Events

MINSK, 10 July (BelTA) – Belarus is interested in exploring the international experience in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Vice Speaker of the Council of the Republic, the National Coordinator for SDGs Marianna Shchetkina said during a meeting with the heads of the diplomatic missions of Belarus, BelTA has learned.

Marianna Shchetkina urged the ambassadors to assist Belarus in achieving the SDGs and help national experts to establish contacts with partners in other countries. She recalled that Belarus has initiated setting up a network of SDG coordinators and has already taken concrete steps in this direction. Belarus has sent the lists of experts in charge of the SDGs in 40 countries to the United Nations and the UNECE.

The meeting was attended by the heads of the working groups on cooperation with parliaments of foreign countries at the Council of the Republic. Marianna Shchetkina stressed that the MPs are also interested in assistance from the Belarusian diplomats. “We need the knowledge and expertize of the ambassadors, particularly with respect to legislation. We will localize it, nationalize it and tackle the challenges that we are facing,” she said.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Dapkiunas noted that the ministry and the National Assembly have established close cooperation in various fields. He urged the ambassadors to use, to the greatest extent possible, the expertize of the MPs in their work.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted on 25 September 2015. It includes 17 goals aimed at eliminating poverty, inequality and injustice, and also addressing climate change. Belarus has already undertaken a number of important steps in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The government approved the national sustainable social and economic development strategy through 2030. The head of state has appointed Vice Speaker of the Council of the Republic Marianna Shchetkina as national coordinator for the SDGs. The national architecture has been developed for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It includes the Council on Sustainable Development, the parliamentary group on SDGs and a partner group on sustainable development.