The eighth Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development Goals began today with a strong call for renewed commitment, accelerated action and innovative solutions to meet the subregional and global development ambitions. This gathering of Pacific policymakers and representatives from various stakeholder groups follows last month's Summit of the Future where global leaders adopted the Pact for the Future, emphasizing international cooperation to achieve shared goals and tackle new challenges.
In her opening speech, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana highlighted the urgent need to intensify efforts in the region, where progress on the SDGs has been uneven. "The absence of reliable data makes it difficult to accurately measure our trajectory. Despite the recovery in global demand, rising unemployment and food prices continue to present hardship for people in the Pacific," she remarked.
The two-day Forum will focus on five key SDGs - Goal 3 on health and well-being, Goal 5 on gender equality, Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth, Goal 14 on life below water, and Goal 17 on partnerships.
The Pacific, in particular, has faced setbacks in several SDG areas and sectors like employment and food security, where high food prices continue to impact vulnerable populations especially in Pacific economies which face high trade openness and rely heavily on imports. Financing and capacity gaps remain the biggest barriers to sustainable development in the subregion.
Participants are also expected to develop concrete recommendations on several pressing issues faced in the Pacific such as non-communicable diseases, reproductive and children's health, gender-based violence, informal employment and ocean pollution.
Despite these challenges, there is potential for success through strong partnerships and innovative solutions. "Agenda 2030 and our 2050 Strategy (for the Blue Pacific Continent) have much in common, but none more important than requiring genuine, effective and inclusive partnerships, as well as mutual trust and accountability, to support their implementation" said Baron Waqa, Secretary-General of the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS).
The 2050 Pacific Blue Strategy exemplifies the subregion's commitment to sustainability and regional solidarity. At the global level, the recently adopted Antigua & Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) charts a promising path toward sustainable development with enhanced international support.
Convened by ESCAP and PIFS the meeting is part of a series of five subregional forums which serve as a collaborative platform for governments, development partners, civil society, and other stakeholders to assess progress on the 2030 Agenda and identify solutions. Inputs from the subregional forums will feed into the 12th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) and global UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2025.
