The Secretary-General, United Nations, praised Qatar for hosting the second World Summit for Social Development and called the Doha Declaration a "people's plan" that must be implemented through action in four priority areas.

He outlined the priorities as: accelerating the fight against poverty and inequality by targeting investments in food, education, health, water and sanitation, housing and social protection; prioritizing job creation and skills development with a focus on women's equal access to employment; expanding development finance by, among other proposals, tripling the lending power of multilateral development banks and easing debt burdens for countries in distress; and ensuring inclusion so that women, minorities, migrants, older persons, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and young people are not left behind.

The Secretary-General said reforms to the global financial architecture should better represent today's world and the needs of developing countries and that governments and international institutions must act to unlock financing and leverage more private capital. He framed the Doha Declaration as a renewed commitment to dignity and social justice at the heart of sustainable development.