Press releases

MINSK, 19 September (BelTA) - Vice Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, National Coordinator for SDGs Marianna Shchetkina will represent Belarus at the Sustainable Development Impact Summit organized by the World Economic Forum in New York on 24-25 September, BelTA learned from the press service of the Council of the Republic.

Belarus has been invited to the summit for the first time. “Marianna Shchetkina will present Belarus’ best practices in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and make a presentation on gender equality and counter-trafficking in persons as part of the work on the SDGs,” the press service said.

According to the Council of the Republic, participation in the summit will help Belarus present its approaches to building the work on achieving the SDGs and also discuss practical issues of cooperation with the World Economic Forum. National Coordinator for SDGs Marianna Shchetkina is expected to hold bilateral meetings with heads of the foreign delegations and international organizations on the sidelines of the summit.

The summit of the World Economic Forum in New York celebrates the opening of the 73^rd session of the UN General Assembly. One of the key topics is to strengthen regional cooperation and establish a network of partnerships on sustainable development. This theme is consonant with the Belarusian initiative to develop a partner network of national coordinators for the SDGs, which the country put forward during the Minsk forum on sustainable development in February 2018. This year, over 700 representatives of business, government, civil society and academic leaders from more than 70 countries will gather at the summit to discuss progress on the SDGs and the Paris Agreement.