Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 19 December (BelTA) – Belarus is ready to assist the strengthening of global partnership for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Chairman of the Council of the Republic Mikhail Myasnikovich said at the open parliamentary hearings on the partnership between the branches of power as a prerequisite for the successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on 19 December, BelTA has learned.

“Belarus is ready to promote global partnership for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and can serve as a venue for a regional exchange of the corresponding experience, knowledge and technology,” stressed Mikhail Myasnikovich. “We have common goals. Among them is the enhancement of the quality of life based on the growing economic competitiveness, investment and the country’s innovative development,” he said.

The Sustainable Development Goals are interrelated. They are comprehensive and indivisible. Their achievement is impossible without constructive interaction between the state, the civil society, business circles and international organizations. The result largely depends on the consolidation of efforts, the readiness of every one to contribute to the common cause. That is why, as the speaker noted, a big number of participants has been invited to the parliamentary hearings to the Council of the Republic. Mikhail Myasnikovich drew attention to the fact that this meets the SDGs common principle “Leaving no one behind” and invited all the present to discuss comprehensively and openly the issues on the agenda, voice proposals, which can take the efforts to a higher level in the achievement of the SDGs and to fill them with new content. The format of the open parliamentary hearings provides an opportunity to discuss the conditions for reaching the SDGs in full and identify the overriding goals.

According to the speaker, the corresponding legal framework makes a foundation of any state policy aimed at ensuring the well-being of the individual and society, and this is the key goal of the 2030 Agenda. “By adopting laws, states form the conditions for the implementation of national and global development goals by governments, business, civil society. It is important to involve parliamentarians in achieving the sustainable development goals. Every one of us must clearly see their role and make efforts to face global challenges through everyday work,” said Mikhail Myasnikovich.

According to him, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko pays utmost attention to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Speaking at the fifth All-Belarusian People's Congress, the head of state stressed that the country demonstrates undeniable successes in the social sector. This can be confirmed by the achievement of the UN Millennium Goals in 2015 (those related to the eradication of poverty and hunger, the reduction of infant mortality, and ensuring the literacy of the population). The president appointed Deputy Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic Marianna Shchetkina a national coordinator for the Sustainable Development Goals achievement to coordinate the activity of government bodies and other organizations in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. She presented a national report on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the UN headquarters in New York this year. Belarus’ approaches presented at the forum were positively assessed by the international community, including the UN leadership, its agencies and member states of the Organization.

Attending the parliamentary hearings are members of the Council of the Republic, MPs of the House of Representatives, heads of national government bodies, members of the Council for Sustainable Development, representatives of the diplomatic corps and public organizations. The key item on the agenda is the implementation of the SDGs in the economic, environmental and social areas of Belarus, including through public-private partnership mechanisms.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted on 25 September 2015. It includes 17 goals aimed at eliminating poverty, inequality and injustice, and also addressing climate change.