Dev partners eager to help Bangladesh achieve SDGs

International development partners yesterday expressed interest in supporting Bangladesh in the attainment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly those in areas of human rights and good governance.

The expression came at a “Goal Groups' Consultation with International Development Partners” organised by the Citizen's Platform for SDGs at Brac Centre Inn in Dhaka.

Representatives from organisations and agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund, Food and Agriculture Organization, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, High Commission of Canada, German Embassy, International Labour Organization, and Korea International Cooperation Agency, among others, attended the event.

Debapriya Bhattacharya, convenor of Citizen's Platform and distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), chaired the discussion.

It was attended by Prof Mustafizur Rahman, core group member of the platform and another distinguished fellow at the CPD; Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the CPD, and Anisatul Fatema Yousuf, convenor of the platform and director of the CPD.

The CPD is the secretariat of the platform.

A meeting of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development will be held in July in New York, followed by the SDGs Summit in September 2019.

Keeping the HLPF 2019 in view, the platform is preparing review reports on some SDGs.

These reports will mainly focus on the progress of the SDGs with reflection from the contribution of the non-state actors in delivering the SDGs in Bangladesh with a view to promoting the “Leave No One Behind” target.