The President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia today addressed the Leaders Dialogue, within the framework of the High-Level Forum of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, as part of the agenda of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.
In his address, Prime Minister Zaev emphasized that the adoption and implementation of the universal and transformative agenda for Sustainable Development are of exceptional importance in a world of changes so profound and rapid that no country can stand alone.
“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes and provides a useful universal framework for strengthening the collective action towards common goals and challenges. The shared prosperity and fulfillment of our inter-generational responsibilities can only be achieved through collaborative partnership involving all countries and all stakeholders”, emphasized Prime Minister Zaev in his speech on the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and informed the Forum attended by many heads of Government and leaders that the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia through the National Council for Sustainable Development reaffirmed the commitment to implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda and emphasized the importance of a consistent integration of the Sustainable Development Goals in the national documents and local plans.
Prime Minister Zaev in his address informed the Forum leaders that the Government of North Macedonia for the period 2018-2020 identified five priority Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 1 – No poverty, SDG4 – Quality education, SDG8 – Decent work and economic growth, SDG 13 – Climate action and SDG16 – Peace and justice strong institutions, which are at the same time the priority activities and measures defined in the Government program.
He emphasized that in the forthcoming period, the Republic of North Macedonia will be intensively committed to the process of EU accession, and given that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals is aimed towards the same direction, it represents a great opportunity for us to review our current strategic documents, programs in order to create sound public policies for their effective implementation and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In order to stress that part of the Sustainable Development Goals are already being implemented in some of the policies of the Government of North Macedonia, Prime Minister Zaev pointed to the measures and reforms with which we directly return the budget money to our citizens, thus reducing inequality and helping those who need financial help the most.
“The topmost principle of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy is to reduce inequality and to leave no one behind. The successful implementation of the social reforms enabled 30,000 households or about 120,000 citizens to receive social assistance higher by an average of 300% compared with 2016. Support for young people is one of our priorities as a country. The provision of favourable conditions for upgrading, development, and employment of young people is visible through our Operational Plan for Employment. The Government provided 17.9 million euros for this year, which is the highest amount ever allocated for youth employment measures, three times higher compared with 2014”, informed Prime Minister Zaev at the High-Level Forum of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit as part of the agenda of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly and added that the Republic of North Macedonia is the only non-European Union country that has introduced a youth guarantee. This measure is part of the European policies and aims to provide young people with a quality employment offer, continuous education, and training or internship within four months from the date of registration in the Employment Agency.
The President of the Government of North Macedonia briefed the participants of the Leaders Dialogue about the creation of new working positions together with the employers with the use of the measures for stimulating the development and innovation of the micro, small and medium companies in order for better paid working positions to be created.
“We as a Government believe that investing in innovation and start-up companies will keep the young people in the country and reduce economic migration. In order to demonstrate our clear policy and willingness to follow the ideas of the young people in developing their businesses, together with the support of World Bank we have increased by 7 times the portfolio of the Fund for Innovation and Technological Development with an amount of 39 million euros”, stated Prime Minister Zaev at the Leaders Dialogue, within the framework of the High-Level Forum of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit as part of the agenda of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.
Prime Minister Zaev informed that in line with SDG13 we are making efforts to implement measures that endorse the “green” working positions and the implementation for energy efficiency in buildings and low carbon energy supply.
“The Government finished up the preparations to engage with the Green Climate Fund and will develop a pipeline project that will be submitted as fund support. This also stems from our primary responsibility to secure our own path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Republic of North Macedonia reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and in that direction the public finances, both domestic and international, and the well-coordinated donator assistance will play a vital role in providing the essential services and public goods for the purpose of enabling the implementation of the goals”, said Prime Minister Zaev.
In his closing remarks, the President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia reminded that the global Sustainable Development Goals are a shared vision of the world and their implementation should be accelerated.
“The 2030 Agenda is our promise to our children and the youth of today, that they will achieve their full human potential and carry the torch of sustainable development for the future generation. It is in our determination to move forward as the contribution of everyone inspires hope!”, emphasized Prime Minister Zaev in his address at the High-Level Forum of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit as part of the agenda of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.
