India’s Steps to Embed Sustainable Development Goals into Local Planning, Budgeting Provide Good Model for Realizing 2030 Agenda, Deputy Secretary-General Says

(Delayed for technical reasons.)

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the Side Event on “Indian model of SDG Localization:  Toward full implementation of the 2030 Agenda”, on 13 July:

Namaste.

Our world today is in turmoil — facing multiple and overlapping crises from which no country, no community is immune.  The pandemic and war come against the backdrop of the greatest existential threat of all, climate change.  And cities, local governments, and communities have been and still are at the centre of the emergencies we face.

Approaching the halfway mark, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains as relevant as ever — the world's compass for navigating turbulent, uncharted waters.  The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize that world is interlinked to an unprecedented degree — and today’s crises leave no doubt that need to come together and join forces.

The level to which this message of interconnectedness has been embraced in India — from the Centre and States down to the District and individual household level — is truly impressive.  I commend the Government of India and NITI Aayog for the remarkable degree to which the SDGs have been localized — indicators and targets embedded into planning, budgeting and monitoring frameworks at all levels of government.

The achievement of the SDGs will require multilevel governance systems and policies that consider local realities and the role of local actors.

That is why the United Nations is further strengthening its support to local action and local leadership, through the Local 2030 Coalition, the United Nations-wide initiative on localizing the SDGs within the Decade of Action.  The Coalition provides the opportunity to bring lessons for the world of the “Indian Model” we are sharing today.

We across the United Nations system are proud, committed partners with India, along this journey to help chart the course — because as India leads and achieves towards sustainable, inclusive, green recovery, the region, and the world, will as well.