In May, PRIO Research Professor Simon Reid-Henry convened a high-level ministerial meeting of the Coalition of Governments on Global Public Investment (GPI), an initiative he launched with partners at the United Nations Financing for Development IV Conference in 2025. The meeting brought together representatives from 18 governments, as well as international organisations, UN agencies, and financial and philanthropic partners.
Titled “Shaping a Common Future: Africa’s Leadership in a New International Financial Architecture,” the meeting took place on the margins of the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya on 11–12 May, itself convened by Presidents Emmanuel Macron and William Ruto, and attended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and other world leaders.
The Coalition ministerial was opened by former President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, co-chaired by Colombia and Senegal, and hosted by Senegal’s Foreign Minister, H.E. Cheikh Niang.
Participants discussed how international development financing can better respond to today’s global challenges, particularly at a time when traditional aid budgets are declining. The meeting concluded with a commitment to explore a new African-led framework for development cooperation based on mutual respect, shared responsibility and common prosperity.
“There is growing recognition that the challenges countries face today require new forms of international cooperation,” said Simon Reid-Henry. “Global Public Investment offers a way to bring countries together as partners, with everyone contributing according to their means and benefiting from shared progress.”
The Kenya meeting built on the Coalition’s first regional gathering in Bogotá in March 2026 and will help inform discussions at a global meeting during the UN General Assembly later this year. It also reflects growing international interest in Global Public Investment as a complement to traditional development assistance.
The initiative aligns closely with PRIO’s wider work on global governance and international cooperation. It also complements PRIO’s co-leadership of the new Norwegian Centre for International Economics, which launches on 8 June.
