financing for green and transition projects in Asia. 

4      We therefore see strong conceptual alignment with UNCDF’s approach to mobilising private finance for sustainable development. Efforts to de-risk early-stage projects, strengthen local financial ecosystems and demonstrate proof-of-concepts can help create pathways for follow-on investment by larger development partners and the private sector.  

5      Going forward, continued attention to project preparation, standardisation and robust impact measurement will be important to maximise catalytic effect. We also welcome UNCDF’s increasing focus on regional and ecosystem-level approaches. For small and vulnerable economies, regional platforms, peer learning and coordinated interventions can help overcome scale constraints and reduce fragmentation. 

6      Looking ahead, Singapore would encourage UNCDF to maintain strategic focus and discipline—concentrating on areas where it has clear comparative advantage, avoiding duplication, and ensuring clear pathways for scale-up or hand-off as markets mature. This will be important for sustaining UNCDF’s credibility and effectiveness within the UN development system. Singapore stands ready to engage at the strategic and policy level, including through exchanging experience on building enabling environments, fostering public-private collaboration, and convening dialogues on blended finance and sustainable investment. We appreciate UNCDF’s continued efforts and look forward to its refined strategic direction following this review. 

7      I thank you.

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