Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich

2030 Agenda viewed in Belarus as basis for new global policy

MINSK, 24 January (BelTA) – Belarus views the 2030 Agenda as a unique basis for a new global sustainable development policy, Speaker of the Council of the Republic Mikhail Myasnikovich said at the First National Forum on Sustainable Development in Minsk on 24 January, BelTA has learned.

Welcoming the participants of the forum, Mikhail Myasnikovich said that Belarus views the 2030 Agenda as a unique basis for a new global policy in sustainable development.

The SDGs has been formulated, guidelines and mechanisms for their achievement have been drawn up. According to the speaker, the organizers of the forum and MPs expect the participants to put forward new ideas for the achievement of the SDGs. He suggested discussing several topics, like how reliable are GDGs in evaluating sustainable development at the global level and what will happen if some global economic powers withdraw from regional integration associations. 

Mikhail Myasnikovich said that the national legislation is one of the conditions for the successful achievement of the SDGs. The Belarusian Parliament works on this in detail. In 2018, a number of laws aimed at achieving the SDGs were adopted. Among them was the law on specially protected natural areas, on the production and circulation of organic products. This work will continue in 2019. the Parliament plans to consider bills relating to health, the rights of people with disabilities.

Mikhail Myasnikovich drew attention to the fact that this year Belarus will begin the work on the main areas of the country's development till 2025. The task is challenging, since the goal is to bring GDP to $100 billion in equivalent by 2025. This means turning Belarus into a country with average per capita income in PPP terms, above the world average. It is the Sustainable Development Goals that will become part and parcel of the country's economic and social development, Mikhail Myasnikovich said.