Pandemic threatens hard-earned development gains: PM Oli

Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli addressed the SDG Moment 2020 this morning. The SDG Moment 2020 is a high-level event convened by UN Secretary-General on the margins of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

In his address, PM Oli expressed concerns that the pandemic threatened the hard-earned development gains particularly in the countries such as LDCs, LLDCs and SIDs. The freezing economy, shrinking revenue, increasing public expenditure, rising poverty and unemployment have severe impact on these countries’ efforts to realize the SDGs, he added.

He stated that it was not a moment to shift the goalposts further and that the SDGs must continue to serve as the compass of clarity for global action.
PM Oli further said the sustainable development was at the centre of Nepal’s development vision and it underpinned the national aspiration of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’. He also touched upon Nepal’s achievements in key areas including poverty reduction, food security, education, gender equality, basic sanitation, and energy access.

According to him, it was time to move beyond rhetoric and accelerate action at all levels in order to recover and rebuild better, and to ensure that no one is left behind.
“We have made some significant achievements in key areas –including poverty reduction, food security, education, gender equality, basic sanitation, and energy access. Our people have been enjoying fundamental rights and freedoms as enshrined in the Constitution,” he said, adding that there were still challenges and gaps.

Nepal was one of the five countries from the Asia Pacific region to be featured in the SDG Moment 2020. There were 22 Heads of State/Government from around the world representing different regional groups, a number of SDG advocates and partners, and senior UN officials, among others.