From Jamaica Observer

SANTIAGO, Chile (CMC) – The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed will participate in the opening session of the third meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development at ECLAC headquarters here.

ECLAC said more than 1,000 delegates – including representatives of government, international institutions, the private sector, academia and civil society – have confirmed to attend the April 22-26 gathering, which will feature more than 50 side events.

Participants will meet to review the progress and challenges regarding implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region.

At the official opening ceremony, ECLAC said Mohammed will be joined by Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s executive secretary, and Inga Rhonda King, the president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and Permanent Representative of St Vincent and the Grenadines to the UN.

María Fernanda Espinosa, president of the global organisation’s General Assembly, will also participate in the forum’s activities.

The forum is convened annually by the member state that holds the presidency of ECLAC’s Committee of the Whole, and will be carried out under ECLAC’s auspices.

At the meeting, ECLAC said it will present the quadrennial report on regional progress and challenges in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared by the organisation in conjunction with the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes that have a presence in the region.

“This indispensable meeting confirms the importance of multilateralism, the vocation for integration and the enthusiasm for regional cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, provided also by ECLAC,” said Bárcena, in a video message in which she invited delegates to participate in “this important event”.

ECLAC said the meeting’s official activities include peer learning sessions that will address the challenges of implementing the 2030 Agenda in the Caribbean and analyse aspects such as the institutional framework, planning and budget for the agenda, along with its subnational implementation, statistical capacities, measurement and georeferencing.

An interregional dialogue between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean regarding implementation of the 2030 Agenda will also take place, ECLAC said.

“This forum will also allow the region to speak with one voice, its own voice, in the global debate on implementation of the Agenda 2030, which is a civilising and transformative agenda that the world has set for 2030,” Bárcena said.

“That voice, your voice, expresses shared motivations and concerns, without denying regional diversity, and it is capable of incorporating distinct views,” she added. “For all these reasons, we invite you to take an active part in this regional gathering.”

ECLAC said the forum was created via the approval of resolution 700, known as the Mexico Resolution, at ECLAC’s 36th session, held in May 2016 in Mexico City.

For more on this story go to: http://301-joweb.newscyclecloud.com/news/un-official-to-inaugurate-meeting-of-caribbean-countries-on-sustainable-development_162817?profile=1373