During the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) that was held at the UN headquarters in New York under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on July 18-19, Goar Barsegyan, Director of Integration Development Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission, told about the connection between development of regional integration processes and implementation of the UN Agenda 2030.
"Regional integration promotes achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and is an additional tool ensuring quality and steady economic growth of the countries engaged in integration processes," said Goar Barsegyan and stressed that there was a greater progress in achieving the SDGs in the areas where cooperation within the EAEU was most active.
The EEC representative also delivered a speech at the session "Messages from the Regions" dedicated to the importance of regional entities for supporting the countries in overcoming crises and transitioning to recovery and full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
"The regional dimension of the SDGs has a great potential. The EAEU example shows that integration is a viable mechanism to accelerate economic growth, overcome crises and, as a result, achieve the SDGs quicker," emphasized Goar Barsegyan.
Executive Secretaries of the UN regional commissions presented their vision for the role of regional cooperation and partnership in promoting more active recovery, increasing sustainability and implementing the UN Agenda 2030.
During her visit to the UN headquarters Goar Barsegyan also held a number of meetings. In particular, the EEC representative was welcomed by Movses Abelyan, the UN Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly.
Goar Barsegyan had a working meeting with Neil Pierre, Acting Director for the Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The parties discussed enhanced cooperation between the Commission, the UN agencies and organizations associated with the UN. It was agreed to interact with the UN Secretariat in a more focused and regular manner, including in the area of SDG implementation.
Goar Barsegyan also met with permanent representatives of the EAEU States to the UN, told about the main directions of the Commission's activities and shared the outcomes of the events and bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the HLPF.
For reference
The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) started on July 10, 2023 and is dedicated to drawing up recommendations to accelerate the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 at the global, regional and national levels.
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Resolution “Transforming Our World. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". The Sustainable Development Agenda includes 17 goals and 169 targets that are integrated to balance the three pillars of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.
At the end of 2022, the Eurasian Economic Commission published the compendium“Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Eurasian Economic Union Region". For the first time ever the compendium presents statistical data on the regional list of indicators for achieving SDGs in the Eurasian Economic Union for 2017-2021. The regional list comprises 130 indicators, including 63 indicators proposed for monitoring at the global level, as well as 67 indicators reflecting development priorities in the EAEU.
