H.E. [Kitti Settha Bandit] Chhay Than, Senior Minister, Minister of Planning

H.E. TUON Thavrak, Secretary of State, Ministry of Planning

H.E. THENG Pagnathun, Delegate of the RGC in charge of the Directors General of Planning, Ministry of Planning 

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning to you all.

It is a great honour for me to join you today. I truly appreciate the opportunity of meeting you all in person, to reflect together on the progress achieved so far on the CSDGs 2016-2030 and to consider possible adjustments on certain targets and indicators for integrating new normal brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a start, I would also like to convey my sincere appreciation to the Royal Government of Cambodia, and particularly to the Ministry of Planning for its leadership on promoting sustainable development. The journey started back in late 2015 when Cambodia and 188 other UN Member States endorsed the Global Sustainable Development Goals at the UN General Assembly, and the later adoption of the Cambodia SDGs (CSDGs) Framework 2016-2030, with its 18 goals, 88 targets and 148 indicators. It is worth noting that the 18^th goal is specific to mine action in Cambodia and is an addition to the original 17 Global Goals. UNDP is happy to have been part of this process, and I take this opportunity to reconfirm our commitment to support the localization of the CSDGs, bringing them to the local level so that no one is left behind.

Excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen

The Royal Government has made significant efforts integrating the CSDGs into policymaking, planning, budgeting, and monitoring to “deliver a prosperous, socially cohesive, educationally advanced, and culturally vibrant Cambodia, without poverty, and one where all Cambodians live in harmony” [end of quote from the CSDGs Framework]. These efforts comprise the inclusion of the CSDGs in the National Strategic Development Plan 2019-2023 Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, and in several sectoral budget strategic plans, where CSDGs are used as performance measures for budget outcomes.

Besides, UNDP is supporting the Ministry of Planning on the Mid-Term Review of NSDP 2019-2023, on the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) for CSDGs, and on CSDGs budget tagging in partnership with the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen

In 2019, The Royal Government presented its first Voluntary National Review (VNR) of the national 2030 agenda implementation at the 2019 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The VNR offered an initial measurement of the progress made against CSDG targets and indicators and generated valuable insights for further reflection on the CSDGs. Significant progress was made, with 61.3% of the CSDGs targets reported on-track or advanced, but 38.7% of the targets lacking sufficient data to measure progress.

With the onset COVID-19 pandemic, the picture changed significantly. As you all know, this pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is also an unprecedent development crisis. It has exacerbated pre-existing vulnerabilities and exposed inequalities, affecting measurement.

Consequently, the Ministry of Planning coordinated an inter-ministerial technical meeting in February 2021 to review the list of targets and indicators. Today, we hope that a consensus will be reached to approve the revised list of CSDGs targets and indicators.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

As the technical lead for the United Nations socio-economic response to COVID-19, UNDP is committed to support decision-makers to look beyond recovery, towards the 2030 development agenda, to facilitate informed choices and manage complexities and uncertainties. In the spirit of our strong partnership with the Ministry of Planning, we will remain on standby to provide technical support together with other technical and financial partners to attain the CSDGs.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that with the commitment and leadership of the Royal Government and the financial and technical support of the friends of Cambodia, the country will recover and return on track for attaining the CSDGs by 2030, and to ensure that shared prosperity and social well-being, leaving no one behind, are premised on environmental sustainability and climate adaptation.

I wish you a good continuation and fruitful deliberations.

Thank you.