The 11th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) opened today in Bangkok with a resounding call for countries to take urgent, accelerated actions supported by strong, sustained multilateral cooperation – or risk falling further behind on their aspirations for sustainable development in the wake of recent multiple crises.
“No country or region can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals or navigate contemporary global challenges alone. International cooperation is essential, but the multilateral arrangements of today are simply not up to the job,” said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed in her keynote address. “Your leaders recognized this last September, supporting the UN Secretary-General’s call for an SDG stimulus and demanding that it be advanced without delay. And they also recognized the need for deeper change.”
“While the challenges ahead are formidable, the transition we envisage opens vast avenues of opportunity. We can herald an era of sustainable prosperity if we choose to act decisively and collaboratively,” said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP. She further highlighted six entry points for transformative actions — food systems; energy access and affordability; digital connectivity; education; jobs and social protection; and climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution — to amplify efforts across multiple SDGs.
Paula Narvaéz, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), said in video remarks, “The data tells us that at the current pace of implementation, the region will miss 90 per cent of the 118 measurable SDG targets by 2030.”
“Despite these tr
