ASTANA – Kazakhstan approved the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2023 action plan at a Dec. 21 meeting of the SDGs coordinating council chaired by Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov. Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service
The leadership of central government agencies and representatives of the diplomatic corps, the United Nations (UN), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Kazakhstan attended the event.
Participants in the conference discussed the outcomes of interdepartmental working group activities in 2022 and progress toward achieving President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s directive to open the UN Regional Hub on SDGs for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
According to Smailov, the implementation of the SDG principles aims to improve citizens’ quality of life and adopt the best international standards in all areas of the economy.
“Over the next year, we need to fulfill identified specific tasks consistently,” said Smailov.
In July this year, Kazakhstan presented the second Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the implementation of the SDGs until 2030 at the UN High-Level Political Forum in New York. According to Smailov, the document is a comprehensive assessment of the country’s progress over the past three years. It was formed with interdepartmental working groups, the non-governmental sector, the expert community, and international organizations.
The meeting participants supported the country’s ongoing reforms and made recommendations for developing critical areas in the social and economic sphere.
