First National Forum on Sustainable Development

On January 24, the first National Forum on Sustainable Development was held in Minsk. Within the framework of the Forum, more than 450 representatives of republican government bodies, local authorities, public organizations, scientific and business circles, the diplomatic corps, international organizations, including agencies of the UN system, gathered to discuss the work carried out in the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and also outline strategic and practical guidelines for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The forum was held in the format of plenary and sessional sessions, at which the achievements of Belarus in the economic, social, and environmental blocks of sustainable development were presented, and issues of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the 2035 Agenda were also discussed separately. The speakers were representatives of government agencies, private business, public and scientific organizations, as well as UN agencies.

The Forum opened with a greeting from the President of the Republic of Belarus and a video message to the participants from Ms. Amina Mohammed, First Deputy Secretary-General of the UN. The Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, Mikhail Myasnikovich, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Sergei Rumas, and the UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus, Ioanna Kazana-Vishnevetsky, addressed the participants with greetings. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator, and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS, visited the Forum on her first country visit in her position.

National coordinator for achieving the SDGs in Belarus Marianna Shchetkina, in her address to the Forum participants, named the main milestones achieved by the Republic of Belarus in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and announced the agenda:

The program of the First National Forum on Sustainable Development is available for downloading via the link (440KV). The presentation with the Forum agenda can be seen here.

The first session of the Forum was devoted to economic issues: what economic indicators Belarus is demonstrating now, what goals it sets for itself to achieve by 2035, what is the role of private business, digitalization of the economy and energy in achieving these goals. During the session, acting UNDP Resident Coordinator in Belarus Zachary Taylor introduced the Forum participants to the concept of impact investing and the opportunities it opens up both for business and for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Deputy Director of the HTP Alexander Martinkevich with a report on digitalization in the economy, which plays a significant role in achieving sustainable economic growth. The discussion was moderated by the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Belarus Dmitry Krutoy.

Session No. 2 of the National Forum on Sustainable Development was dedicated to the environment and ecology. The session discussed issues of sustainable land use and protection of terrestrial ecosystems, rational use of water resources and the transition to sustainable consumption and production patterns. A report on organic agriculture as a factor in “green” development was presented by Elena Sidorova, deputy head of the SidSad peasant farm. First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Iya Malkina spoke about the priorities of environmental development of Belarus. The session was moderated by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Andrey Khudyk.

The third session of the National Forum focuses on social development issues to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. During the session, issues of ensuring decent work and quality of life of the population, social protection of the older population, development of a system of continuous education, and gender equality were considered. Vadim Bogush, rector of the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, spoke in his report about the role of lifelong education and equal access to it. The potential of partnership and interdepartmental interaction to achieve Goal No. 3 – Good health and well-being – was discussed in the speech of the Chief Sanitary Doctor of the Republic of Belarus, Natalya Zhukova. During the session, the influence of business on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals was once again emphasized – Alexander Skrabovsky, director of the Dobra Foundation and coordinator of the sustainable development partnership group, made a presentation on the contribution of business to the social sphere and the achievement of the SDGs. The discussion was moderated by the Minister of Labor and Social Protection Irina Kostevich.

During the fourth session of the Forum, the National Statistics Committee presented for the first time the National Reporting Platform of Belarus on the Sustainable Development Goals. A presentation on the capabilities of the platform was given by Elena Kukharevich, Deputy Chairman of the National Statistical Committee, and its head, Inna Medvedeva, acted as a moderator of the session. In addition, during the session, participants discussed the formation of mechanisms for monitoring the achievement of SDGs in the regions, the use of geomonitoring and administrative