The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation has launched task teams to prepare Jordan’s 2nd Voluntary National Review report, or VNR, which is scheduled to be presented at the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) meeting next July in New York.
According to a ministry statement on Saturday, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan, Ghulam M. Isaczai, attended the workshop to outline 2nd VNR, alongside all stakeholders who include representatives of government institutions, United Nations organizations, civil society institutions and the private sector.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, the ministry’s Secretary-General and Chairman of the Supreme National Committee for Sustainable Development, Marwan Rifai, said this workshop represents an “true” beginning to develop a document that includes the “real” evaluation of national efforts aimed to achieve the sustainable development goals.
The 2nd VNR will be presented next July during the HLPF meeting at the United Nations in New York, under the title: “Building Forward Better after Covid -19 towards achieving the 2030 Agenda,” Rifai pointed out.
Jordan, he said, has committed to implementing the sustainable development agenda since its launch in 2015, and has accomplished many of its objectives related to eradicating poverty and hunger, and improving the citizens’ living standards by providing quality education and health services.
In parallel, he noted measures are taken to conserve environment, provide clean energy and water, and intensify efforts to contain the climate change impacts, noting that Jordan submitted its first VNR in 2017, and was one of the first countries to launch the review process.
Challenges related to the Syrian refugee crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic still ravage the Kingdom’s developmental gains made over years. However, Jordan’s government continues to work to link sustainable development goals with various governmental and national policies, strategies and programs, with the aim of accelerating the desired progress in implementing the agenda items, Rifai pointed out.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY