LGRD Minister Md Tazul Islam has said public-private partnerships can be the catalyst for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 in Bangladesh, as the private sector has been identified as a key financing source by the country.
"Financing is a key aspect of continuing momentum on delivering the SDGs at the local level. While the government emphasises financing development activities at the grassroots level, we need to work more to ensure that the resources of the government can bring the best possible outcome in achieving SDGs," he added.
The minister was speaking as the chief guest in a national-level workshop organised jointly by the government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the key integrator of SDGs in the UN system, at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre Thursday.
The workshop, "SDG Localisation in Nine Lagging Districts: Findings and way forward" was organised to share the results of the efforts in nine lagging districts: Sunamganj, Kurigram, Natore, Cox's Bazar, Patuakhali, Satkhira, Gopalganj, Sherpur and Feni.
"The SDG Implementation Review Report shows that Bangladesh has not only adopted the SDGs in the development agenda but also has started the process of translating the goals according to local priorities, which is termed as SDG localization," Tazul said.
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Zuena Aziz, principal coordinator for SDGs at the Prime Minister's Office, said: "We partnered with the UN to pilot and define the approach in nine lagging districts across Bangladesh, with at least one district from each of the eight divisions."
"For that, we ask not only development partners but also the private sector and civil society to come forward with their resources, knowledge, and solutions."
"Bangladesh government has given more emphasis on SDG localisation. The country has identified 39+1 national priority indicators and took significant steps towards setting the framework for institutionalising the SDGs at different levels," said Gwyn Lewis, UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh.
UNDP Resident Representative Stefan Liller said: "There is an important funding gap to achieve the SDGs both at the national and local levels. An estimation from 2017 shows that an additional $928 billion are needed only in Bangladesh."
"So, we need to think and act on how to generate new financing instruments and new financing streams to bridge that gap – in this case, for local priorities. We also need to explore innovative solutions of how funding for local priorities can be channelled, allocated, coordinated, spent and reported in more efficient ways."
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"Sweden is a strong promoter of democratic governance, and we are happy to have been a development part in this process," said Maria Stridsman, head of cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden.
"It's quite obvious, with local involvement, you are much more likely to develop a solution which will fit local problems. And that is also the case for Bangladesh."