I would like to welcome you to today's workshop which aims to set up an enhanced Governance system for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As you know, the Directorate-General for Growth, in its role as National Coordinator for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has promoted an EU-funded study, to help improve our performance in this area. It focuses on providing expertise to monitor and promote the implementation of the SDGs and their integration into National Policies. The implementation of the project has been undertaken by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
It is important to stress that, we wish to follow a “whole of Government” approach to achieve sustainable development, in line with the European Commission’s approach. We have the main policies in place for economic, environmental and social development, so we need to enhance the governance process; more specifically, ‘the who does what and with what means.’
In order to implement this Governance approach, it is required that we set up the mechanism that will ensure effective coordination as well as strong cooperation between all Ministries and services.
Thus, your contribution to the implementation of this Governance system is really vital, since the responsibility for the promotion of each Sustainable Goal separately remains with the competent Ministry while the overall coordinating role for the promotion of the SDGs in Cyprus falls under the Directorate General for Growth.
At the same time, it is significant that good coordination among stakeholders should also be established since each SDG requires the contribution from the whole of society. Consequently, the lead ministry will need to seek the contribution and work with all involved parties. To this end and thus to be more effective we need to break the silos and work together in order to establish good coordination mechanisms.
I would also like to mention that, since 2020, the EU has started monitoring the progress of each Member State in implementing the SDGs, through the European Semester process and the National Reform Plan (NRP). In this sense, strengthening the SDG Governance Structure and the preparation of an Action Plan are very significant towards improving our country's performance in Sustainable Development, which is currently one of the lowest among the EU.
Within the framework of this project, written consultations and interviews have been held with competent governmental and non-governmental bodies on the subject, as well as a two-day workshop entitled: "Development of a Governance Model and Action Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals" with the aim of mapping the existing governance and policy framework of the SDGs of Cyprus as well as defining the vision, the objectives and actions to be included in this Action Plan. The Governance system will be supported by a strong monitoring system.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the EU Commission for the financing of the project, Unitar and also the consultants and experts for their excellent work and contributions. Finally, I would like to thank you for your presence and we are looking forward to your cooperation for the successful implementation of the governance model for the SDGs in Cyprus, which remains our task in order to ensure sustainable development for the common good of our society.
Thank you for your attention.