SDGs National Meet conference held in Pakistan

By
Rubab Ali
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457
SDGs
Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) organized a ‘National Meet’.

Islamabad, 28 July 2022 (TDI): SDGs Secretariat in Pakistan and Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals organized a two-day SDGs National Meet conference.

The National Meet is being organized in collaboration with ‘Mustehkam Parliamaan’. It is a project of the European Union, implemented by the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

The National Meet deliberated in-depth on challenges faced by Pakistan like environmental degradation, rising poverty, and food scarcity. It also includes energy crisis and poor management in tackling flooding with special context to post COVID-19 situation.

Remarks of Pakistan National Assembly Speaker

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf inaugurated the event. He mentioned that the Pakistan government is making policy choices that will contribute to building a successful, sustainable and resilient future.

Federal ministers and national, provincial, and legislative assemblies also participated.

Remarks of Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mariam Aurangzeb was the Chief guest of this event. She said the legislative role is crucial in creating enabling environment for SDGs in Pakistan.

She further mentioned that it is time to start evaluating national performance & prioritize goals that address the country’s immediate issues.

Moreover, the senior government officials, representatives from public/private and civil society organizations, academia, media, and members of the diplomatic corps also participated.

Remarks by Convener SDG National Taskforce

The Convener of the SDGs national task force and Member National Assembly Romina Khurshid Alam also made a speech at the conference. She mentioned that Pakistan was the first country in the world to accept the SDGs as its national development agenda.

The country significantly worked to ensure sustainable human development in conformity with globally set targets ensuring well-being for all.

She further stated that Sustainable development requires high-level leadership and active participation of stakeholders in policy-making.

It requires devising solutions that aim to integrate all dimensions of sustainable development.

She also underlined that Pakistan had achieved a 57.7% completion rate of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2021). It ranked 129th out of 165 countries.

Remarks of EU Ambassador to Pakistan

EU Ambassador Riina Kionka said that the EU is very pleased to be with the SDGs Taskforce Secretariat of Pakistan. She mentioned that the EU recognizes Pakistan’s efforts to achieve SDGs by 2030. She added that Pakistan had designed a comprehensive provincial and federal level SDG framework.

The EU Envoy further said that the continuity in poverty and unemployment remains a concern in Pakistan.

Riina Kionka also said achieving the SDGs demand tough political choices. However, the Pakistani parliament had a critical role in achieving SDGs with critical legislation and strict implementation to ensure the accomplishment of development goals.

Remarks of Planning Minister

Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal also shared his remarks. He mentioned that the country needs a national consensus of all the political parties for a collective effort to achieve the SDGs. He asserted that no nation could achieve the development goals amid polarisation and division in all state strata.

The planning minister further highlighted that SDGs are achievable through broad national consensus, nuance and indigenous approach, and development of local level awareness.


It demands a multi-stakeholder engagement of religious leaders and local governments for their roles to ensure their implementation.