Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 1 June (BelTA) - Belarus took an active part in the development of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all stages, Marianna Shchetkina, Deputy Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of Belarus, National Coordinator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, said at a meeting of the Council for Sustainable Development which was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 1 June, BelTA has learned.

The agenda includes the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and was approved in 2015. “This is a global initiative to be implemented within the framework of the multilateral partnership. Belarus is committed to achieving the SDGs aimed at raising the level and quality of life of people. A year ago, Belarus embarked on the SDGs at the national level. Our main instruments are the national strategy of sustainable social and economic development of Belarus by 2030 and the program of social and economic development of the country for 2016-2020," said Marianna Shchetkina.

During the year Belarus focused on the formation of the institutional framework for achieving the SDGs. The Council for Sustainable Development makes the platform for cross-sectoral exchange and covers such areas as monitoring and evaluation of the activities to achieve the SDGs, economic, social, and environmental areas. The National Assembly set up a parliamentary group composed of members of the House of Representatives and members of the Council of the Republic. The main tasks of this group include regulatory impact assessment of draft legislation on sustainable development processes and ensuring parliamentary control in this area.

Marianna Shchetkina expressed the view that in order to improve performance in the area of sustainable development there is a need to engage the Council of Ministers and bodies subordinate to the government in this work.

Development and monitoring of the SDGs indicators and incorporating these indicators in the strategic documents on development of the state are seen as an important part in the work to achieve the SDGs at the country level. The development of the roadmap on statistics by the Belarusian Statistics Committee can be lauded as a big step towards the nationalization of the SDGs.

The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Dapkiunas, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, representatives of the business community, public associations and international organizations. The council was established in Belarus for the organization of work at the national level to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It consists of representatives of government bodies and organizations at the level of deputy heads.