Statement by H.E. Mr. Md. Shariar Alam, Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs at the Ministerial Roundtable “Accelerating achievement of the SDGs by 2030: addressing on-going crises and overcoming challenges

I thank you, Mr. President.

Excellencies,

We are amid a turbulent time defined by multiple and overlapping crises. The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed our decades of development gains. The climate change continues to remain an existential threat. The war in Ukraine, along with other protracted conflicts, adds manifold to these pre-existing challenges.

In Bangladesh, we have been able to show strong resilience to tackle the impacts of these crises.

We rolled out 22 billion dollars of stimulus to keep our economy afloat. Social safety net was extensively expanded. Besides, we also spent billions of dollars on vaccines.

A “whole-of-society” approach has been adopted to accelerate the SDGs implementation. Civil society and youth-led initiatives were mainstream. Our national data repository system- SDG tracker- has  enabled the government to monitor progress. We have identified 40 priority SDG targets, including one earmarked for localization at the sub-district level.

On Climate change front, we led many innovative, inclusive, and people-centered adaptation strategies. Bangladesh has also emerged as  a role model for disaster risk response and crises management.

However, the consequences of Ukraine war have hit us hard. We have been particularly affected by the unusual rise of energy price. The growing food insecurity at the global level is also a major concern for us.

To address this situation, we have done a sector specific impact assessment and integrated appropriate fiscal and monetary measures in our current national budget.

 

Excellencies,

As a country from the global south, we wish to bring to the table some practical solutions to overcome the crises.

First, the need of the hour is to strengthen global solidarity and adopt a well-coordinated response. We thank the UN Secretary General for launching the Global Crisis response group.

As a member of its Champions group, my Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working with other global leaders to chart a global response commensurate with the scale and gravity of the crises.

We encourage the leading UN agencies to collaborate among themselves and with other stakeholders to put us back on a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive recovery track.

 

Second, the pandemic has put many developing countries, especially the low-income countries, in a situation of financial crunch. This needs to be addressed comprehensively.

International financial frameworks need to relegate traditional cost-benefit analysis and come up with new dispensations for quickly addressing the challenges.

Finally, our recovery measures should complement climate actions to create stronger resilience.

Development partners, as well as multilateral donors and the private sector must come forward to support national efforts, especially of the most vulnerable countries, by providing additional financial and technological support.

 

I thank you all.