Southeast Asian countries must scale-up efforts

Southeast Asian countries must scale-up efforts to maintain progress towards the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and UN 2030 Agenda

Bangkok (ESCAP News) -- ASEAN countries will need to accelerate efforts to promote economic, social and environmental advancement towards the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, according to a joint report launched today by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand (MFA), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the ASEAN Secretariat.

The report titled Complementarities between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: A Framework for Action underscores that thebest way to achieve this is to focus on five complementarities between the two Agendas, namely poverty eradication, infrastructure and connectivity, sustainable management of natural resources, sustainable production and consumption, and resilience. The report identifies seven concrete flagship initiatives that would address gaps and issues under these priorities.

For example, over the past two decades many ASEAN countries have successfully reduced absolute poverty and improved access to food for many households. However, undernourishment in children continues to persist in some areas, and almost 30 million people could still be affected by 2030 if current trends continue. The report recommends a flagship nutrition initiative for mothers and children in order to prevent stunting, and to ensure they can fully participate in education, employment and lead fulfilled lives.

“The Complementarities Report identifies the most critical and potentially the most impactful issues the ASEAN region must address if it is to continue its progress and realize 2030 Agenda and Community Vision 2025,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Dr. Shamshad Akhtar. “The region has made great progress in reducing extreme poverty from 138 million in 2000 to 44 million in 2015 but there remains much more to do. Poverty eradication is central, however all of the priorities identified in the report are inherently linked and require integrated solutions.”

The report notes that promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns will be key to restructuring provision systems, infrastructure, cities and businesses to maintain economic prosperity and a healthy environment in ASEAN Member States.

As Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for between 88.8 per cent to 99.9 per cent of all business establishments in ASEAN countries, the report recommends a flagship initiative on sustainable consumption and production in SMEs to ensure that more sustainable goods and services are available and mainstreamed throughout the region. This initiative would improve the capacity of SMEs to use innovation and technology to green their businesses and improve productivity.

“Leaving no one behind’ is an integral part of Thailand’s sustainable development approach,” said H.E. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. “It is also a fundamental principle behind ASEAN’s ongoing efforts to build a people-centered community as well as the international community’s commitment to achieving the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development. As ASEAN Coordinator on Sustainable Development Cooperation, Thailand is proud to have played a small part in promoting closer engagement between ASEAN and the UN, through this ASEAN-UN ESCAP joint endeavor.”

“It is our hope that this report will help serve as an inspiration and a platform to develop additional concrete and feasible initiatives that will maintain strong momentum in sustainable development cooperation, not only between ASEAN and the UN, but between ASEAN and other external parties as well as the international community,” he added. “To this important goal for the region and for humanity, Thailand will continue to lend its full support.”

Managing natural resources responsibly will also be critical for the region in the coming decades, due to increased domestic resource scarcity in some countries, and continuing volatility of world market prices for strategic resources that are increasingly imported from abroad. The report recommends establishing an ASEAN Resources Panel to ensure a realistic framework for resource use policy and legislation, and support development of an ASEAN Roadmap on Sustainable Resources Management.

The report represents fruitful collaboration and productive partnership between ASEAN and ESCAP,” said Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for ASCC, H.E. Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee.

“The launch of the report is timely and welcomed by ASEAN. It leverages on complementarities between the ASEAN Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda to further unlock the potential of ASEAN in achieving the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and for the SDGs to contribute to ASEAN regional integration and development.”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, ESCAP, and the ASEAN Secretariat launched the report at the 2nd High-Level Brainstorming Dialogue on Enhancing Complementarities between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.

Download the report here.

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