Resident Coordinator's speech: National Workshop on Brunei Darussalam’s Second Voluntary National Review

The Honourable Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy II

Pengiran Hajah Siti Nirmala binti Pengiran Haji Mohammad, Permanent Secretary (Wawasan) and Chair of the Special National Coordinating Committee on Sustainable Development Goals Brunei Darussalam

Deputy Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries,

Distinguished Participants,

It is a genuine honour for me to address this distinguished audience and participants in the National Workshop on Brunei Darussalam’s Second Voluntary National Review.

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the Prime Minister’s Office for inviting the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Brunei Darussalam, the United Nations Development Programme and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

This testifies to Brunei’s Darussalam’s close ties with the UN and its firm commitment to its norms and values, as well as to the globally agreed agendas to achieve a future of hope.

At this crucial milestone, and as Brunei Darussalam advances in its second VNR journey, I will speak about the global context, the state of the Sustainable Development Goals in the post-pandemic recovery phase, and how the war in Ukraine has made the global socioeconomic outlook a gloomy one, but not without some silver linings.

I will then provide an overview of some key developments relevant to today’s workshop, and some entry points to making the second VNR an effective booster of SDGs progress in Brunei and a tool to consolidate ownership and mobilize all stakeholders around national priorities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare profound fault lines and raised fundamental questions about the ability of governments and societies to withstand shocks. The pandemic has also put to the test hard-won development gains, slowing or reversing progress in many countries.

As the world tries to turn the pandemic’s dark page, it has been hit by a number of interlinked global crises. We are facing challenges on a scale completely new to us.

We were still grappling with the aftermath of Covid-19 when the war in Ukraine unleashed energy, food, and cost-of-living crises of unprecedented severity and scope. The triple planetary crisis of climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and pollution is gaining strength in face of inadequate management.

This all means an uncertain, uneven and slower than anticipated recovery, with significant accumulated social deficits.  

So are the SDGs still relevant, one might ask? The answer is definitely and undeniably yes.

Seven years on, and despite major setbacks, the SDGs remain our North Star. They are more valuable than ever and cannot afford any further delays.

We need to act now. And today’s meeting is a positive sign that Brunei is still on board.

The country is also on track to achieving most of the SDGs. Its performance globally and in the Asia Pacific region and the ASEAN subregion, shows clear progress on many targets.

But as highlighted in its first VNR and in the Brunei Darussalam Sustainable Development Goals Annual Report, more remains to be done, especially as the pandemic revealed pressure points and key areas where Brunei could do better.

Brunei Darussalam’s proposal to host the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change as a hub for research and capacity building is an encouraging step.

The UN is also on board, ready and engaged to provide support to your efforts, and I would like to share with you, ladies and gentlemen, a brief historical overview in a humble attempt to set the stage for your deliberations during the coming three days.

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly with all its 193 member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, marking the closure of the MDGs era and the beginning of a fifteen-year period to transform our world.

In 2016, Resolution 70/299 was adopted, focused on the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals; and in 2017, the UN member States agreed on an indicators framework to measure progress on the 169 SDG targets.

The High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), organized by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), has since become the central platform for all UN member States to take stock of achievements and challenges, mobilize means of implementation, and identify solutions.

This is where the Secretary General presents his annual SDG report, and this is also the forum where countries come together to present the findings of the voluntary national reviews.

In 2023, the HLPF theme will be ‘Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels.’

The Forum takes stock of regional forums, of governments’ and multiple stakeholders’ messages, and adopts an intergovernmental political declaration, negotiated at ministerial level. It serves to renew the commitment towards the universal goals and identify emerging priorities going forward.

The 2022 Ministerial Declaration recognized the 2030 Agenda as “the blueprint for building back better” from the pandemic.

Every four years, and under the auspices of the General Assembly, world leaders meet at the SDG Summit. The 2019 SDG Summit marked the launch of the Decade of Action. The 2023 Summit will be a critical milestone as it will convene exactly mid-point into the 2030 Agenda timeframe. It is highly expected to mark the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the SDGs. 

The 2030 Agenda and SDGs represent a precious global commitment to achieve a just, inclusive and sustainable future for all humanity. Since its adoption, it has seen unprecedented ownership by peoples and people.

It is also a centrepiece, crossroad for other breakthrough global agreements and frameworks that complement and reinforce the SDGs: The Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, the New Urban Agenda, the Global Compact on Migration.

These, and others, all place people at the centre of every effort towards prosperity, sustainability and societal and planetary resilience.

In 2021, the UN member States welcomed the UN Secretary-General’s 2021 ‘Our Common Agenda’ report as a concrete vision on how to unite the international community around solutions to the complex realities we face today. 

Our Common Agenda is a future-looking framework to turbocharge the SDGs, manage global shocks and crises more effectively, in order to deliver now and be fair to the future generations.

It is also a new tool to upgrade the United Nations and ensure it is better equipped to deliver its mandate as a facilitator of multilateral solutions that help governments build back better.

Building back better will require transformational change, economic policies that ensure growth, decent jobs and sustainable development. This means an even more socially inclusive Brunei that provides opportunities for all and leaves no one behind; and one which is environmentally sustainable, protecting people from the impacts of climate change and curbing degradation of the environment and natural resources. 

Advancing the SDGs is about mobilizing everyone everywhere, and local action is a key enabler of progress. It is therefore vital that Government advocate and incentivize a whole-of-society approach. This will require effective social mobilization to affect changes in behaviours, together with private and voluntary investments and solutions.

As part of the whole of society are young people. Youth are crucial in delivering lasting positive change. As a vanguard of the future, they help frame the issues and priorities that matter most, with fresh and inherently progressive perspectives. If empowered, they can be agents of change by making tangible contributions through volunteerism and community participation, and in the conduct of their everyday lives.

An effective and balanced participation of a diverse and inclusive range of major groups is equally important to ensure all dimensions of sustainable development are given due attention: women and girls, older persons, people with disabilities, indigenous groups, migrants, and other components of the Bruneian society.

This national workshop provides a unique opportunity for Brunei’s SDG journey to be truly transformational. 

The VNR conducted for a second time involves stronger analysis of interlinkages across the SDGs and their targets. It enables a thorough understanding of the policy implications, where they create synergies and where they require trade-offs.

This second VNR comes at a time when it is possible to assess progress by looking at the data, but as importantly and complementarily, by evaluating the impact of the measures taken since the last review.

The UN stands ready to support Brunei Darussalam’s government and all stakeholders through advocacy, knowledge sharing, data tracking and reporting.

You will hear more from my colleagues on the availability of technical assistance, policy advice, and opportunities to participate in regional and subregional peer-learning opportunities.

I will end there and thank you for your attention and for the warm welcome we receive during every visit to your beautiful and hospitable country.