MINSK, 1 March (BelTA) - Belarus urges the countries in the region to work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, Marianna Shchetkina, Deputy Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic, National Coordinator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, said at the meeting of the high-level segment of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region in Geneva, BelTA learned from the press service of the Council of the Republic.
Mariana Shchetkina informed the meeting about Belarus' efforts to achieve the SDGs and presented the results of the Regional SDG Coordination Leaders Forum held in Minsk 21-22 February. Regional integration is the engine of development and contributes to the SDGs. The countries of one region can reap more benefits working together, Marianna Shchetkina said.
The SDGs are nationalized through the formation of national statistics systems based on the global indicators. This process should be accompanied by the integration of the SDGs into the national budgets and legislation. “Financing of the national measures to achieve the SDGs is critical. This can be achieved through domestic resource mobilization, including through the establishment of national funds, introduction of tax incentives, encouragement of public-private partnerships, stimulating business investment, attracting support on international level, technology transfer,” she said.
The document adopted at the conclusion of the Regional SDG Coordination Leaders Forum in Minsk notes the need to consolidate the information on the SDGs best practices at the national level. The UNECE and UNDP have been asked to promote such an information resource in the ECE region. Participants also supported the initiative to establish a network of national SDGs coordinators to share knowledge and experience. The countries noted that the priorities also include green economy, digitalization of society, gender equality.
Parliaments have a special role to play in achieving the SDGs . “Lawmaking, budgeting, parliamentary control over the activities of the government are crucial to the achievement of the SDGs. Establishment of inter-parliamentary cooperation on achieving the SDGs will facilitate the exchange of experiences, promote joint initiatives,” Marianna Shchetkina noted.
An important task is to engage business circles, civil society, academia in the SDG process. “We are still at the beginning of a long journey to form the global prosperous society. 17 SDGs involve partnership among states. We are sincerely interested in developing cooperation with partners in order to fulfill this goal,” Marianna Shchetkina said.
