Malaysia underlined the importance of localizing sustainable development goals

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Economic Planning Unit, in collaboration with the Malaysian All Party Parliamentary Group for Sustainable Development Goals (APPGMSDG), co-organized an event entitled “Building Back Better in Localizing the SDGs: A Study case study on Malaysia and the experiences of three South East Asian countries with the partnership model”. The event took place on July 11, on the sidelines of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) 2022 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy), YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, in his welcoming remarks recognized the importance of localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The localization of the SDGs refers to the process of defining, implementing and monitoring strategies at the local level to achieve the global, national and subnational goals of the 2030 Agenda.

The side event, which was held in a virtual format, highlighted the experience of Malaysia, as well as three other Southeast Asian countries, namely Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, on achievements and challenges in localizing the SDGs.

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As the world works to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed highlighted the urgent need for countries to work together and enhance their commitment to implement the SDGs.

He praised the role of APPGM-SDG and the Malaysia CSO SDG Alliance in forging stronger collaboration between parliamentarians, state and local governments, as well as local communities in the implementation of 121 projects in 30 parliamentary constituencies.

Panelists who spoke at the event shared experiences, priorities and lessons learned from implementing the SDGs at the local level. They also shared the respective national implementation efforts, challenges and good practices in the course of achieving the 2030 Agenda.

HE highlighted the urgent need for countries to work together and enhance their commitment to implement the Sustainable Development Goals

Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato’ Sri Saifuddin Abdullah in his closing remarks stressed the importance of joint action by all stakeholders, including government, private sector and civil society; by addressing poverty and inequality, climate change, discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or class with a strong inclusive agenda, especially by reaching the most vulnerable communities in the localization of the SDGs.

The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is the main United Nations platform on sustainable development and has a central role in the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs at the global level.