ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is fully committed to achieve Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) by 2030, said Federal Minister Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal.
The minister said this while addressing the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) Bangkok. The forum being held from 3-5 April 2016 is on Regional priorities for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific.
The minister said Pakistan was the first country to adopt SDGs 2030 agenda through a unanimous resolution of Parliament as Pakistan Development Goals.
“We believe that SDGs agenda of development isn’t an international agenda, it is our own agenda. It reflects our ambition and desire to give our people better quality of life. Therefore, we must take full ownership of SDGs with complete devotion and passion”, he added.
He said the government conducted post-Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) consultations with all stakeholders for coordinating and strengthening efforts at federal and provincial levels to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction targets.
The consultation process indicated the need for national level categorization of SDGs, improved data collection and enforcement of monitoring mechanisms, he added. Talking about the measures for implementation of SDGs, Ahsan said that his ministry has been tasked to prepare a comprehensive national action plan, for policy formulating and implementing national SDGs.
The minister said that the Vision 2025 provides a comprehensive national long term strategy for achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development. The seven pillars of Vision 2025 are fully aligned with SDGs. The Vision 2025 will strengthen the data collection process and to increase the coverage of household data at the district level. This will enable to monitor the poverty and vulnerability of the population in all dimensions.
At the federal level, the SDGs Monitoring and Coordination Unit, in coordination with UNDP, is being established to serve as a national coordinating entity with similar units in provinces, he maintained.
