On 11 September 2026, UNU will host “The 2027 SDG Summit: What Does It Mean for the SDGs and the Post-2030 Development Agenda?”, a conversation with Haoliang Xu, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This event will start at 18:30 in the 1F Annex Space at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo.
With fewer than four years remaining until 2030, governments and the United Nations development system face growing pressure to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Progress has been uneven, while countries continue to respond to a wide range of development challenges and changing national priorities. The 2027 SDG Summit will therefore provide an important opportunity to assess progress and consider what must happen in the final years of the 2030 Agenda.
Mr. Haoliang Xu will join UNU Rector Tshilidzi Marwala to discuss how governments around the world are approaching SDG implementation, how the UN development system is responding, and what further action will be needed before 2030. Drawing on UNDP’s experience supporting developing countries in implementing the SDGs, Mr. Xu will also discuss UNDP’s role as co-chair of the Inter-agency Task Force for the 2027 SDG Summit. The conversation will also look beyond the immediate path to 2030 and consider how discussions around the 2027 SDG Summit may contribute to wider thinking on the future of the global development agenda.
This event is part of the UNU Conversation Series, which aims to foster audience participation. You are encouraged to engage with the speakers during the conversation and at the reception that will follow, where all event attendees are invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks while exchanging ideas and making new contacts.
This event will be conducted in English. Advance registration (by 10 September at 15:00) is required. Click on the REGISTER button above to access the online registration page.
Please be prepared to present identification at check-in.
Note that food and photography are prohibited during events at UNU Headquarters, unless prior permission is granted by UNU.
About the Speaker
Mr. Haoliang Xu is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. In this role, he supports UNDP’s work across more than 170 countries and territories to advance sustainable development and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to his current appointment, he served as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support from 2019 to 2023, and as Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific from 2013 to 2019. Earlier in his career, he held senior assignments in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Timor-Leste and Iran.
