MINSK, 30 January (BelTA) - Belarus and Germany will cooperate in implementing the initiatives to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The agreement was reached during a visit of the Belarusian delegation headed by Marianna Shchetkina, Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of Belarus' National Assembly, National SDG Coordinator, to Germany, BelTA learned from the press service of the upper house of Belarusian Parliament.
The Belarusian delegation met with representatives of Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to discuss the structure of the SDGs administration processes in Germany and Belarus, the state policy in the field of sustainable development, attracting private financing for socially significant projects. “The parties agreed to continue cooperation in implementing practical initiatives to achieve the SDGs,” the press service informed.
The Belarusian delegation also held talks with Thorben Albrecht, Permanent State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. According to the press service, the parties reviewed the topical issues of social security, training and retention of qualified personnel, demographics, pensions, and exchanged the views on the Belarusian-German cooperation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the development of regional partnerships and other matters.
Approaches to interaction between the state and public associations in Germany and Belarus, the involvement of civil society in the SDG efforts at the national and international levels were high on the agenda of a meeting with the non-governmental organization Germanwatch. The press service explained that Germanwatch implements community-based initiatives on sustainable development, climate change.
The Belarusian delegation also met with representatives of the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. The implementation of the Agenda-2030 in Germany and the strategy of sustainable development were among the key issues. The parties noted the importance of the interconnection between the SDGs process and the digital transformation of the economy, the harmonization of a single set of environmental indicators at national and regional levels. Mariana Shchetkina informed the German colleagues on the SDG administration structure in Belarus and invited to attend the regional forum of national SDG coordinators due in Minsk on 21-22 February.
The Belarusian delegation is in Germany on a visit on 28 January-1 February. The delegation comprises the head of the Council of the Republic's commission on legislation and state construction, the head of the National Assembly's working group to achieve the SDGs Alla Bodak, the members of the Council for Sustainable Development, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the project manager of the UN development program. The goal of the visit is to promote the interaction between Belarus and Germany, to exchange the experience in achieving the SDGs and bolster parliamentary contacts with the assistance of the United Nations Development Program and the Support Program of Belarus of the Federal Government of Germany.
