The Fourth Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), was held in Bangkok in March 2017.
Theme of the meet was “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing Asia-Pacific.”
Asia-Pacific countries have adopted a roadmap for regional cooperation on implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The roadmap lays out priority areas, implementation arrangements and a process for tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by building on the agreements reached at the last two APFSD meetings.
The roadmap places particular emphasis on supporting implementation of the 2030 Agenda by developing countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small-island developing states and other countries with special needs. It also outlines a process for tracking progress on the SDGs.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are placed at the centre of the regional policy agenda in order to enhance women’s leadership and decision-making in all aspects of society.
The roadmap also recognises that sustainable development must be underpinned by peaceful and inclusive societies, addressing inequality, and by good governance.
With support from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), it will facilitate regional level cooperation with a focus on the means of implementation of the SDGs.
These are spread out across the thematic areas of social development, disaster risk reduction, climate change, management of natural resources, connectivity and energy.