Thank you, co-chair, and thanks to the panelists.
I have a few points to share:
First, Norway is committed to more predictable financing. We believe this can be achieved through less earmarking, more multiyear commitments, better coordination between humanitarian and development actors on the ground, and more core funding up front in support of first line responders. With regard to the latter, I would like to underline the importance of increased support to the Central Emergency Response Fund.
Second, we must ensure that our efforts to increase predictability does not limit our ability to also respond swiftly to sudden emergencies when they arise, and to do so in line with the humanitarian principles.
Third, we believe the increased engagement of the World Bank in situations of displacement is both very welcome and very important – not only in terms of additional financing, but also in terms of knowledge and expertise. In this regard we are looking forward to the presentation by the World Bank and UNHCR on cooperation on data which was referred to from the panel.
Fourth, we should pursue the ongoing work on enlarging the donor base, both by engaging more states as donors as well as the private sector.
Finally, we would like to highlight one concrete example of an effort to build a bridge across the humanitarian-development divide, and that is through the Education Cannot Wait Fund. The purpose of this fund is to push education in emergencies up the international agenda, to raise much needed additional funds. We believe these kinds of efforts should be considered in the program of action for the global compact on refugees.