UN Day 2022: Accelerating Agenda for Sustainable Development

The need for acceleration of the Sustainable Development Agenda was at the center of the joint celebration of United Nations Day 2022, jointly organized by the Government of Montenegro and the UN System in the country. The commemoration of the 77th UN Day under the theme “Accelerating Agenda for Sustainable Development” was co-hosted by the Prime Minister of Montenegro and the UN Resident Coordinator.

In his address, Prime Minister Abazović pointed out that accelerating the Sustainable Development Agenda is one of the always relevant and acute ones, which loudly reminds us of the obligation to act as promptly and concretely as possible on a global scale.

"Today's event is an opportunity to send a message on the importance of achieving Sustainable Development Goals, which are equally important for all countries - large and small, more or less developed. This fact further rationalizes my belief that urgent collective action, with the United Nations in a leading role, has no alternative," Abazović said.

The Prime Minister also pointed out that the implementation of Agenda 2030 for Montenegro is of particular importance, considering that in this way the fulfillment of obligations from the EU agenda will be accelerated, bearing in mind that, as he said, the two processes are to the greatest extent complementary.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the largest global development plan in human history. It was adopted in 2015 by all the UN member states which committed to implementing it by 2030. This vision of a better world is founded in 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

UN Resident Coordinator Peter Lundberg praised Montenegro for proactively endorsing Agenda 2030 from its early days, and for the results achieved so far. He underlined that we have limited time ahead for fulfillment of this pledge.

“With only 8 years remaining to fulfill this promise, much more needs to be done, and it is urgent! This can only be possible if we jointly accelerate our efforts on achieving the Agenda 2030 which is a complex and multi-sectoral agenda that links social, environmental, and economic aspects of development into a holistic and integrated approach,” said Lundberg, emphasizing that one of the strong streams of SDG acceleration is the agreed Framework of Cooperation between the UN and Montenegro for the period of next five years, which has been signed in July.

United Nations Day is celebrated around the world in memory of 24 October 1945, when the Charter of the United Nations entered into force. The ratification of the document marked official foundation of the United Nations and its key goals – establishment of peace and security, support for development and social progress, and protection of human rights. The United Nations was founded by the leaders of 51 countries, and today the organization has 193 member countries. Montenegro became a member of the United Nations in June 2006, as the 192nd member of the organization.