Bangladesh to lead by example in SDGs

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said Bangladesh is committed to leading by example again in case of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as it surprised the world with its achievements in Millennium Development Goals.

“Let's commit our will and wealth for our present and future. In our journey, no one will be left behind as we aspire to build a just, progressive, peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh,” she told a high-level event at the UN headquarters on Tuesday.

Bangladesh organised the programme titled “MDGs to SDGs - A Way Forward”.

Terming this year's UNGA-adopted SDGs-2030 a collective journey, she said the international community has to deliver on the means of implementation.

“We'll need scaled-up resources from all sources -- public and private, domestic and international. We also need critical support in technology and capacity building areas. We need adaptive and environmentally sound technologies.”

Hasina said Bangladesh is now known as a development surprise as the country has already achieved or is on track to meet almost all the MDGs. “We've proved many myths wrong.”

Global development thinkers like Prof Amartya Sen lauded Bangladesh's overall progress, mentioned the PM, adding that the economist underlined that Bangladesh has progressed much more in development sectors compared to many other developing countries.

Bangladesh, she said, is an important part of global supply chain and for it to benefit, the global trading and financial regime and institutions have to be fair, transparent and ethical.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands talks to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of a conference at the United Nations headquarters on Tuesday. Photo: PID

The premier added: Bangladesh looks at Agenda-2030 with much interest. “We want to sustain the momentum of the MDGs, build on their successes and transform Bangladesh.”

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, President of the Republic of Benin Boni Yayi, Swedish PM Stefan Löfvén, President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Mogens Lykketoft, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, UN Under Secretary General and representative of UN secretary general Gyan Chandra Acharya, and special envoy to World Bank president Mahmud Mohiuddin also spoke at the programme.