Building upon the efforts made and activities carried out so far by the CEI in the field of sustainable development and for the attainment of the UN 2030 Agenda, Ambassador Vasilika Hysi, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Albania to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, in her capacity of CEI Presidency, delivered a Joint Statement on behalf of the CEI Member States at the Opening and High-level Policy Segment of the UNECE Regional Forum in Geneva on 13 March.
The Joint Statement first of all stresses the commitment of the CEI to sustainable development, one of the strategic goals of the Organisation. It sets the framework for the past and future activities of the CEI, building upon its Observer Status at the UN General Assembly; the biannual resolutions on cooperation between the UN and the CEI, as well as its strategic documents guiding the work of the Organisation, such as the CEI Plan of Action.
The Joint Statement also emphasises how the CEI Member States demonstrate their strong support towards the Sustainable Development Goals in the CEI framework, through political and tangible actions facilitated by CEI funds, instruments and programmes.
Moreover, it highlights the importance of pursuing partnerships for jointly tackling the attainment of the SDGs, and a bright example of this is the CEI’s strong cooperation with the WHO Regional Office for Europe. The importance of the multistakeholder approach involving various actors, which is vigorously promoted by the CEI, is also stressed in the Joint Statement.
Finally, the Member States, in the Joint Statement, also refer to the important role of regional cooperation particularly within the CEI format, in accelerating the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda and their further commitment in this regard.
The Statement can be found on the official website of the UNECE Regional Forum.