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Funding for aid is crucial to foster peace during periods of global unrest, especially as significant cuts to foreign assistance are observed, according to the head of the UN Development Programme.
In an interview before a four-day UN conference in Spain aimed at revitalizing the struggling development sector, Haoliang Xu stressed that support for aid, trade, and military initiatives is “not a zero-sum game.”
“International development collaboration is essential to establish the groundwork for peace,” Xu pointed out, emphasizing that most of the world’s impoverished individuals reside in conflict-affected regions.
Wealthy nations, particularly the United States and European states, have decreased aid budgets while increasing military expenditures due to the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, which disrupt global stability.
Military spending reached an unprecedented $2.7 trillion in 2024, a 20% increase from the previous year, Xu reported.
However, the Chinese diplomat argued that it is in the best interest of affluent countries to assist developing nations, despite competing crises and priorities.
“Building the foundations for peace and investing in stability in vulnerable countries can help alleviate the pressures in nations facing challenges such as migration,” he stated.
“Crises in one part of the globe can affect regions that are currently prosperous and stable,” Xu added.
The Peace Research Institute Oslo indicated that last year marked the highest number of armed conflicts globally since 1946.
According to the World Bank, the count of individuals living in extreme poverty—those surviving on less than $3 per day—in countries experiencing conflict and instability is projected to reach 435 million by 2030.
At least 50 world leaders are expected to gather in Seville starting Monday for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, the largest such event in a decade.
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