[Kingston, 31 October 2018] - Senior government representatives of 18 Caribbean countries, including a number of Permanent Secretaries, are gathering in Kingston to further discussions on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) implementation on 1 and 2 November, approximately one year after the landmark Caribbean Action 2030 Conference on the SDG convened in the capital city.

The two-day event organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and co-hosted by the Government of Jamaica and the University of the West Indies is designed to facilitate interactive dialogue between government entities that are leading on the 2030 Agenda and the UN development system, sharing challenges and best practices on how to boost gains in the economic, social and environmental fronts while reducing inequalities.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon Kamina Johnson Smith, Spanish Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Josep Maria Bosch Bessa, and UNDP Resident Representative/United Nations Resident Coordinator to Jamaica, Bruno Pouezat will open the two-day 2030 Workshop on November 1 starting 9:00 a.m.

The Kingston Workshop is one of three being convened concurrently in the Latin America and Caribbean region by UNDP, with a focus on co-creating Sustainable Solutions: Progress, Challenges and Emerging Tools for implementation of Agenda 2030. The other Workshops have taken place in Guatemala and Uruguay focusing on Central America, and the Southern Cone, respectively.

The workshops will provide participants with an overview of actions that governments can take going forward, to successfully make headway on the 2030 Agenda in their countries. The focus will be on sharing the wealth of existing experience and promising practices from the region, as well as reflecting on key issues and challenges. The workshops will showcase emerging tools that can help address some of these challenges.

The Caribbean workshop in Kingston will review efforts undertaken under the four priority areas of the UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework (UN MSDF) – the joint programme of assistance from UN funds, programmes and agencies to the region – which 18 Caribbean countries and territories, including Jamaica, signed last year. These areas are: An inclusive, equitable and prosperous Caribbean; A Healthy Caribbean; A Safe, Cohesive and Just Caribbean; A Sustainable and Resilient Caribbean.  

Participants will specifically discuss national planning and the SDGs; incorporating the environmental dimension into social and economic action; financing the SDGs in the regional and global context; and the role of the private sector in the 2030 Agenda. Challenges related to SDG data and statistics and monitoring and reporting on SDG-related progress are also on the agenda. The workshops will also serve to follow up on previously identified regional opportunities and lines of work identified at the Tenth Ministerial Forum on Development in Latin America and the Caribbean in Panama in September 2018.

 “One year after the Caribbean Action 2030 conference is a timely juncture for reflection and review of Agenda 2030 implementation and for sharing promising experiences and lessons learnt,” UNDP Resident Representative/UN Resident Coordinator Bruno Pouezat said. He noted that the Caribbean Workshop will be a space to discuss achievements and challenges of the sub-region and to explore some of the emerging SDG tools that can help address them.  

The last major meeting on the SDG in the region was the Caribbean Action 2030 regional conference on the SDG which finalised a framework agreement for advancing SDG implementation by focusing on resource mobilization, civil society participation, strong evidence base for policy and capacity building. Caribbean Action 2030 was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Jamaica, in partnership with the University of the West Indies and funded by the United Nations in the Caribbean.

Caribbean country authorities from the following countries are taking part in the event: Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; The Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Curacao; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten; Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos Islands. The UN system is being represented by UNDP, including team members from the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Women, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Environment.