Kingston: July 8, 2022

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, will lead Jamaica’s delegation to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the United Nations from July 5 to 18. Jamaica will participate in several public events at the forum, which lead up to the presentation of the country’s second voluntary national report (VNR) on the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Friday July 15. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and the Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) will present Jamaica’s VNR in a group with the Italian Republic and the African Kingdom of Lesotho. The presentation is a global opportunity for countries to share national experiences with a view to accelerating implementation of the SDGs.

The HLPF will meet under the theme “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” Jamaica will note that it is focusing on the means of implementation for the SDGs, recovery from the pandemic, partnerships in STI, the greater inclusion of communities to participate at the local level to achieve the SDGs, and issues that have an impact on the youth population.

The other main activity of Jamaica will be the July 13 virtual event at 12PM “Financing for Development: Catastrophe Bonds” which will focus on how catastrophe bonds can be used by small states to recover from disasters. Specific emphasis will be on financing that would not lead to further indebtedness, and mobilization of resources for disaster risk response. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Director General of the PIOJ will speak.

Jamaica will participate in four events on July 11. The SDG Secretariat will share experiences in VNR building; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government Marsha Henry Martin will present at a United Nations Office For Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) event “A Risk-Informed Approach to Development in a COVID-19 Transformed World.”

The PIOJ will also present at: “Small Island Developing States – Building back better in vulnerable situations” and also at the UNDESA – VNR Lab on “Advancing the 2030 Agenda and regional frameworks through effective and integrated national planning.”

On July 12, Mrs Nancy Pinchas – Council Of Voluntary Social Services will participate in a discussion on “Vision of civil society: Leaving no one behind in recovering better.” Jamaica will also participate in the stakeholder focussed event with the topic, “The role of multi stakeholder advisory bodies in VNR processes and their potential to accelerate SDG delivery.” Mr Orville Levy, Co-Chair, Youth Advisory Council of Jamaica will represent Jamaica.

July 14, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will participate on a ministerial roundtable on “Accelerating achievement of the SDGs by 2030, addressing on-going crises and overcoming challenges”.

Monday, July 18, the PIOJ Director General will attend a special chamber to listen to the ECOSOC report on future proofing multilateralism for a resilient and inclusive recovery.

Highlights of the events already held are:
On July 5, Jamaica’s Permanent Mission to the UN hosted the public meeting on the challenges of middle-income countries in recovering from COVID-19. Representative of the Private Sector of Jamaica, Dr Wesley Hughes, presented on the topic of Mobilizing and Sharing science, Technology and Innovation for an SDG-driven Recovery.

July 6, Director of Planning for the Trelawny Municipal Council Martlet Wellington presented in how local authorities can bolster action on the SDGs and respond to COVID-19.

Thursday, July 7, Dr Hughes participated in the gender equality session and the permanent mission to the UN participated in the September 2023 mid-term review of the SDGs.

Jamaica is one of six small island developing States (SIDS) presenting their VNRs in July. The other five are Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, São Tomé and Príncipe, Suriname, and Tuvalu.

Other countries from the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) presenting their 2022 VNRs include Argentina, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, and Uruguay.

The PIOJ and SDG secretariat will post updates and links to the official events on the PIOJ social media and website.

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CONTACT:
SDG Secretariat
sdg@pioj.gov.jm