On 28-30 March, 2018 the 5th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) took place in Bangkok under the auspices of the ESCAP.

The event brought together representatives of ESCAP member states, UN organizations and agencies, regional financial structures, research centers and civil society who focused their deliberations on review of the progress in implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda-2030) by countries in Asia and the Pacific.

Dr. Alexander Bedritsky, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on Climate Issues, participated in the ministerial discussion of the Forum as a lead panelist.

Participants assessed the progress achieved in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region, shared their experience in incorporating principles of sustainable development into national development strategies and defined measures to deal with difficulties the countries of Asia and the Pacific meet on this way. They highlighted a positive role of regional cooperation in social, economic and environmental areas for implementation of the Agenda-2030.

A roundtable discussion under the theme “Eurasian Economic Union’s (EAEU) sustainable development and its experience of the SDGs implementation at the subregional level” was organized on the sidelines of the Forum by the delegation of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). The EEC’s experts briefed the participants of the event on the EAEU’s contribution to implementation of the Agenda-2030.

The Chair’s Summary of the 5th APFSD will be submitted as the ESCAP’s contribution to the work of next high-level political forum on sustainable development that will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in July 2018.