We live in a globalised world in which the problems of development are becoming increasingly complex, which poses challenges of a transnational nature in multiple dimensions: economic, social, cultural, health, environmental, etc. Phenomena such as environmental deterioration and biodiversity loss, forced migration and the refugee crisis, global pandemics, growing inequality, international terrorism, and food security, among others, have acquired dynamics of interdependence between regions and they have become clear threats to the future of the planet and humanity alike.
Therefore, we are currently seeing that development is no longer something that only affects a limited number of countries and is exclusively a matter of economic growth; the focus should be widened to a greater number of issues and aspects that condition the well-being of societies and people’s lives, wherever they live.
In response to these challenges and the multidimensional concept of development, international agendas have also undergone significant transformation. In 2015, the international community adopted the 2030 Agenda and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This, unlike the Millennium Agenda, is intended to be universal in nature and calls on all countries to act in a comprehensive and holistic manner from the different spheres of development, regardless of their level of development. Thus, it is not just a matter of cooperation; it requires greater commitment, from domestic policies and from international action alike.
In order to address these multidimensional development issues generated by global society, it is of the utmost importance to reconsider and strengthen international development cooperation and work collectively, forging an alliance between all sectors (public, private and civil society) along with fields of work.
SDG 17 of the 2030 Agenda calls for a global alliance along with the mobilisation of all necessary resources to contribute effectively to sustainable development and to jointly address the current challenges facing the planet and humanity. Therefore, the public authorities of all countries, including local governments and all social actors, are called upon to respond.