Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 19 July (BelTA) - Marianna Shchetkina, Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, National Coordinator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, met with UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed at the UN Headquarters in New York on 18 July, BelTA learned from the press service of the Council of the Republic.

Marianna Shchetkina informed the UN Deputy Secretary General, on the efforts of Belarus in the field of sustainable development and steps taken in order to establish systematic work in this direction. She informed the UN Deputy Secretary General on cooperation of Belarus with the UN country team and expressed confidence that this collaboration will continue to be fruitful and will be an important factor in supporting Belarus on the way towards acheiving the SDGs. “The representative of the United Nations, for her part, commended the acitvities of Belarus in achieving the SDGs and assured that the UN will actively support this process,” the press service of the council of the Republic said.

Marianna Shchetkina and Amina Mohammed also discussed the reforms in the UN development system. The national coordinator laid out Belarus’ position on this issue. In particular, she noted the need for a transparent approach to the process, taking into account national interests and priorities of the states-recipient of international technical assistance.

As it was reported, Marianna Shchetkina took part in the f the Ministerial Segment of the High-level Political Forum on sustainable development under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council, during which Belarus presented a voluntary national review on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Marianna Shchetkina briefed the participants of the forum on the steps taken by Belarus to implement the new development agenda. In particular, she mentioned the establishment of the post of National Coordinator for SDGs by the Belarus President and a national council for sustainable development at the level of the heads of government agencies concerned and the regions of the country.