Opinions & Interviews

Belarus lauded for progress in achieving SDGs

Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki

MINSK, 29 January (BelTA) – Belarus has demonstrated its firm commitment to the concept of sustainable development. The country stands out at the global and regional levels thanks to translating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its national context and establishing national institutions for coordination of the sustainable development policy, UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki said as she took part in a meeting on long-term priorities of Belarus’ sustainable development in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

“Belarus’ investment into education, healthcare, and social services guarantees its stable position among countries with a high level of human potential development. Thanks to this, Belarus ranks 50th in the Human Development Index. In 2019 Belarus also showed good results in other areas, climbing up in the rankings of internet freedom, prosperity, crime prevention, and social progress,” Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki noted.

Belarus occupies the high 23rd position among more than 160 countries on the Sustainable Development Index. However, achieving all the SDGs by 2030 is hardly possible. “At present, no country can guarantee that it will achieve all the SDGs by 2030. This is why all countries should set even more ambitious goals and scale up their activities,” Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki believes.

The UN declared the Decade of Action to achieve the SDGs. It urged the world to team up for the common cause and outlined three main areas of work. They include mobilizing efforts, raising ambition, and finding new solutions. “This will be a decade of fulfilling Belarus’ ambitions and plans regarding the SDGs,” Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki noted.

According to her, it is time to harmonize international programs with Belarus’ National Sustainable Development Strategy through 2035 which is currently in the works. “The programs correlate well. We have started to update our programs and draft a new cooperation framework for Belarus for 2021-2025 to match the country’s needs. This program will incorporate the SDGs even more and will be based on the principle ‘leave no one out’,” Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki added.

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