Bangladesh and United Nations Review Progress on Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework

The Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations Country Team held a joint steering committee meeting to review the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-26. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, the newly appointed Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance, and Ms. Gwyn Lewis, the UN Resident Coordinator to Bangladesh.

The UNSDCF 2022-26 was launched jointly by the UN and the Government of Bangladesh in 2021. The framework outlines the United Nations support to Bangladesh to advance sustainable development and to achieve the objectives of the 8th Five-Year Plan. The framework covers various programmes, over five strategic priorities, spanning twenty-seven results areas.

Representatives from twenty-seven Ministries and seventeen UN Agencies discussed the progress made and plans for 2024 in key strategic areas of the framework. This includes economic growth, education, health, poverty alleviation, food security & nutrition, social protection, environment, governance, and gender equality. The UN representatives also presented a financial overview of the spending in programming in 2023.

During the meeting, Mr. Siddiky, ERD Secretary, emphasized the key role of multilateral actors including the UN and other international bodies in sustainable development and in contributing to the country’s 2026 graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator emphasized the importance of collaboration and the need to work in partnership to address the challenges of climate change and to increase our shared ambition to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

At the end of the meeting, the participants, from both the government ministries and UN agencies, expressed their satisfaction with the advancement made in various sectors over the past year. They renewed their commitment to continue to work more closely together and strengthen the partnership formed.

The next meeting will be held in April 2024.