Bhutan, Kazakhstan and Malaysia exchanged practices for promoting the SDGs

ESCAP is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The Commission provides technical assistance to countries in the region, focusing on government advice, training, and sharing regional experiences through meetings, publications, and international networking. ESCAP implements projects aimed at economic growth, improving socio-economic conditions and shaping the foundations of a modern society.

Bakytgul Khambar, Director of the SDG Secretariat of Economic Research Institute JSC, made a report on the preparation of the third Voluntary National Review of Kazakhstan. She presented the main approaches to the preparation of the review, emphasizing the broad involvement of the public, private, academic sectors and youth. According to the speaker, civil society played a special role in the work, its contribution was to ensure transparency, involve the population, collect, analyze and promote the real interests of citizens. The potential of civil society was also demonstrated by conducting independent surveys and research, including on achieving the SDGs among vulnerable and poorly studied groups of the population.

Following her, Gulzira Yerbolova, Head of the SDG Coordination Department under the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, reported. In her speech, she noted the approval of the National Development Plan 2029 and its approaches aimed at accelerating the process of achieving the SDGs. She also spoke about the adoption of a new State Planning System, in which national SDG indicators are integrated into state planning documents.

The key speakers were experts from the Ministry of Economy of Malaysia, who presented a presentation of the national development plan and its relationship with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The third phase provides for strengthening social inclusion and human capital development, building a sustainable and inclusive economy, promoting green growth in response to climate change, improving governance systems and public sector reforms, as well as strengthening partnerships and data-driven decision-making.

In 2023, Malaysia presented the "Madani Economy" Plan, which sets a clear course for future development of the country. The key components of the plan are to increase the sustainability, productivity and added value of the economy.

The Madani plan includes key performance indicators (KPIs) linked to the SDGs (table 1). For each selected indicator, the government has defined baseline values and planned target results, which, among other things, will contribute to the implementation of the SDGs.

Table 1. Key performance indicators (KPIs) within the framework of the ongoing economic program "Madani"

Source: Presentation by experts from the Ministry of Economy of Malaysia

The speakers noted that the goals and directions of the SDGs are integrated into the national development plan, and MADANI policy corresponds to the targets of sustainable development. SDG plans and roadmaps are synchronized, and government spending is focused on achieving them.

The challenges include the lack of knowledge about the SDGs in government agencies, the need to use disaggregated data, and gaps in coordination between ministries and levels of government.

The webinar highlighted the importance of sharing experiences and joint efforts to advance the SDGs. The discussion of national approaches and challenges has contributed to strengthening regional cooperation and finding effective solutions for a sustainable future.