Egyptian ministry discloses features of 3rd Voluntary National Report on SDGs to be submitted to UN

CAIRO - 17 March 2021: Egypt's Sustainable Development Unit Head Mona Essam stated that the third national voluntarily report provides an objective overview of the progress made towards achieving sustainable development taking into account the national, regional and international developments.

The statements were made earlier this week in the virtual workshop on “Voluntary National Reviews” organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Arab League. The unit is affiliated to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. 

The official added that the report includes a focus on the supportive policy environment represented by updating the "Egypt Vision 2030", efforts to localize sustainable development goals at the governorates level, and structural reforms of the Egyptian economy, in the context of relying on evidence-based policies, as well as the importance of monitoring and analyzing the repercussions of the pandemic.

In the first session of the workshop on "Progress, Innovations, and Lessons Learned from Previous Voluntary National Reviews," Essam presented the lessons learned from the previous voluntary national reporting process for Egypt, as a mechanism to develop and accelerate the implementation of the sustainable development goals. The first and second reports that were issued in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

The Sustainable Development Unit's team also displayed the preparation process of the third voluntary national report, whereas 17 ministries and government agencies took part.

 The team also emphasized the importance of the participation of all relevant stakeholders from civil society, the private sector, academics, and development partners.

The focus was also on the substantive and coordination challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic in this regard, as well as a review of the general messages that the third voluntary national report of Egypt will seek to present at the local and international levels.

It is worth noting that the workshop aimed to provide an opportunity for Arab countries that intend to submit voluntary national reports to the High-level Political Forum for Sustainable Development for the year 2021, as a platform to discuss experiences and exchange experiences and best practices in the process of preparing these reports.

Several Arab countries, mainly Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Tunisia, presented the most prominent achievements they had made to prepare their respective voluntary national reports, which allowed the exchange of experiences and the presentation of best practices in this regard.

The workshop also discussed some mechanisms and tools that support monitoring data on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda that can be relied upon in the reporting process to ensure that no one is left behind.