MUSCAT: Oman is one of the first countries to submit its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) report to the United Nations on Friday.
“Oman is among the first countries in the world to present its Voluntary National Review (VNR) highlighting the Sultanate’s plans and efforts to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030”, said an online statement from Oman Mission to the global body.
According to the statement, Dr. Saeed bin Muhammad Al Saqri, represented the Sultanate in the UN’s high-level meeting on SDG Moment which took place on Friday, September 18, 2020.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015 by all UN Member States including the Sultanate of Oman, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.
On the basis of broad community consultations, Oman’s Supreme Council for Planning endorsed the SDGs in its third meeting on June 15, 2015.
Since then, the Sultanate has been keen on integrating the sustainable development dimensions and goals in its development plans and strategies, at the top of which are the 9th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) and Oman 2040 Vision, in a way that attests to the rigorous seriousness with which the Government is implementing the SGDs, allocating budgets thereto, and devising programs and policies that ensure the achievement thereof in the medium and long terms.
In the elaboration of its long-term vision and medium-term plan, the Sultanate relied on extensive community participation at national and local levels to complete the draft report.
Tens of discussion panels, workshops, and dialogue sessions were held with various development partners ranging from representatives of government and private sector to civil society, youth, and international organizations, with the aim of ensuring community ownership of the development agenda.
The VNR underscores that “the Sultanate is committed to achieving the SDGs in economic, social, and environmental dimensions within the agreed deadline and that, despite considerable challenges, it is generally moving in the right direction towards that end, pursuing an approach based on broad community participation during the design, implementation, and evaluation of plans, policies, and programs aimed at tackling the aforementioned challenges and achieving the SDGs”.
The VNR reflects in an integrated manner the progress made by the country towards achieving the 17 SDGs, says the summary.
It highlights national strategies and plans that were specifically designed to implement these goals, identifies future challenges and plans for the achievement of the SDGs, and reviews current practices and initiatives contributing to the attainment of national sustainable development objectives and priorities.
After reviewing the institutional framework, methodology, and method adopted in the VNR preparation, the outcomes and goals of Oman 2040 were aligned with the SDGs and their targets according to their corresponding sectors in the 2030 Agenda.
Such alignment ensures that the 2030 SDGs and their targets are embedded in the Oman 2040 components and are therefore granted the same level of attention as the goals of the national vision, thus guaranteeing that the necessary resources are allocated to their implementation.
“This will be done in accordance with the agreed timetable and that the national and international indicators required to measure the progress made towards the SDGs are available”, the executive summary of the VNR adds.
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