Uncertainty looms large over achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) because of the funding gap in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war that is causing economic downturn.
Therefore, it is crucial for the global community to revisit the ways of how to achieve the SDGs in the changed global context.
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Bangladeshi ministers and academics made these observations at a seminar on "Bangladesh's journey to SDGs: from negotiations to implementation" today (October 6, 2022), organised by the Department of International Relations, Dhaka University (DU) in collaboration with the Foreign Service Academy.
"Given the current global context, I am not very optimistic about achieving the SDGs unless the developed countries meet the funding gap and ensure technology transfer," Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said.
He said achieving the SDGs requires USD 5-11 trillion a year, but only 3 percent of the required amount is met now. This is affecting infrastructure development and supply chains.
Momen said Bangladesh urged the UN General Assembly president to organide a high-level dialogue on how to achieve the SDGs, and another on South-South cooperation.
State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam said the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries are pledged-bound to provide 0.7 percent of their gross national income for the poor countries, but it is now only 0.2 percent.
Bangladesh has notably achieved the Millennium Development Goals and has formulated policies and strategies in line with the SDGs. However, the projected slow economic growth globally has created an uncertainty over SDGs, he said.
Centre for Policy Dialogue Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun said the IMF has projected global economic growth to 2.9 percent next year, which is down from 3.2 percent this year.
"We also saw nationalistic attitude of the developed countries during the pandemic. This is affecting the developing countries hard," she said.
On the domestic front, Bangladesh is graduating out of LDC by 2026, which means access to finance, patent rights, and other international support will be declining. Also, climate change will continue to create woes, she said.
The economist suggested that Bangladesh makes robust diplomacy for building global partnership with the international community, working hand in hand with the non-state actors including civil society, academics and private sector to overcome the challenges.
Dhaka University International Relations Prof ASM Ali Ashraf, in his keynote speech, said Bangladesh made significant contributions to the formulation of SDGs -- something that the country can be proud of.
He suggested the importance of right data and tracking of SDG progress for efficient implementation of the SDGs.
Dhaka University Pro-VC (academic) Prof Maksud Kamal and International Relations Department Chair Prof Muhammad Ruhul Amin also addressed the event.