Manama : Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, the Minister of Sustainable Development, re-affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to the UN’s 2030 Agenda and to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); as the Kingdom submitted the “Main Messages” of its second Voluntary National Review of the progress made in implementing the goals, ahead of the report’s presentation during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July 2023.
The Main Messages stressed the Kingdom’s institutional alignment with the SDGs under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, guided by the Constitution, National Action Charter and the Economic Vision 2030, which identified “sustainability” as one of its guiding principles.
Minister Alkhulaif emphasized the transformative actions the government has taken to accelerate the progress made towards achieving the SDGs. The Main Messages noted how the Kingdom has put sustainability at the heart of its developmental plans and strategies, most notably; in the current Government Plan (2023-2026), titled “From Recovery to Sustainable Growth”, with its strong alignment to the SDGs at the social, economic, and environmental fronts; the Economic Recovery Plan, launched in 2021, which advocates for inclusive, resilient, and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; and the establishment of the first Ministry of Sustainable Development in the region.
Noting the 2023 HLPF’s theme “Accelerating the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels,” the Main Messages highlighted the Kingdom’s successful experience in combating the COVID-19 pandemic which earned it global recognition.
The Minister added, that since the preparation of the Kingdom’s first Voluntary National Review in 2018, Bahrain has witnessed acceleration in addressing key challenges including the fiscal challenge, with the launch of the Fiscal Balance Program, and the environmental challenges, with the Kingdom announcing its commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2060.
