Sustainable Development: Cooperation is the Key

Budva, 8 december 2022

The Regional Conference “Sustainable Development in the Western Balkans”, co-organized by ReSPA and the United Nations of Montenegro, under the patronage of the Government of Montenegro, provided a high-level regional platform for discussing the sustainable development.

The Conference shed a light on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda as an opportunity to significantly improve the social, economic and environmental aspects of life in the Western Balkans.

Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, UN Resident Coordinator in Montenegro Peter Lundberg, Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Montenegro Yngve Engstrom, UN Regional Director for Europe Gwi-Yeop Son, and many other highly-relevant actors and policy-makers from the Western Balkans, senior public servants from the Region, EU experts and representatives of the United Nations shared their views on different practical solutions on how to bring the Western Balkans closer in the achievement of SDGs.

The importance of the sustainable development for the Western Balkans was especially highlighted by Prime Minister Abazović who outlined that “if there is a topic in the region that brings entire region together, it is the sustainable development and SDGs. All citizens in the region want clean rivers and air, inclusion, and a better quality of life, as their peer citizens in the EU. Let the sustainable development be a point of unification and reconciliation of the region. I am an optimist that the positive contribution of our region can extend beyond borders of the region”, emphasized Prime Minister Abazović.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Montenegro, Peter Lundberg, emphasized the importance of partnership and dialogue for solving the complexities of sustainable development.

"Achieving sustainable development is the task we all have to deliver on. Climate change, poverty and inequalities are challenges that span across borders. And, if the challenges span across borders, we need to create space where solutions and knowledge also have no border. The United Nations remain a reliable partner to Montenegro in sharing excellent results achieved so far, but also to move progressively forward, because sustainable development is the game where we have to succeed," says Lundberg.

ReSPA Director Maja Handjiska Trendafilova outlined that public administration features more prominently in the Sustainable Development Goals, which indicates the growing importance of a resilient public sector which correlates with ReSPA’s mission and objectives.

“This Conference opened a pathway for more concrete actions of the Western Balkans in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. ReSPA has been supporting the Region in ensuring responsive, inclusive, and representative policy-making and upholding the principles of good administration. We are honoured to enable a regional platform for sharing emerging lessons in implementing the 2030 Agenda, focusing on the priorities for accelerated progress in meeting SDGs and ways to strengthen coordination and synergies with relevant intergovernmental processes and start thinking beyond 2030,“ said Handjiska Trendafilova.

Deputy Ministers and State Secretaries from the Administrations of the Western Balkans discussed during the High-Level Policy Dialogue Panel on Improving SDG Coordination, from institutional setup to implementing and monitoring sustainable development policies in the Region. Officials shared good practices from their home administrations and exchanged views on how to boost the political dimension of SDGs.

Yngve Engstorm, Head of the Department for Cooperation in the EU Delegation to Montenegro, pointed out that Montenegro is in the phase of the accession process, which requires continuous efforts in several areas, as well as the involvement and cooperation between different actors.

"This implies a broad political and social consensus on key reforms in building a healthier, fairer and more prosperous society. That is why we need to adopt a holistic approach and build synergies between the implementation of sustainable development goals and EU accession negotiations, especially bearing in mind the limited financial resources and administrative capacities across the Western Balkans six", said Engstorm.

Development Coordination Office Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Gwi-Yeop Sun, commended Montenegro for hosting the platform for discussion on very relevant topics related to sustainable development in the Western Balkans. Despite grim outlooks as the Sustainable Development Goals are slipping out of reach, Ms. Sun emphasised that „strengthening partnerships can halt the regression. We know that exchanges such as the Western Balkans Conference led to positive results, more cooperation and coordination for the benefit of us all. We know that cross-border collaboration and exchange of knowledge will lead to more prominent results for us all.“

The Conference, designed as a participatory and discussion forum, also tackled numerous essential topics, such as complementary interlinkages between the Agenda 2030 and EU policies and accession, the Voluntary National Reviews process in the Western Balkans, financing and localization of SDGs and how to make sustainable development closer to the people and broaden partnerships. Also, some of the important topics discussed were the importance of monitoring progress and SDG mid-term review.