The Kingdom of Bahrain presented its second Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2023, titled “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”.
In her speech, the Minister of Sustainable Development, Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to achieving sustainability in a holistic manner that encompasses social, economic, and environmental development, in line with the approach and vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and with the support of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
The Minister indicated that the Kingdom’s approach is anchored on the principle of “Leaving No-one Behind,” which was visible in the inclusiveness and efficiency of the how Government of Bahrain and its institutions managed the COVID-19 pandemic and implications. The Kingdom’s approach also illustrated the importance of strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors and the efforts of more than 50 thousand volunteers in combatting the pandemic.
Minister Alkhulaif added that the Kingdom’s success was reflected in the World Health Organisation (WHO) case study, which documented the Kingdom’s response to the pandemic and its success in overcoming an array of challenges through a combination of early preparedness and agile responses in providing free medical care, treatments, and vaccines to all citizens and residents alike. This, in addition to launching a sizeable fiscal and economic stimulus package of more than USD 12 billion, to support economic recovery and sustained growth.
The Minister stressed the commitment of the Government of Bahrain to accelerate the pace of adoption and integration of the 2030 Agenda in its different development projects and policies through the launch of the Economic Recovery Plan, the commitment to achieving net carbon emissions, alongside the significant alignment of the Government Plan (2023-2026) with these objectives.
With regards to Goal 6 (Clean water and Sanitation), the Minister highlighted the Government’s efforts, including achieving 100 percent coverage of safe drinking water supply and sanitation services. In two decades, the Kingdom has also been able to reduce consumption of non-renewable natural resources by one fifth, while improving water efficiency by 80 percent. She pointed out that the Kingdom of Bahrain has sought to accelerate efforts through numerous initiatives, including: the launch of the National Water Strategy 2030, the establishment of the Water Resources Management Unit focused on strengthening institutional capacities and water knowledge management, enhancing the capacity to develop sanitation and water treatment in partnership with the private sector, and finally encouraging the agricultural sector to continue to adopt agricultural reserves, agricultural systems, and modern irrigation systems.
Alkhulaif also clarified that the government has intensified its work on a number of renewable energy projects, such as installing solar energy systems on the roofs of government buildings to circumvent the challenges of limited space available to large-scale solar farms. She then highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts to improve infrastructure supportive of digitisation and industry, while embracing the digital revolution to achieve the ninth SDG; focused on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
The Minister noted that in a visible alignment with the SDGs and the 2030 global Agenda, the Government has launched its Telecommunications, ICT, and Digital Economy and Industrial Strategy (2022-2026) as part of the Economic Recovery Plan. It has also promoted a culture of digital literacy through the digitisation of government services and the adoption of a cloud computing policy, and applied the first-of-its-kind law on foreign parties’ cloud computing, thus giving sovereignty over data of their subscribers.
She also highlighted the sustainable and quality housing programmes and solutions provided by the Kingdom of Bahrain in line with SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities. She also noted that SDG13 on Climate Action is witnessing significant movement in the Kingdom, as it strives to reach zero neutrality by 2060 by accelerating its plans for transition to renewable energy sources, quadrupling the number of mangroves, doubling the number of trees, and directly investing in carbon capture techniques.
Alkhulaif concluded her speech by emphasising to the importance of SDG 17 on Partnerships for the Goals as the main engine to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs. She stated that this has been over the years, a key tenant of the Kingdom’s active diplomatic efforts to develop relationships with the international community, as highlighted by the Kingdom’s success in partnering with various United Nations organisations across levels and disciplines in a manner that contributes positively to achieving the SDGs.
The second Voluntary National Review (VNR) provides a comprehensive review of the Kingdom’s progress on the implementation of 2030 Agenda since the submission of the first VNR in 2018. The review highlights the successes, challenges, and opportunities encountered in the implementation of the SDGs. It showcases the key efforts exerted in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact, alongside the policies and strategies adopted to align the SDGs to the Government Plans, programmes and policies, in addition to showcasing the updated performance indicators, all while highlighting the processes employed to effectively engage all stakeholders to achieve sustainability for all.
