UN office vows to help Islamabad achieve SDGs

Pakistan is among the first countries that adopted the SDGs as national development goals

QUETTA: The United Nations office in Pakistan has vowed to continue efforts for addressing development challenges in Pakistan under the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework for the period 2018-22.

This was highlighted at the 6th provincial steering committee meeting of the One UN Operation Plan III (OPIII) at the planning and development (P&D) department secretariat in Quetta on Wednesday, a press release said.



P&D Additional Chief Secretary Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta chaired the meeting. Co-chairs of the Balochistan Steering Committee, United Nations Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne and FAO Representative in Pakistan Minà Dowlatchahi elaborated upon the approaches to align UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework with the priorities of the government of Pakistan.

During the meeting, successes achieved over the last year were also presented to the participants.

It was highlighted that Pakistan is amongst the first countries that adopted the SDGs as national development goals and one of the few countries that is investing its own resources to achieve the SDGs.

The five-year partnership framework sets out the direction of the UN’s support to the government of Pakistan to achieve the 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda for SDGs.

One UN is about UN partners working together more closely to increase effectiveness, improved results, relevance, alignment with national priorities, and efficiency, reduced duplication and transactions costs at country, regional and global levels.

It is that part of the package of UN reforms dealing with the work of the development agencies.

Moreover, the Balochistan P&D through its SDGs Support Unit in partnership with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is implementing a project titled “Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support (MAPS) for SDGs in Balochistan”.

It was announced during a two-day consultation sessions on Voluntary National Review (VNR 2019) organised by SDGs unit of the Planning & Development Department at Serena Hotel Quetta on Wednesday.

The consultation’s objective was to solicit feedback from the stakeholders in Balochistan regarding progress, challenges, lessons and way forward on SDGs in Balochistan.

The event was attended by key public representatives, line department, development partners, the private sector, academia, and civil society.



Pakistan has volunteered to submit the first Voluntary National Review (VNR) of SDGs by mid-2019 to UN’s High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). As part of its follow-up and review mechanisms, the SDGs (2030 Agenda) encourages member states to and regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels, which are country-led and country-driven.

The VNRs aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges, and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The VNRs also seek to strengthen policies and institutions of governments and to mobilize multi-stakeholder support and partnerships for the implementation of the SDGs.