DUBAI — Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini said Eswatini joined global leaders in Dubai to shape the future of development beyond 2030 at the World Governments Summit’s high-level Ministerial Roundtable Conference.
“Today we added our voice to an important global conversation on what comes after 2030 and the future of development under XDGs 2045,” Dlamini said. “Our message was simple but firm: development frameworks must move beyond measurement and deliver real transformation.”
He criticised existing global development systems, saying they had tracked poverty without ending it, mobilised finance while leaving countries in debt, and structured aid in ways that entrenched dependency rather than building resilience. Dlamini added that climate change exposed the flaws of past models and that it was unfair to place the burden of repair on those least responsible.
Eswatini outlined three priorities for future development. “First, reinvented and innovative development finance, including concessional and blended instruments that unlock sustainable growth. Second, digital public infrastructure and future-ready skills, particularly for youth. Third, transformed governance systems that are contextual, people-centered and result in tangible development,” he said.
He stressed that each country’s financing systems, governance, and reform pathways must reflect national realities. “Inclusion is not charity; it is smart and sustainable development,” Dlamini said.
The Prime Minister called for a new global financing architecture that is affordable, catalytic, and supports self-reliance, along with improved coordination across climate finance, development finance, and humanitarian response, particularly for small and vulnerable states.
He also noted the importance of Africa’s youth. “Africa’s greatest asset is its youth, and any frameworks that fail to convert youth potential into productivity are destined to fail and therefore remain unsuited to Africa,” Dlamini said.
Eswatini, he said, is ready to pilot innovative approaches that could be scaled elsewhere. “What was not achieved in the past 30 years can be achieved in the next 10, if the frameworks are right. The success of XDGs 2045 will not be judged by ambition or rhetoric, but by action. This moment demands more than adjustment, it demands disruption.”
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