ESCAP at the High-Level Political Forum 2023

https://www.unescap.org/hlpf2023

The HLPF will convene on the theme: Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels and it will hold in-depth reviews of Goals: 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and 17 (partnerships for the Goals). The Forum will comprehensively review progress and provide political guidance for the way forward and solutions for accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the remaining years towards 2030.

2023 marks the mid-point in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals and much remains to be done for the Asia-Pacific region to get on track to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The convergence of multiple global crises has dialed back much of the hard-earned progress and has sounded the alarm for acceleration and urgent actions. Yet the SDGs remain the course of actions needed for recovery. There is still much to be done to turn our obligations into reality by 2030.

Eleven countries from the Asia-Pacific region will be preparing their second voluntary national review (VNR) at this year’s HLPF: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Fiji, the Maldives, Mongolia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Second-generation VNRs play a critical part in the follow-up and review process, as they can facilitate the integration of SDGs into policymaking and planning processes and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have engaged in triangular cooperation to exchange best practices for the second VNRs.

ESCAP VNR Twinning Programme, which has been running since 2020, supports countries in their VNR preparation by providing a platform for cross-learning among peers, in the spirit of South-South cooperation. Understanding how countries acquire the knowledge, drive, and partnerships to implement course corrections and reforms is vital to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs. Thanks to its experiential and hands-on nature, twinning amplifies the role that VNRs can play in strengthening leadership on the 2030 Agenda and mobilising multistakeholder partnerships to take concrete action on the SDGs.