Today in Nur Sultan, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Government of Kazakhstan held a seminar on financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the Partnership to Create a National SDG Platform project.
UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Yakup Beris, emphasized that financing for development was an important element in the implementation of the SDGs. The latest UN report on financing for development shows that interest in sustainable investments is growing, but has not yet materialized to the extent necessary and where necessary.
“We should focus on strengthening the government’s ability to link the SDGs with public finances. This can help both in terms of reporting on the SDGs and with a clear understanding of how the state budget finances the achievement of the SDGs. The role of the business sector in financing the SDGs is also vital. Today we would like to talk about new ways in which Kazakhstan can mobilize and measure the impact of its investments on the implementation of the SDGs, ”he said.
Ms. Zhuldyz Pernebaeva, Director of the Department of Social Policy and Development of Government Departments of the Ministry of Economy, also stressed the importance of financing sustainable development goals in Kazakhstan.
“Over the past six months, we have achieved a lot, we have created the national architecture of the SDGs, prepared our first Voluntary National Report. UNDP has greatly helped us, and we want to thank them for that. I hope that this cooperation will continue further. SDG indicators are already deeply integrated into state planning in Kazakhstan. Our next stage is the practical implementation of the SDGs, and financing plays a very important role in this, ”she said.
During the workshop, Mr. Ben Slay, Senior Economist at the UNDP Regional Office for Europe and the CIS, gave a presentation on global, regional and local practices for financing the SDGs for development. Ms. Irina Goryunova, Assistant Resident Representative of UNDP, spoke about the partnership to create a national SDG platform. Ms. Elena Danilova-Cross, Program Specialist, Sustainable Development Unit, UNDP Istanbul Regional Center, discussed the results of the Rapid Integrated Assessment (RIA) of SDGs in Kazakhstan.
The participants, including representatives from the Ministries of National Economy, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Baiterek Holding, the Institute for Economic Research and the Asian Development Bank, discussed potential sources of current and expected future financing of the SDGs in Kazakhstan until 2030 and the importance of efforts to increase efficiency of the public finance management.
