REGIONAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WAS HELD IN GENEVA

On March 21-22, 2019, the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development held its work at the Geneva International Conference Center, in which high-level delegations from countries of the ECE region took part.

Turkmenistan was represented at the forum by a delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan.

The opening ceremony, chaired by the Minister of Health and Social Protection of Albania, Ms. O. Manastirlyu, was attended by Under-Secretary-General of the UN, Ms. Amina Mohammed, Executive Secretary of the UNECE, Under-Secretary-General of the UN, Ms. O. Algayerova, Chairman of the UN Regional Group Sustainable Development Issues in Europe and Central Asia, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ms. M. Spolyarich Egger.

The high-level segment focused on the empowerment of people and the achievement of universal coverage and equality in the ECE region. Special attention was paid to issues related to voluntary national reviews (VNR).

In this context, the delegation of Turkmenistan shared its experience in this area, in particular, related to the adoption, implementation and achievement of the SDGs, the creation of a national mechanism for coordination and monitoring of goals, the realization of which is a consolidating factor in the development of society. High-ranking delegates from the countries which had presented their Voluntary national reviews in previous years discussed and conducted an interactive discussion based on national experience in the preparation of the VNR.

Special focus was given to the impetus given by the surveys in the implementation of the SDGs, national ownership, involvement of interested parties and raising awareness of the SDGs in the country. In this vein, the delegation of Turkmenistan outlined the experience with the Center for SDGs established on the basis of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, a competition of young ambassadors for the SDGs, which resulted in the selection of ambassadors for each goal separately, which will promote greater awareness among young people.

As part of the discussions, participants discussed general lessons learned in the preparation and presentation of voluntary reviews, as well as possible ways of going forward.