As the countdown to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline intensifies, global leaders, ministers, experts, and civil society groups will convene in New York next week for the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) – the United Nations’ central platform for assessing global progress and driving action on the SDGs.
Organised under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), this year’s HLPF will run from 14 to 23 July at the UN Headquarters, bringing together a wide range of voices to review challenges, share innovations, and explore strategies to close persistent implementation gaps.
The theme for the event is:
Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, leaving no one behind,”
the forum aims to refocus efforts toward the global goals in the face of mounting challenges including climate change, economic instability, and rising inequality.
Each year, the HLPF selects a set of goals for detailed review. In 2025, the spotlight will be on:
- SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being: Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all.
- SDG 5 – Gender Equality: Achieving equality and empowering women and girls.
- SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: Promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth and productive employment.
- SDG 14 – Life Below Water: Conserving and sustainably using oceans, seas, and marine resources.
- SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: Strengthening global partnerships to support and achieve the ambitious targets of the 2030 Agenda.
SDG 17 is reviewed every year, underscoring its role in securing the financing, collaboration, and capacity needed to support all other goals.
Beyond governments, the forum will feature active participation from civil society, youth organisations, academia, indigenous groups, local authorities, and private sector partners. A wide range of side events, exhibitions, and roundtable discussions will be held in parallel, reflecting the inclusive spirit of the 2030 Agenda.
Also central to the HLPF are the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) — country-led presentations on national progress. Dozens of nations are expected to present their reviews this year, offering insight into how countries are tackling development challenges.
With only five years remaining until 2030, this year’s HLPF is being viewed as a critical inflection point. It follows two high-level UN conferences in Nice and Sevilla earlier this year, which focused on ocean protection and sustainable financing, respectively. The Sevilla conference ended with a call to address the $4 trillion annual shortfall in SDG financing — an issue expected to take centre stage during the forum.
The UN believes that the outcomes of the 2025 HLPF will help shape the agenda for the next SDG Summit in 2027, where world leaders will assess the final push toward 2030.
