Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 27 November (BelTA) – Belarus intends to start pursuing SDG targets as part of state programs at different levels, Marianna Shchetkina, Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, National Coordinator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, noted as she met with a MAPS mission on 27 November, BelTA has learned.

According to Marianna Shchetkina, one of the main goals of Belarus’ Sustainable Development Council is to introduce SDG indicators into national, sectoral, and regional programs at different levels. Belarus also plans to work out a plan of action to put together all the measures from different programs aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Marianna Shchetkina remarked that Belarus has built up the national architecture of the SDG management, which includes the Sustainable Development Council, too. The national coordinator talked about its structure in detail: the council is divided into four major sectoral groups (economy, ecology, social policy, and statistics). Belarus’ 2030 national sustainable development strategy and social and economic development program for 2016-2020 were also introduced to the MAPS mission.

Belarus is working hard in every direction to achieve the SDGs, the deputy speaker underlined. The matter is under control of the head of state. Marianna Shchetkina expressed hope that interaction with the MAPS mission will help move towards the SDGs in a more effective way.

The MAPS experts, in turn, commended the effort made by Belarus to achieve the SDGs. In their opinion, the country now is an example in terms of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The MAPS mission was set up in 2015 to provide assistance to countries with implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving the SGDs. The experts’ main goal is to search for ways to help countries and look for weak spots which should receive attention at the national level to improve the whole situation with the SDGs. Over the course of five days, MAPS specialists are set to hold meetings in relevant government bodies to analyze the starting conditions for achieving the SDGs. As a result of the visit, the mission is expected to work out a non-regulatory plan of action for Belarus.