Opinions & Interviews

Balanced regional development named one of Belarus’ major SDG targets

MINSK, 12 March (BelTA) – In its SDG efforts Belarus will focus on eliminating disparity in the development of regions, National Coordinator for SDGs, Deputy Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, Marianna Shchetkina said at the opening of the conference “SDGs Localization in the Context of the 2030 Agenda: Prospects for Belarus-Germany Cooperation” in Minsk on 12 March, BelTA has learned.

“We have repeatedly stated that it is impossible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals without involvement of regions, mutual exchange of experience and the interest from the civil society. Therefore, we are focusing on regional work. Following the first national forum in January we set forth a number of important goals. First of all, we will regard the strategic goal of reducing inequalities as eradicating disparity in regional development. The quality and level of life should be improved across the board. People should feel comfortable everywhere. They should be able to have well-paid jobs, create and support families, to self-develop and contribute to the country’s development,” Marianna Shchetkina said.

Another target is to ensure equal pace of work in the achievement of the SDGs at the local level. The regional groups of the Sustainable Development Council are still out of sync. “We need responsibility for the result, new growth drivers and interaction between stakeholders, regions, countries,” the national coordinator for SDGs said.

According to Marianna Shchetkina, combining the efforts of the society is the third important task. She cited Sustainable Development Goal 5 on achieving gender equality as an example. A lot of proposals on the topic have been submitted to the Belarusian Union of Women.

The Johannes Rau International Centre for Education and Exchange in Minsk is hosting the conference “SDGs Localization in the Context of the 2030 Agenda: Prospects for Belarus-Germany Cooperation” on 12-13 March. The event has gathered more than 120 participants, including representatives of ministries and agencies, regional and local authorities, national and international public organizations, the commercial sector and experts on sustainable development from Belarus and Germany.   
 
The conference will feature speeches, discussions and themed platforms for experts to share regional development strategies, eco-tourism and mobility, digitalization and Smart-region concept at the example of the German and Dutch neighborhood platforms, development of infrastructure for cyclists. Participant will share ideas and work out ways to finance events at different levels.

The event has been organized by the representative office of the Dortmund International Education Center (IBB) and the LAG 21 North Rhine-Westphalia Association.

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