Yesterday, the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in Kazakhsta.organized a meeting between representatives of the SDG Secretariat of the Economic Research Institute JSC, the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The discussion focused on approaches to assessing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the importance of harmonizing international methodologies and interpretations. The meeting was moderated by Marat Shashkenov, Economist at the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Kazakhstan. ESCAP experts Arman Bidarbakhtnia, Chief of the Statistical Data Management Unit of the ESCAP Statistics Division, and Dayan Shayani, Statistician at the ESCAP Statistics Division, presented an overview of international practices for measuring SDG progress. Particular attention was given to the ESCAP methodology applied across the Asia-Pacific region, including Central Asian countries.
During the meeting, participants emphasized that differences in assessment results are often driven not only by methodological approaches but also by varying interpretations of key SDG concepts. In this regard, conceptual alignment and a shared understanding were identified as essential prerequisites for the successful harmonization of approaches to measuring SDG progress.
The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on international practices and further strengthen cooperation with UN partners.
