X Civil Forum "30 years of Partnership for the Sustainable Development of society and the state"

UNDP Panel session: "UN Sustainable Development Goals - the image of the future of Kazakhstan" 

Part I. Implementation of the SDGs in Kazakhstan. 

Today, on November 22, the first session of discussions was held in Almaty. Civil Forum "30 years of partnership in the interests of sustainable development of society and the state". Institute of Economic Research JSC (ERI) together with the mai.organizer of the forum - the Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan - are th.organizers of the Panel session "UN Sustainable Development Goals - the image of the future of Kazakhstan".

X Civil Forum is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Like other UN member states, Kazakhstan has committed itself to achieving sustainable development for its present and future generations. In 2018, with the assistance of UN agencies and the Asian Development Bank, Kazakhstan introduced an institutional architecture to help achieve the goals of the SDGs for 2030, including a Coordinating Council, five working groups (people, planet, prosperity, peace, partnership) and a coordinating office.

Kazakhstan's national approach and achievements in the field of SDGs will be presented in the form of a Voluntary National Review at the High-level Political Forum at the UN Assembly in July 2022.

To study international best practices in achieving the SDGs, Kazakhstan needs an active partnership and exchange of experience between the Government and international experts. X Civil Forum brought together experts from the Government, business circles, development partners, well-known personalities, representatives of civil society contributing to sustainable development. The speakers presented practical solutions for Kazakhstan to achieve progress on the SDG agenda.

Forum speakers:

• Yeldos Abakanov - Deputy of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan
• Vitaly Vremish - Deputy Permanent Representative of UNDP in Kazakhstan
• Zhanybek Aigazin - General Director of the Center for Applied Economics Research
• Makhabbat Yespenova - Director of the Civil Alliance of Nur-Sultan
  
  

UNDP Panel session: "UN Sustainable Development Goals - the image of the future of Kazakhstan". 

Opening the event, the moderator of the discussion is a journalist and associate professor of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Makhabbat Yessen noted:

"Our purpose is to promote the further development of the SDGs and their contribution to the country's long-term development strategies while strengthening the capacity of public institutions and involving civil society in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Kazakhstan."

Ruslan Sultanov, co-moderator of the panel session of the forum, Chairman of the Management Board of Economic Research Institute JSC, said that the issue of ensuring the well-being of the population has been the main task since the independence of our country, and this issue is the highest priority within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.

"As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, global GDP decreased by 3.5%. The pandemic has led to more than 124 million people living in extreme poverty. More than two billion people found themselves in a food shortage. All this has also affected our citizens", the speaker added.

However, according to him, significant measures are being taken to improve the welfare of the population of our country.

This year, as part of the implementation of the new state planning system, the Sustainable Development Goals were integrated into an already new system. Recently approved national projects also contain SDG indicators.

Ruslan Sultanov also said that Kazakhstan has a Coordinating Council for the SDGs under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan. The working body of the Coordinating Council is the Ministry of National Economy.

The main task of the Coordinating Council is to unite the efforts of government agencies in the process of effectively achieving the SDGs.

"We want to combine the potential of civil society, the state and the business community to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," the speaker emphasized.

"In addition to the 30th anniversary of our country's Independence, our Institute turns 60 this year. This year is a landmark for us: we strive to work out as much as possible the entire international agenda that is relevant for us today," Ruslan Sultanov said.

Vitaly Vremish, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kazakhstan, spoke about UNDP activities in Kazakhstan in the area of SDG implementation.

"Today we will launch a Regional project on SDGs for Central Asian countries in Almaty together with the Ministry of National Economy, the Institute of Economic Research and the European Union," the speaker said.

Vitaly Vremish introduced a brief excursion into the history of the SDGs in the Republic of Kazakhstan - from the country's commitment to achieve them to the creation of an institutional architecture of the SDGs and current projects.

"We believe that the Platform for the implementation of the SDGs in Kazakhstan is a successful project. During its implementation, we have held more than two thousand events with the participation of government agencies, representatives of NGOs and businesses," the speaker explained.

According to him, one of the specific tasks of the Platform is to leave the implementation of the SDGs at the national level on the basis of Economic Research Institute. The Institute's experts regularly conduct analytical work, for example, a comprehensive assessment of development financing.

"As for the financing of the SDGs, we have set the task to introduce a Comprehensive mechanism for financing the SDGs in Kazakhstan. We are also participating in the preparation of the Second Voluntary National review on the achievement of the SDGs, which will be presented in New York in the summer of 2022," the Deputy Permanent Representative of UNDP in Kazakhstan said.

He also said that UNDP, together with Economic Research Institute, conducted the 2030 Mission in the regions of Kazakhstan in the format of a game about sustainable development goals, involving more than 750 people of different age groups and categories of the population. In July 2020, Mission 2030 was digitized in the form of a three-day hackathon.

For reference:

X CIVIL FORUM IS AIMED AT:

·      Summing up the results of the development of civil society over 30 years of Independence of Kazakhstan;

·      Strengthening the capacity of public institutions and involving civil society in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Kazakhstan;

·      Discussion of proposals and development of recommendations on improving the mechanism and tools of the policy of the "hearing state"

·      Strengthening cooperation with the international community;

·      Identification of key points of growth of civil society activity in the context of a pandemic and growing regional challenges.