NEW YORK: Qatar has participated in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, under the theme 'Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions'.
Secretary-General of the National Planning Council Abdulaziz bin Nasser bin Mubarak Al Khalifa chaired the Qatari delegation to the forum.
In his address, he reaffirmed Qatar's commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the political declaration adopted at the SDG Summit under the UN General Assembly in September 2023, which aimed to review progress and accelerate the implementation of the SDGs, ensuring benefits for humanity and the planet, fostering prosperity, peace, and partnership, and leaving no one behind.
He emphasized that Qatar's dedication to sustainable development is a fundamental choice reflected in Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to transform Qatar by 2030 into an advanced state capable of achieving sustainable development and ensuring a high standard of living for its people for generations to come. This vision provides a general framework for developing comprehensive national strategies, the latest being the third National Development Strategy for 2024-2030, launched in 2024.
He affirmed Qatar's reliance on the principle of cooperation and partnership to address common challenges, as Qatar National Vision 2030 considers international cooperation an integral part of the national development process and enhances Qatar's regional role economically, politically, and culturally, especially within the framework of the UN system and regional and international organizations. He highlighted the strategic partnership between Qatar and the UN over the past five decades, underscored by hosting the United Nations House in Doha, which accommodates several UN agencies, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, working together to strengthen multilateral international cooperation.
Additionally, Al Khalifa participated in a ministerial dialogue session titled 'Current trends and their impacts: Looking to the future and the realization of the SDGs', discussing the relationship between security, peace, and sustainable development, climate change, development financing, the Doha Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries, science, technology, innovation, and the role of youth in development, and global financial restructuring.
He was also a keynote speaker at a side session organized by the Permanent Mission of Chile to the UN titled 'Poverty and social protection: the road to the World Social Summit', in collaboration with several countries.
Furthermore, Al Khalifa attended the launch meeting of the Sustainable Development Report in the Arab Region for 2024, organized by the Permanent Mission of Oman to the UN and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
On the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, Secretary-General of the National Planning Council met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua. They discussed Qatar's development progress, highlighting the formation of the National Planning Council, the preparation and outcomes of the third National Development Strategy, and the establishment of the National Statistics Center.
Al Khalifa also met with Director of the United Nations Statistics Division, Stefan Schweinfest, to discuss the establishment of the National Statistics Center, which will be responsible for collecting, publishing, and analyzing official data following the fundamental principles of official statistics, providing necessary indicators for decision-makers and data users across various sectors. They agreed on the UN Statistics Division providing technical support and capacity-building assistance to the National Statistics Center and other partners.
In another meeting, he discussed with Executive Secretary of the ESCWA, Rola Dashti, ways to enhance efforts and cooperation to support the capacities of the National Planning Council and the National Statistics Center to advance national development and achieve the goals of the third National Development Strategy.
Additionally, Al Khalifa met with Minister of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia, HE Faisal bin Fadhil Al Ibrahim, Minister of Economy of Oman, HE Dr Said bin Mohammed Al Saqri, and Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus, HE Yuri Ambrazevich.
The announcement of the high-level segment of the 2024 Economic and Social Council session and the 2024 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, held under the Council's auspices, reaffirmed in its closing statement the theme of 'Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions'. It emphasized the commitment to building a sustainable, prosperous, peaceful, just, and inclusive world by 2030, as envisaged in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs.
The statement highlighted that significant and rapid changes would require a widely trusted, interdisciplinary, and scientifically sound foundation, stressing the need to bridge gaps in science, technology, and innovation, and to use these responsibly as drivers for sustainable development while building capacities for sustainable transformations.
Furthermore, it emphasized the necessity of fostering peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, and safe communities to achieve sustainable development and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. The statement underscored that these efforts would be incomplete without good governance, the rule of law, human rights, fundamental freedoms, equitable access to justice systems, anti-corruption measures, and the reduction of illicit financial flows. It stressed the importance of good governance and strong institutions as key enablers of sustainable development, along with various aspirations aimed at advancing sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda.
