Spending on international aid is crucial for promoting peace in an era of global unrest and significant reductions in foreign assistance, according to Haoliang Xu, head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
In an interview held the day before a four-day UN conference in Spain, aimed at revitalizing the struggling development sector, Haoliang Xu emphasized that investment in aid, trade, and defense is “not a zero-sum game.”
“International development cooperation is critical to build the foundations of peace,” Xu stated, pointing out that a majority of the world’s poor reside in conflict-affected countries.
Wealthy donor nations, particularly the United States and European countries, have curtailed their aid budgets while increasing defense spending as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East disrupt global security. Military expenditure reached a record high of $2.7 trillion in 2024, a 20 percent increase from the previous year, Xu noted.
However, the Chinese diplomat insisted that it remains in wealthy countries’ self-interest to support developing nations, despite competing priorities and crises. “Creating foundations for peace, investing in stability in fragile countries help reduce the burden in countries where you have challenges of migration, for example,” he explained. Xu added, “Crises in one part of the world will have an impact on other parts of the world that are currently prosperous and stable.”
According to the Peace Research Institute Oslo, last year saw the highest number of armed conflicts globally since 1946. The World Bank predicts that the number of extremely poor people living on less than $3 a day in nations suffering from conflict and instability is projected to reach 435 million by 2030.
At least 50 world leaders are expected to convene in Seville starting Monday for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, marking the largest such discussions in a decade.
