President Frank-Walter Steinmeier addresses the opening of the Hamburg Sustanability Conference 2026/© AfricaNewsAnalysis
Berlin, 29 June 2026
The third Hamburg Sustainability Conference, under the theme “The Power of Cooperation: Driving Progress Together”, opened in the Hanseatic City of Hamburg today.
The conference, which brought together high-level international representatives from politics, business, academia and civil society, was opened by the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
A total of 22 ministers, 13 high-level representatives of international organizations, and more than 280 C-level executives from the private sector are attending the conference.
Participants at the conference would work around 80 sessions and side events on innovative solutions and new alliances to address the most pressing global challenges facing the world today.
At this year’s conference more than 15 alliances for a sustainable future is expected to be launched or substantially advanced.
A special highlight at the conference will be the launch of the North-South Commission on Development under the joint chairmanship of Olaf Scholz, former Chancellor of Germany and Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica.
The Hamburg Sustainability Conference is taking place at a time of growing Geopolitical tensions and uncertainties with the risk of further polarization which calls for urgent decisive action and stronger international cooperation.
This year’s conference places at the centre of its deliberations, positive perspective, sustainable progress and dialogue toward a common future, recognizing the pragmatic recognition that cooperation could open greater security and prosperity for all involved.
The UNDP prepared a Curtain Raiser for the Hamburg Sustainability conference 2026 underscoring this approach.
In a survey across 15 countries, respondents identifying accelerating the energy transition, protecting nature, and better access to finance as key priorities for the future.
The findings in the UNDP survey show that people expect stronger international cooperation and more effective mechanisms to address global challenges.
One of the most innovative concepts of the HSC 2026 was that it creates space for very important exchanges that focuses on how international cooperation can be shaped.
The conference also provides a platform to jointly develop and advance concrete approaches and solutions.
The Hamburg Sustainability Conference was initiated by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and the Michel Otto Foundation.
The conference has since its inception over the past two years, transformed itself into an international platform for open dialogue and concrete, joint solutions for sustainable development.
A core element of the HSC was the involvement of the private sector as an important partner for global progress and urgently needed future investments.
Three thematic areas will take centre stage at the 2026 HSC, namely, Resilient Economies, Technology and the Future of Our Plane; Risk, Uncertainty and Conflict as well Ensuring the Future of Human Collaboration; Multilateralism and Governance.
The first day of HSC 2026 was dominated by opening speeches by Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg; Frank-Walter Steinmier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations; Alexander De Croo, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Reem Alabali Radovan, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Masato Kanda, President of the Asian Development Bank, and Mo Ibrahim, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
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