Over 300 delegates meet to find ways to translate SDGs into national action
Kuala Lumpur: The Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department ( EPU) and the United Nations Country Team jointly presented a Multi- Stakeholder Partnership Conference on the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs) that attracted over 300 delegates, including senior government officials, prominent civil society leaders and thought visionaries. The conference aimed to find ways to better implement, monitor, evaluate and report on Sustainable Development Goals in Malaysia.
In line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this holistic process will be done through active engagement with federal, state and local government agencies as well as civil society organisations, private sector, think tanks and academia.
“Everyone has a role to play to make Malaysia a better place for all and ensure no one is left behind. And the most effective way to turn the SDGs into reality is to agree together on how to implement them into national and societal achievements,” said Jakob Simonsen, UN Malaysia resident coordinator and United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP) resident representative ad interim.
“Through this event, we are looking forward to working with all national partners, especially the Economic Planning Unit, to translate the 17 Sustainable Development Goals into achievable targets for Malaysia.”
The 2030 Agenda builds upon the results of the Millennium Development Goals and is aimed at issues that still require solutions, such as climate change, poverty and equality for women and girls. The Agenda, which came into effect on Jan 1 2016, balances the three dimensions of sustainable development, i.e. the economic, social and environmental.
The director general of the Economic Planning Unit, Datuk Seri Dr. Rahamat Bivi Yusoff in her speech mentioned that the 2030 Agenda at the national level will be undertaken in three phases, namely: Phase I ( 2016-2020) – to achieve SDGs in accordance to the priority areas of the 11MP; Phase II ( 2020-2025) – to achieve the goals and objectives of SDGs beyond 2020; and Phase III (20252030) – to achieve the remaining goals and objectives of SDGs in line with national capabilities.