Sustainable Development Goals. PICTURE: UN
The three-day conference, with a theme of “Think Globally, Act Locally – SDGs' Implementation through Local Governments,” has been organised by the United Cities and Local Government Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) in collaboration with the Local Councils Associations of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
The conference is supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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The heads of district governments from the four provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory (mayors, chairmen, chairpersons, nazims) showed up at the event. Moreover, 60 delegates from over a dozen countries including mayors of cities from England, Russia, Turkey, China, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal and Afghanistan, directors of United Nations agencies, envoys of European Union and other regional and international cooperation agencies are scheduled to attend the moot.
Local Councils Associations of Punjab (LCAP) President and UCLG ASPAC Co-President Syed Asghar Gillani said the increased recognition of the roles and importance of regional governments in a growing number of developing countries is being undertaken to strengthen democracy and to improve the quality and effectiveness of government and service delivery at local level.
“We all know that centrally-led, top-down development policies and the programme cannot alone succeed in addressing the complexities of sustainable development and fighting poverty. Public and private actors have their role to play especially at local level,” Gillani said.
In a televised message, UCLG ASPAC President and Governor of South Koreas’ Jeju Special Governing Province Won Hee Ryong said the conference help sensitise authorities in Pakistan regarding the importance of SDGs and their effective implementation.
UCLG ASPAC Secretary-General Dr Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi said that local government bodies have to play the role of a bridge between national governments and citizens as well as in global partnership to improve the well-being of the citizens.
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“The current development challenges facing the countries in the region are inequality, unemployment, poverty, climate change, rapid urbanisation and these require the local governments to play a more developmental role for policy-making,” Tjandradewi said.
“The theme is extremely relevant to the sustainable development discourse in the region,” she added.
Islamabad Deputy Mayor Zeeshan Naqvi said sustainability in cities can be achieved through the harnessing of cooperation, political vision and governance through projects with themes revolving around sustainable development goals.
Divided into different sessions including speeches, presentations, interactive sessions, group discussions, study tours and informal discussions, the conference discusses the important role of local governments in responding to Agenda 2030 and the challenges local governments face in the implementation, monitoring and financing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It provides insights into best practices to serve as an opportunity to engage in constructive dialogue, form partnerships and create networks.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2018.
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