National Committee on SDGs to focus on sustainability action and delivery

DUBAI- Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Chairwoman of the National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals stated that projects with immediate impact would be at the top of the committee's agenda and implementation strategies during the upcoming period.

Al Hashemy's remarks were made during the committee’s first meeting in 2022, and as part of the Global Goals Week, taking place from 15-19 January at Expo 2020 Dubai.

She reiterated that since the establishment of the UAE, sustainable development has always been at the core of the country’s national plans to ensure prosperity, development and growth of the nation and its citizens and residents.

The Minister of State for International Cooperation also underlined the strategic importance of impactful and effective partnerships between government entities, the private sector and the society on achieving the sustainable development agenda in the country.

"Promises alone are not enough," stressed Al Hashemy. "Focus must be on action, implementation and delivery. The challenges the world is facing are growing in both size and complexity, making it more important than ever to rollout solutions that can have immediate impact, and alleviates smaller obstacles, thus enabling the concerned individuals and institutions to deal with bigger and more complex issues with efficiency and effectiveness, on both medium and long term."

Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Vice Chairman of the National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, chaired the first meeting in 2022, which witnessed the attendance of Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Under-Secretary for Centres and Health Clinics in the Ministry of Health and Prevention; Hanan Mansour Ahli, Acting Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, and members of the National Committee on SDGs.

A number of sessions, presentations and discussions were held, reviewing various initiatives and steps taken by the Committee during the past year, and discussed strategies and priorities for the next stage, including efforts and plans to promote the achievement of development goals in the nation.

"The year 2022 is very important in the UAE's journey to achieve sustainability goals, as it coincides with the beginning of the country's march towards the next fifty years," said Abdullah Lootah. "There will be a great focus on initiatives and programmes that support the vision of our wise leadership to achieve the UAE Centennial 2071, and in alignment with the priorities of global sustainability, which the United Nations labeled its last 10 years as 'Decade of Action'".

For her part, Hanan Ahli said that despite the challenges that the world is going through such as dealing with repercussions of the "Covid-19" pandemic, climate change or geopolitical factors, the committee members were able to rollout various innovative plans, ideas and initiatives during the past period and achieve great results.

"The proposals that were presented and discussed for 2022 reflected the committee’s spirit of integration, consensus and joint determination to continue the UAE's journey, by strengthening efforts in this 'Decade of Action' phase, which coincides with the five-year anniversary of the establishment of the National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals," added Ahli.

Ahli also noted that the UAE has made remarkable achievements in sustainable development, praised by major international institutions that monitor the country's performance in competitiveness indicators related to sustainable development. The UAE came first globally in 97 competitiveness indicators related to the SDGs, and also ranked among the global top 10 in 268 indicators.

"To further strengthen UAE’s regional and international role in sustainable development, it is necessary to boost efforts to achieve the SDGs, and work to support and enhance further partnerships between the government and private sectors to make sustainable development a societal priority in the UAE and beyond," concluded Ahli.

The UAE’s National Committee on SDGs was formed to implement the UN SDGs.

The committee facilitates the alignment of the international SDGs, sharing of information and supports the implementation of the SDGs in an integrated manner. It has 17 members who are responsible for national implementation, monitoring and reporting the progress towards targets and stakeholder engagement. It ensures alignment of the SDGs with the National Agenda and the UAE National Wellbeing Strategy.

The committee collaborates with youth, private sector and knowledge institutions to implement the goals.