UN Report Lauds Bahrain’s SDG Leap

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

Report by Mohammed Darwish

The United Nations team in Bahrain has launched the 2023 Country Results Report, highlighting the Kingdom’s reform plan for economic and social growth under its Economic Vision 2030.

It also detailed the country’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2023. The report revealed that cooperation between Bahrain and the UN will continue to grow throughout 2024.

Partnering with both the government and the private sector, the UN will persist in implementing the joint project on greening urban spaces and will initiate a mangrove tree retention project in urban areas.

Additionally, the report disclosed that two projects are in development: one focused on early childhood education and care, and another on strengthening mechanisms to combat human trafficking.

The design and costing phases for both projects are nearly complete, and with funding secured, their implementation will soon begin.

The UN is also working with the Bahrain government to finalise a new cooperation framework. This framework will be jointly signed and launched, with implementation set to begin on 1 January 2025.

The report was released during a meeting of the Joint Steering Committee between the Government of Bahrain and the UN, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Cooperation framework

The meeting reviewed ways to activate the strategic cooperation framework for sustainable development (2021-2024).

The report presented key achievements in 2023 across the four result areas identified by the United Nations Strategic Cooperation and Sustainable Development Framework.

It also reviewed progress indicators, detailed projects implemented in 2023, and outlined steps taken to draft the new cooperation framework for 2025- 2029.

Additionally, it explored ways to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Khaled Al-Mekwad, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bahrain, stated that the report “highlights the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals throughout the penultimate year of the current cooperation framework and the strengthening of the United Nations’ partnership with the Government of Bahrain.”

Programmes and initiatives

He added, “For the United Nations country team, 2023 was a year of consolidation, reflection, and adaptation.

We unified our programmes and initiatives to achieve greater coherence while addressing emerging development challenges in the context of a high-income country.

We also adapted in real-time to national and regional developments. “In 2024, the United Nations country team will continue contributing to sustainable development and accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, both in Bahrain and globally