On 18 July, the CEI – Executive Secretariat and the Moldovan CEI Presidency - through the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Moldova - organised an official side-event at the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF)* in New York on “Regional cooperation and acceleration of the SDGs implementation: The Role of the Central European Initiative (CEI)”. The Permanent Missions of Albania, Bulgaria and Italy also co-sponsored the event.
The aim of the panel discussion was to share and exchange knowledge and experiences regarding good practices of regional partnerships, as is the case of the CEI in the delivery of the SDGs in the focus of attention of this year's HLPF. The CEI addresses the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through a coordinated multilateral approach, also taking into account its observer status at the UN General Assembly.
The event was opened by Nina Kodelja, CEI Deputy Secretary General, who remarked that
“the CEI promotes cooperation in all topics tackled by the 2023 HLPF and it places a significant focus on the acceleration of the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Moreover, the CEI experience is focused on fostering synergies among various SDGs.”
The Permanent Representatives to the UN of the Republic of Moldova, Gheorhe Leucă, and of the Republic of Bulgaria, Lachezara Stoeva (also in her capacity of ECOSOC President), as well as the Permanent Representative of Albania, Ferit Hoxha and of Italy, Maurizio Massari, confirmed the importance of regional cooperation in translating the global goals into sustainable development realities.
Secretary of State of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, Adrian Băluțel stressed the activities and central role his country attributed to sustainable development also through the priorities of the Moldovan CEI Presidency 2023.
Cooperation, synergies and partnerships are ever more necessary to achieve progress and tackle challenges that know no borders, as the ones linked to implementing the SDGs.
These were some of the keynote messages delivered by UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS, Ivana Živković and by the Special Envoy of the WHO Regional Director for Europe for the Western Balcans, Fabio Scano, who also represented the strong partnership between WHO/Europe and the CEI, which developed after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The event was further enriched by showcasing the CEI’s activities aimed at fostering the implementation of the SDGs as well as presenting some of the beneficiaries of the CEI funds and instruments. In this regard, Ambassador Miloš Prica, Chair of the Council for the Implementation of SDGs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Co-chair of the 2023 UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, presented the perspective from the Governmental point of view.
Aliona Rotaru, Executive Director, ''Dreamups'' Innovation and Entrepreneurship Accelerator, granted relevance to the CEI’s funds for regional activities focused on innovation. Finally, the Head of International Project Management Unit, Port of Bar, Rade Stanišić presented his experience with the CEI in its EU-funded project ADRIPASS Integrating multimodal connections in the Adriatic-Ionian region, which among other actions focused on the enhancement of the Port Community System.
The panel discussion was attended by representatives of several Permanent Missions of the CEI and other countries to the UN, as well as other delegates and participants of the HLPF.
The CEI has obtained an Observer Status at the UN General Assembly in 2011. Since then, it regularly presents Resolutions on “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Central European Initiative” on the occasion of the biannual meetings between the UN and regional organisations.
For more info: arsova@cei.int
(*)The delegation of the CEI-Executive Secretariat composed of DSG Nina Kodelja and Senior Executive Officer Lidija Arsova, participated in the HLPF event in particular during the three-day ministerial segment under the general theme “Building momentum towards the 2023 SDG Summit: Transformation for accelerating implementation of the SDGs”. They also attended several side events covering topics such as the importance of regional and subregional dimensions; and sustainable use of natural resources.
