Global Partnerships Conference 2026
This page explains the purpose of the Global Partnerships Conference and how to follow updates and outputs from the event.
Overview
The Global Partnerships Conference took place in London on 19 and 20 May 2026.
The Global Partnerships Conference brought together countries from around the world to build new partnerships and set out the UK’s approach to development, as the crisis in the Middle East continues to affect global energy and food security. The World Food Programme has estimated that almost 45 million more people could fall into acute food insecurity if the conflict does not end.
The conference took place at a critical point in the agriculture calendar, not just the diplomatic one. Without action to keep fertiliser moving, global partners warned that there would be increased demand for emergency aid, alongside the need for long‑term investment and technology.
The conference brought together governments, businesses, philanthropies, international organisations and civil society to discuss how wider coalitions working together can better respond to today’s global challenges.
Over the past 50 years, international cooperation has helped reduce poverty and address shared challenges such as global health, climate change and energy security. However, current approaches are often too slow and fragmented, and do not always deliver results quickly enough. Global challenges cross borders, and effective solutions must do the same.
Grace Yolanda Tembo, Zimbabwean youth advocate, speaks at the opening plenary session of the Global Partnerships Conference.
What the conference focused on
The conference focused on 3 areas for reform:
- improving access to finance: mobilising and aligning international and domestic investment to support sustainable and resilient development
- speeding up access to knowledge, skills and technology: strengthening digital systems and ensuring innovations, including AI, expand opportunity and help tackle global challenges
- putting countries and communities at the centre of solutions: shifting power, resources and decision‑making closer to the people most affected, particularly women and girls, and reducing duplication across the system
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper attends the compact signing at the Global Partnerships Conference.
Global Partnerships Compact
The Global Partnerships Compact sets out shared principles for modern partnerships that shift power and strengthen local leadership.
To register interest in signing the Global Partnerships Compact, or to share any commitments you would like to make, email:
Who has signed the Global Partnerships Compact
The annex lists organisations and countries that have signed the Global Partnerships Compact. It will be updated as new signatories are confirmed.
Follow updates and outputs
Links to related announcements, speeches and publications.
Related announcements
News announcements published in connection with the Global Partnerships Conference.
Read speeches
Speeches delivered at the Global Partnerships Conference focusing on humanitarian support and ending violence against women and girls. This includes keynote and plenary remarks from UK ministers.
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Baroness Chapman’s speech on mobilising finance at the Global Partnerships Conference: 20 May 2026
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Baroness Chapman’s speech at a roundtable session at the Global Partnerships Conference: 19 May 2026
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Minister Elmore’s speech at the Global Partnerships Conference: 19 May 2026
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Foreign Secretary’s keynote speech at the Global Partnerships Conference: 19 May 2026
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Baroness Chapman’s speech at the Global Partnerships Conference: 19 May 2026
Read conference updates
Summaries and updates from conference sessions and satellite events.
Updates to this page
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Updated the compact signatories list
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Added an annex setting out organisations and countries that have signed the Global Partnerships Compact, with the list to be updated as further signatories are confirmed.
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First published.