Nepal to present NVR report on SDGS to UN body by July

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 16: Nepal will be presenting a report on its progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the United Nations. The report to be prepared through the voluntary national review (VNR) on SDGs is to be presented by coming July. The National Planning Commission today organized a workshop on the Voluntary National Review of SDGs in Kathmandu, gathering valuable submissions from various stakeholders.

Before this, Nepal conducted the first VNR on SDG in 2017 followed by the second in 2020. According to the NC, the third VNR will be concluded in the next six months. In today’s workshop, the NPC Vice -Chair Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha said the event aimed to asses Nepal’s efforts towards sustainable development goals, learn from successful practices in other countries, and gather submissions from various sectors to promote coordination and cooperation with diverse agencies.

According to him, Nepal is fully committed to achieving the sustainable development goals and efforts towards this end are underway from the federal, provincial and local governments. There has been already the localization of SDGs in Nepal and the budget has accorded priorities to them. Effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are in place for projects and plans related to the SDGs. The 16th five-year periodic plan that will be coming into effect from the upcoming fiscal year 2081-82 BS ( 2024-24) has prioritised the endeavours to graduate Nepal from the least developed country category and accomplish the SDGs, he added.

Sustainable Development Implementation and Monitoring Committee under the coordination of the Vice-Chairperson of the National Planning Commission has been working to prepare a third national voluntary review related to sustainable development. The Economic Management Division of the Commission is working as the secretariat. Shrestha shared that Nepal would present this report in the meeting of a high-level political forum under the United Nations in July.

Lauding the activities carried out by Nepal to achieve sustainable development goals, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy pointed out the need to make efforts for further progress-oriented results. “Nepal’s progress in achieving sustainable development goals is admirable. Compared to other countries in the world, the progress of Nepal is better. But we must make further efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals within the stipulated time”, she added. She stressed that Nepal from the position of Chair of least developed countries should be more responsible in the activities of sustainable development goals and upgrading.

All UN member countries in 2015 had approved sustainable development goals (2016-2030) and started implementing them. Nepal has prepared a sustainable development goals 2016-30 roadmap for Nepal and implemented it. As per the recent statistics of the National Planning Commission, Nepal has achieved around 43 per cent progress so far in sustainable development goals. According to the NPC, the workshop was organised at the coordination of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Representatives from line ministries, Nepal Rastra Bank, the Policy and Planning Commission of all provinces, the National Association of Rural Municipalities, the Municipal Association of Nepal, the private sector, representatives of government and non-government offices and the cooperative sector were present on the occasion.