IMO has delivered the latest in a series of initiatives designed to help put the maritime sector into the mainstream of plans and initiatives to achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by world leaders in 2015.
The United Nations development system collectively supports countries working to achieve the SDGs through a mechanism called the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). Through the UNSDCF, UN country teams and national authorities work together to identify plans and priorities for development at the national level.
Under its own strategic plan, IMO is working with national maritime authorities to help them ensure that the maritime sector is given due consideration when national plans and initiatives are formulated within the umbrella of the UNSCDF. Maritime activity is seen an essential component of any programme for future sustainable economic growth and most of the elements of the 2030 Agenda will only be realized with a sustainable transport sector supporting world trade and facilitating global economy.
Earlier this month (19-20 August), IMO helped deliver a workshop in Bangkok, Thailand to assist maritime authorities from Asian countries to build maritime activity into their national plans for the SDGs. This was the second such workshop, following a similar event in Chile (2018). Further workshops are planned for Africa and the Pacific region. The workshop was organized and delivered in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the United Nations Development Coordination Office (UN DCO).