Regional Summit on financing for SDGs kicks off in Kazakhstan
The Regional Summit on Financing for the Sustainable Development Goals has gathered the international experts to share their experiences with the countries of Central Asia regarding financing methods for sustainable development goals under the state, business and world institution cooperation, the Kazakh Finance Ministry’s press service informs.
The first Regional Summit on Financing for the Sustainable Development Goals is taking place in Almaty at the UN House.
Financing for rational use of water resources, sanitation, access to low-cost and reliable energy sources, as well as measures to combat climate change and its consequences are at stake.
The two-day Summit includes several important sessions. So the session “Focus on the Planet” is devoted to water resources, energy and climate change, and “Focus on the Partnership” is dedicated to strengthening regional cooperation.
The Summit brought together delegates from Central Asian countries, as well as leading international and regional experts in the field of ecology, finance, tourism and construction.
Among the participants is Kazakh Finance Minister Alikhan Smailov.
While addressing those present the Kazakh finance minister has underscored that the Kazakhstan 2050 development programme provides for vigorous activity, and touched upon the areas of the new agenda.
Other attendees include Vice Minister of National Economy Zhaslan Madiev, Governor of the Astana International Financial Center Kairat Kelimbetov, Head of Kazakh Tourism Yerzhan Yerkinbaev, World Nobel Laureate Ambassador Rae Kwon Chung, UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan Norimasa Shimomura, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Werner Liepach, UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan Yakup Berish, UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub Manager Gerd Trogemann, ex-president of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbaeva and representatives of the World Bank.
The Sustainable Development Goals are an internationally agreed concept that provides a common understanding of the main environmental, socio-economic challenges and acts as a driver of change.
According to World Bank estimates, Kazakhstan, like other countries of Central Asia, is assigned to the group of countries most vulnerable to climate change and other global challenges. So the Summit is due to present a study on achieving the sustainable development goals of Kazakhstan on the themes of water, energy and climate for 2019.
