Vice-President of UCLG at the UN High-level Political Forum

The UN High-level Political Forum was held from 6 to 15 July 2021 in New York. This event is organized annually in the UN headquarters and aims to assess the progress achieved in the SDGs’ implementation. This year, due to the pandemic, the forum has taken place online.

On this platform, governments of various countries present voluntary national reviews of the Sustainable Development Goals. This year, among Eurasia countries, Azerbaijan has presented its Voluntary Review.

Thanks to efforts of UCLG and the Global Taskforce, local and regional governments have been participating in this forum for the fourth year. UCLG-Eurasia was represented at the UN High-level Political Forum by Vice-President of UCLG, Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolaev, who delivered a speech about the issue of health and well-being and presented the progress made in the field of SDG 3.

Along with him, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) Munir Akram, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) Liu Zhenmin, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UN-Habitat Maimunah Mohd Sharif and others took the floor.

“A multilevel approach and localization are especially important for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 65% of the SDG targets will not be achieved without the adequate and proper participation of local and regional governments,” Maimunah Mohd-Sharif emphasized.

Aisen Nikolaev presented the initiatives that had been launched in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), having identified protection and improving citizens’ health as a key priority for the coming years. The Government of Yakutia is actively working towards achieving the SDGs. Aisen Nikolaev said that in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Council for Welfare and Sustainable Development is being created. Its goal is cooperation between the state, public institutions, business and citizens in achieving high standards of quality of life, economic and social sustainability in the Far North and the Arctic.

“We hope that the defined approaches and our efficient projects can be upscaled in the northern, Arctic regions of the world, where initial conditions are comparable to ours,” said Aisen Nikolaev.

The participation of a wide range of representatives of local and regional governments in the forum allowed to expand the local-global partnership to achieve the SDGs.

13.07.2021

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