The eighth North and Central Asia Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals began today with a strong call for renewed commitment, accelerated action and innovative solutions to meet the subregional and global development ambitions. This gathering of policymakers and representatives from various stakeholder groups follows last month’s Summit of the Future where global leaders adopted the Pact for the Future, emphasizing international cooperation to achieve shared goals and tackle new challenges.
In her opening speech, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana highlighted the urgent need to intensify efforts in the region, where progress on the SDGs has been uneven, underscoring that “we need to address the investment gap necessary to attain the SDGs through renewed partnerships and international cooperation.”
The two-day Forum will focus on five key SDGs - Goal 3 on health and well-being, Goal 5 on gender equality, Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth, Goal 14 on life below water, and Goal 17 on partnerships.
“Further harmonization of strategic and budget planning will make it possible to allocate the necessary financial resources for the implementation of the SDGs. For the implementation of the SDGs, it is crucial to intensify regional cooperation based on the principles of good-neighborliness, partnership and mutual benefit,” said Arman Kassenov, Vice-Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan.
While North and Central Asia has made impressive achievements including reductions in maternal and child mortality and using technology for women’s empowerment, it has also faced setbacks in several SDG areas such as climate change and marine pollution. Countries in the subregion also face an economic environment characterized by high inflation and borrowing costs, weakening external demand and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
Participants are expected to develop concrete recommendations on several pressing issues faced in North and Central Asia such as environmental protection and ecological conservation of water bodies, persistent informal employment and gender and youth unemployment gaps, and the digital gender gap.
Convened by ESCAP, the meeting is part of a series of five subregional forums which serve as a collaborative platform for governments, development partners, civil society, and other stakeholders to assess progress on the 2030 Agenda and identify solutions. Inputs from the subregional forums will feed into the 12th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) and global UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2025.
For more information: https://www.unescap.org/events/2024/eighth-north-and-central-asia-multi-stakeholder-forum-implementation-sustainable