National, local, and regional government leaders assembled on 16-19 September to discuss and commit to the SDG Summit at United Nations headquarters in New York City to assess and, if necessary, accelerate the situation regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the 2030 Agenda.
The Summit was informed about the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2023, prepared by an independent group of scientists, and 2023 SDG Progress Report Special Edition prepared by the UN Secretary-General.
SDG Summit
A total of 163 speakers took the floor during the Summit, including 57 heads of state/vice presidents, 30 heads of government, 58 deputy prime ministers and ministers, and 18 representatives of intergovernmental organizations, United Nations, civil society and other stakeholders. It endorsed unanimously a negotiated political declaration as a formal outcome.
The Declaration emphasizes that achieving the SDGs is at stake, commits to bold, ambitious, accelerated, equitable and transformative action, and identifies areas where action is needed.
SDG Action Weekend
The aim of the Summit, which kicked off with the SDG Action Weekend, was to draw attention to how far progress has been made since 2015, the year the Goals were announced, and to take actions to accelerate the process planned to be completed in 2030. On the other hand, the multilateral Summit opened with a keynote address by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). In his speech, he emphasized the importance of the SDGs and that everyone who embraces them is a part of them.
Subsequently, during the SDG Action Weekend Local and Regional Governments Forum, Carolina Cosse, UCLG President & Mayor of Montevideo, underlined the value of local governments’ commitments on the road to the 2030 Goals. UN-HABITAT Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif and New York Mayor Eric Adams addressed the gathering afterward.
Participation from MEWA Region
Uğur İbrahim Altay, UCLG 2023-2024 Term President and Mayor of Konya emphasized the importance of food security at the Summit, and he also invited the participants to the UCLG World Council to be held in October 2023.
Dr. Yousef Shawarbeh, Mayor of Amman, highlighted the data-based system in preparing the VLR of the city of Amman. Afterward, Juan Hobeiche, Mayor of Jonieh, highlighted the challenges faced by Lebanon and the importance of the support of international institutions and organizations in tackling them. Turan Hançerli, Mayor of Avcılar, proposed the establishment of a fund for the localization of SDGs.
Dr. Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, and Osman Çorumlu, International Relations Coordinator, also took part in the Summit.
Emilia Saiz, UCLG Secretary General, also spoke at the Summit on topics such as localization of SDGs, the Pact for the Future of Humanity.