At the recent UN Summit in New York, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made an announcement that Kazakhstan will establish a Regional Hub for Sustainable Development for Central Asia and Afghanistan. This initiative is in response to the Summit on Sustainable Development Goals, where world leaders gathered in the UN Headquarters Hall to discuss ways to achieve the 17 Goals, including eradicating poverty and protecting the planet, by 2030.
During his speech, the president emphasized the importance of the UN agenda for building a prosperous future and the urgent need for joint action to overcome global challenges, such as the climate, food, and energy crises.
The creation of the Regional Hub on SDGs for Central Asia and Afghanistan would enable effective coordination of UN project activities in the region. The president also called for reforming the international financial architecture to promote equity for all countries and allocate more funds for environmental issues, education, and health.
Besides, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed the importance of international cooperation in technical support, research, and risk assessment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Kazakhstan considers sustainable development a national priority and is thoroughly investing in it, with 80% of the state budget allocated accordingly.
The president also highlighted the country's universal access to free education and healthcare and the strengthened protection of vulnerable groups under the new Social Code. Kazakhstan is committed to supporting a strong and effective UN role in sustainable development.
Central Asia, consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, is firmly committed to realizing the 2030 Agenda and integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their national plans.
Despite the progress made, Kazakhstan faces several challenges. Currently, it ranks 66th out of 166 countries in the SDG Index, scoring 71.6 out of 100 possible points, highlighting the need for greater efforts to align budgetary allocations with SDG objectives. Kazakhstan finds itself in the “red zone” for SDGs 2, 7, 13, 15, and 16, signifying significant challenges. These SDGs receive the least funding, except for SDG 16.
Governments worldwide have recently begun adopting various budgetary mechanisms to achieve high-level and cross-sectoral priorities, such as “green” budgeting, well-being budgeting, and gender budgeting, which is expected to gradually shift resource allocation towards these priorities, thereby optimizing results. Similarly, budgeting for the SDGs helps align resource distribution with strategic development objectives, overcome fragmentation, and ensure coherence in policies and actions within the country.
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