Ashgabat, November 22, 2021: With the assistance of the project between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan “Partnering for SDG acceleration. Phase II", representatives of national ministries and entities of Turkmenistan, members of the Joint Expert Group on Financing the SDGs, participated at the official launch of the Regional project "Creation of an SDGs Platform for Central Asia", funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP. The Regional project, which will be coordinated by the UNDP Country Office in Kazakhstan, aims to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The official launch of the Regional project involved participation of representatives of state bodies of the Central Asian countries, delegations of the European Union from Central Asian countries, international financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, and other representatives of the Central Asian countries.

The aim of the Regional project is to contribute to sustainable development through a knowledge sharing platform, helping Central Asian countries to analyze and update key socio-economic programs by monitoring the progress of the SDGs and funding, as well as increasing the effectiveness of EU regional programs in achieving these goals.

In the course of the meeting, the main components of the Regional project were presented to the participants. The event provided an opportunity to establish partnerships, conduct consultations and exchange knowledge and experience focusing on the regional context of the SDGs implementation. Specialists of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan introduced to the participants the progress made in achieving the SDGs in the country, outlined current priorities, as well as areas of cooperation within the project implementation.

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The joint project between UNDP and the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan “Partnering for SDG acceleration” aims at strengthening national capacity and coordinating the work of the relevant ministries and entities of Turkmenistan towards the achievement of the SDGs.