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Messages from the regions

The 2030 Agenda stressed the importance of the regional and sub-regional dimensions in the follow-up and review of the Agenda. Since the creation of the HLPF, Regional Forums on Sustainable Development have been organized by the United Nations Regional Commissions to contribute to the forum’s preparations. Their importance was recognized in the Political Declaration of the SDG Summit in September 2019.

The session will discuss the findings and recommendations from the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development. It will include interventions by the Ministerial Chairs of the Regional Forums and the Executive Secretaries of the Regional Commissions, followed by an interactive discussion with participants.

The session will take place at a decisive moment of crisis when priorities need to be reshuffled and development gains have to be protected and amplified to help member States recover from the COIVD-19 crisis and address structural barriers to prosperity, equality, dignity, sustainability, and resilience.  The session will highlight ways in which Regional Commissions are mobilizing regional action and leveraging regional frameworks on the road to 2030 and beyond.

 Proposed guiding questions: 

  • As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact lives and livelihoods across the world, where do the five regions stand in advancing implementation of the SDGs? What are the priorities for action in each region?
  • How are the efforts of the Regional Commissions, in collaboration with the UN system, making a difference and impacting development trajectories of the respective regions?
  • How can regional work be enhanced? What regional and inter-regional success stories can be highlighted that promote coherence in methodologies and approaches across regions or between regions with common concerns and priorities?

Chair:  

  • H.E. Mr. Munir Akram (Pakistan), President of Economic and Social Council

The session will include a short scene-setting video on the state of progress on the SDGs in the five regions(scene-setting video).

Moderator: 

  • Ms. Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, and Coordinator of the Regional Commissions 

Chairs of the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development:

  • H.E. Ms. Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin, Republic of Congo, and Chair of the 7th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development
  • H.E. Mr. Faisal Al Ibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Chair of the 2021 Arab Forum for Sustainable Development
  • H.E. Mr. Francisco André, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Portugal, and H.E. Mr. László Borbély, State Counsellor to the Prime Minister, Romania, as co-chairs of the 2021 Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region
  • H.E. Ms. Mereseini Rakuita Vuniwaqa, Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Fiji, and Chair of the 8th session of the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development
  • H.E. Mr. Rodolfo Solano Quirós, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica, and Chair of the 4th session of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development

Executive Secretaries of the Regional Commissions:

  • Ms. Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
  • Ms. Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission of Europe
  • Ms. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa
  • Ms. Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia 

Interactive dialogue “Voices from the regions”:

  • H.E. Mr. Sergey Glazyev, Member of the Board, Minister in Charge of Integration and Macroeconomics, Eurasian Economic Commission
  • Mr. Benedict Okey Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank
  • Ms. Nadia Al Saeed, General Manager, Al Etihad Bank, Jordan
  • Mr. Christoph Steck, Director, Public Policy and Internet, Telefonica S.A., Spain
  • Mr. Kofi Kankam, President and Chief Executive Officer of Elizka Relief Foundation, Ghana, Co-Chair of the Africa Regional Mechanism for Major Groups and other Stakeholders.
  • Ms. Wardarina, Asia-Pacific Regional Coordination Engagement Mechanisms (APRCEM)
  • Mr. Salaheddine Jourchi, President of the forum group 'Al-Jahez', Tunisia