National voluntary review on Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 drafted

AMMAN — The Higher National Committee for Sustainable Development, chaired by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury, on Tuesday discussed the draft of the National Voluntary Review of Jordan on the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.

The draft will be presented at the meeting of the UN political forum on sustainable development in July, a planning ministry statement said.

Fakhoury stressed that the committee's approach is based on partnership and that the report will focus on the roadmap, institutional arrangements and supportive environment adopted by Jordan to implement the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.

The report also tackled the main areas that Jordan will be working on during the next phase, outlining the challenges faced by the Kingdom, especially those related to hosting Syrian refugees and the pressure placed on Jordan's resources, infrastructure and services. 

The report highlighted the efforts required to achieve the goals of sustainable development, and the need for the international community to provide adequate support in this regard, the statement said.

The roadmap was based on the Jordan 2025 document, which will be based on the integration of the goals, targets and indicators of the Sustainable Development Agenda into successive operational development programmes through 2030.

Prepared with the participation of all stakeholders, the report was drafted following several workshops which saw the participation of civil society institutions, the private sector, youth, academics and people with special needs, the statement added. 

The minister stressed the importance of empowering youth and women in all fields in the coming stage.

He noted that the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 is an "ambitious and comprehensive" agenda that took into account all the issues and dimensions of sustainable development in order to achieve prosperity and peace. 

Fakhoury noted that the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030 was adopted by world leaders at the UN General Assembly meeting attended by His Majesty King Abdullah. 

The agenda contained 17 goals and 169 purposes covering all aspects of comprehensive and sustainable development. 

Jordan was then listed as one of the countries to submit a voluntary review report. The National Voluntary Review aims to facilitate the exchange of experiences, successes, challenges, lessons learned and achievements, according to the statement.

It also seeks to strengthen the policies and institutions of participating governments, as well as help translate the development agenda into a vision and goals adopted at the national level that lead to measures that are capable of achieving transforming.