Events

MINSK, 20 July (BelTA) – Marianna Shchetkina, Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, National Coordinator on implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, met with Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, BelTA learned from the press service of the upper house of the Belarusian Parliament.

Marianna Shchetkina said that Belarus presented the National Review on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the Ministerial Segment of the High-level Political Forum and that the review included a set of matters on gender equality.

“For her part, Lakshmi Puri commended the efforts of Belarus to achieve the gender equality and welcomed the country’s active position in the United Nations on this matter,” the press-service said.

Marianna Shchetkina also informed the UN Assistant Secretary-General about the national efforts to promote gender equality and noted that one of the Belarusian government’s priorities is to ensure women's employment as one of the main conditions for their economic well-being and independence.

The parties discussed the role of women in achieving SDGs and women's empowerment.

On 19 July Marianna Shchetkina also met with Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Achim Steiner. The head of the Belarusian delegation thanked UNDP for assisting Belarus in mitigating the Chernobyl impact and for joint projects in economy and environment, effective management and support of population groups in need of assistance. Marianna Shchetkina expressed her hope that UNDP will continue to play a leading role in the activities of the UN development system in overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

Marianna Shchetkina praised the high professionalism and proactive position of the UNDP country team in Belarus headed by UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus Sanaka Samarasinha and expressed gratitude for the initiative to implement the technical assistance project to strengthen the capacity of the national coordinator and involve the country's parliament in the work to achieve the sustainable development goals.

As it was reported, Marianna Shchetkina took part in the Ministerial Segment of the High-level Political Forum on sustainable development under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council, during which Belarus presented a voluntary national review on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Marianna Shchetkina briefed the participants of the forum on the steps taken by Belarus to implement the new development agenda. In New York Marianna Shchetkina also met with UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, and the head of the Azerbaijan delegation, Deputy Prime Minister of that country Ali Ahmadov. In an interview to the UN Radio, Marianna Shchetkina noted that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals is a global task that can be fulfilled provided there is good constructive cooperation, integration and collaboration of all states.