Events

MINSK, 21 February (BelTA) - Marianna Shchetkina, Deputy Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic, National Coordinator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, outlined the important aspects of international cooperation for Belarus on the 2030 Agenda at the session entitled as National Policy and Institutes: SDGs Achievement through the Exchange of Experience and Knowledge held as part of the regional forum of national SDG coordinators in Minsk on 21 February, BelTA has learned.

Belarus has taken a number of important steps towards the achievement of the SDGs. The government approved the national sustainable development strategy through 2030. The country built national architecture to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The government has been working on the SDGs in cooperation with business circles, the civil society and international organizations. “In November 2017, the experts of the UN mission, MAPS missions assessed the elements of the ongoing work on the SDGs. We discussed the situation in the country and proposals for developing a roadmap for the SDGs achievement in Belarus. The mission commended the achievements of the country in the matters of gender equality, motherhood and childhood, social support of the population. We are ready to share our best practices in the above-mentioned areas,” said Marianna Shchetkina. There are also difficult issues that the Council for Sustainable Development of Belarus has faced and hopes for the assistance of international partners.

First of all, it is a large amount of tasks to nationalize global indicators and implement sustainable development indicators in the policy documents. “We need a national database platform in accordance with the international approaches. We expect that it will be formed by the end of 2018,” said Marianna Shchetkina and asked the forum participants for additional assistance in the matter.

Support from international partners in creating the institutional framework for sustainable development is also important for middle-income countries, such as Belarus. The country has already received substantial support in the course of the international technical assistance project implemented jointly with the UNDP “Support to the National Coordinator on Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and Strengthening the Role of the Parliament in the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.”

Another concern of the council is the absence of generalized information on the experience in achieving the SDGs in the countries around the world. “We believe that the formation of a database of best practices in organizing the work on the Agenda-2030 at the national level would be useful to all. As an option, the UN Economic Commission for Europe could provide assistance in the formation of such a resource in our region. This proposal, of course, should be further discussed in Geneva,” Marianna Shchetkina said.

Minsk is hosting the regional forum of national SDG coordinators. The forum has gathered delegations from more than 40 countries. Top-ranking officials, representatives of international organizations are expected to participate in the forum. Participants of the forum are expected to share the best practices in achieving the SDGs, to discuss the problems in fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.