SDGs should be well understood first by the people as well as by the business community and the political leaders, otherwise the goals will be difficult to achieve, they said at the dialogue jointly organized by Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (AP-RCEM) and COAST Trust, on Saturday at the CIRDAP auditorium where CSO representatives from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh participated.

Chrispin Petro Kapinga, Social Affairs Officer, UN-ESCAP South and South-West Asia Office in New Delhi was also present as a guest in the dialogue.

On behalf of AP-RCEM,  Daya Sagar Shrestha of National Campaign for Sustainable Development Nepal said the commitments of governments and international institutions on peace, human rights, governance and development should be immediately fulfilled to achieve the SDGs.

In his speech Chrispin Petro Kapinga of UN-ESCAP said UN is always facilitating the LDCs to build their capacities in order to achieve the 2030 development agendas and goals.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Executive Director of COAST, said CSOs in Bangladesh and in many under developed countries are very important actors for achieving the SDGs and popularizing the issues at national level and it should be recognized by the governments.

Beena Pallical from Asia Dalit Rights Forum, India said that it is always said ‘no one will be left behind’ but the reality is agenda of people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, women and dalit communities are always forgotten.

Chandima Priyeshni Arambepola, Centre for Poverty Analysis, Sri Lanka said, we need to build regional cooperation not only by the governments but also by the CSOs to address the real issues, needs and challenges of the development rather than to give priority to mega-infrastructure projects.

Ferdous Ara Rumee of COAST Trust said, there is a lack of women’s participation in Bangladesh as well as other countries in South Asia in disaster risk reduction (DRR) even though women are the most affected by the disasters.