Empowering middle-income countries
Spanning across all regions of the world—from Latin America to Africa, from Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia and the Pacific—middle-income countries (MICs) constitute over 100 countries, hosting 75 percent of the world’s population and producing 35 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) (World Bank, 2023).
The Philippines is among these middle-income countries which seek to improve the standards of living of their peoples and achieve more sustainable and inclusive development. With a relatively high growth rate, it is projected that the Philippines will attain upper-middle-income status by 2026.
However, like many MICs, the Philippines confronts special challenges. We are one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries and must manage limited resources to alleviate poverty, enhance food security, and build resilience. Hence, our development trajectory is defined by both promise and vulnerability—characteristics shared by most, if not all, middle-income countries.
Due to political and economic shocks, MICs can experience economic slowdowns that cause them to get stuck in “the middle-income trap.” Inequality, unemployment, biodiversity loss, dependence on primary commodity exports, debt distress, volatility of exchange rates, and the digital divide are some of the challenges that constrain MICs.
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), nearly 60 percent of people living in poverty are located in MICs. The UN’s World Population Prospects Report highlights that by 2030, nearly 80 percent of the world’s population will reside in urban areas, and much of this urbanization will take place in MICs. This is why growth in middle-income economies holds much stake for development across the world.
Redefining the development paradigm
The paradox—rising economic potential, alongside persistent vulnerabilities—calls into question the traditional development discourse that zeros in on GDP per capita as the main metric of development. Too often, MICs are unfairly categorized as “too rich to be poor, but too poor to be rich.”
As MICs transition from low-income country status, channels and opportunities for official development assistance, technology transfer, concessional financing, and debt relief regrettably diminish. Instead of further supporting MICs, we observe a situation wherein MICs are being left to fend for themselves.
For too long, the special case of MICs has been overlooked. This must be changed. The achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals will be determined by how effectively the international community supports and accompanies MICs in their development journeys.
Calls to redefine the development paradigm have never been so resonant. MICs, including the Philippines, are advocating for a more inclusive support structure that takes into account our specific challenges, needs, and priorities.
Moving MICs to the center stage
MICs are central actors in shaping a more equitable, just, and sustainable future for all. We strongly support multilateralism and the United Nations.
Our strategic locations, growing consumer markets, rich cultural heritage, and increasingly sophisticated industries make MICs a formidable force for global progress. We can significantly influence debates on the most pressing issues of our time, from digital transformation to climate change.
In this spirit, the upcoming High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries in Manila on April 28 to 29, 2025, will bring sharper focus to and galvanize concerted action for the unique situation of MICs.
It will be a pivotal opportunity to forge stronger partnerships among MICs and relevant UN agencies, develop joint approaches, and push for reforms to the international financial architecture.
Targeted strategy and actions
The conference will discuss solutions for MICs that include unlocking innovation, enhancing productive capacity and human development, promoting financing for development, expanding South-South and Triangular Cooperation, configuring new economic metrics beyond GDP, and building resilience to global shocks and crises.
The initiative to elaborate a strategic plan of action will be taken forward by the Like-Minded Group of Middle-Income Countries, or LMG-MICs, at the United Nations in New York.
It is an honor for the Philippines to assume the chairmanship of the LMG-MICs from Morocco at the conference.
The Makati Declaration on Middle-Income Countries to be adopted at the conference will serve as a road map to further raise the voices and interests of MICs in relevant UN processes and scale up global support for MICs.
New pathways
Middle-income countries are charting new pathways and innovating approaches to making our societies more inclusive, resilient, and future-ready.
As a committed partner, pathfinder, and peacemaker, the Philippines is working hand in hand with other MICs to shape a fairer international system.
Through this High-Level Conference, the Philippines places emphasis on cooperation and dialogue as a gateway and gathering point for advancing sustainable development across the world, especially in the midst of a changing global environment.
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Enrique A. Manalo is secretary of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
