BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 8. Tajikistan is on track to achieve the targets for Goal 1 (no poverty) and Goal 10 (reduced inequalities) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN Resident Coordinator for Tajikistan Parvathy Ramaswami told Trend in an exclusive interview.
"To assess Tajikistan's efforts toward achieving the SDGs, we can look at several key areas, including governmental actions, national policies, international cooperation, and progress on specific SDGs," she said.
The Resident Coordinator noted that in 2016, Tajikistan adopted the National Development Strategy 2016-2030 aligned with the SDGs. The progress of SDGs was reported through the Voluntary National Review (VNR) presented two times in 2017 and 2023 at the High-Level Political Forum in New York.
"I am glad to note that recently, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and Dushanbe City Administration, we helped to prepare the first Voluntary Local Review report of Dushanbe, presented in November during the World Urban Forum held in Cairo," she said.
Ramaswami further pointed out that as part of its support for the VNR process in 2023, the UN helped to introduce a National SDG Tracker, developed to measure progress and identify areas for improvement.
"Tajikistan is on track to achieve the targets for Goal 1 (no poverty) and Goal 10 (reduced inequalities). There is significant progress on Goal 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions) and Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities)," she said.
The UN Coordinator noted that although the use of renewable energy has increased, energy intensity continues to increase (Goal 7). Access to finance for small-scale industries is also a concern (Goal 9).
"Other areas requiring improvement are social protection, sustainable and resilient agriculture, inclusive educational facilities, water-use and energy efficiency, labor rights and a safe working environment, management of natural resources, and diversified and sustainable financing for development," Ramaswami said.