Dr Luveni leads discussion on Voluntary National Reviews of Cabo Verde and Benin at the UN
The Honorable Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Jiko Luveni this afternoon led a discussion at the United Nations on the margins of the High Level Political Forum convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council.
The discussion focused on Benin and Cabo Verde’s Voluntary National Reviews concerning the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The presentations were made by Mr. Abdoulaye Bio Tchane, Senior Minister for State Planning and Development of Benin and Mr. José da Silva Gonçalves, Minister for Tourism, Tranports and Maritime Economy of Cabo Verde.
In leading the discussion, Dr. Luveni stressed the challenges raised by Benin and Cabo Verde were similar to challenges faced by Fiji. Benin and Cabo Verde highlighted their Sustainable Development Goals implementation are challenged by the effects of climate change, especially water scarcity in the case of Benin, access to finance and partnerships. Dr. Luveni, encouraged delegations to support Benin and Cabo Verde to identify ways of addressing these challenges.
Dr. Luveni also took the opportunity as the lead discussant to post to the delegation of Benin and Cabo Verde; is progress on achieving SDGs fast enough in reducing gender imbalance. She also asked about the scrutinizing and oversight role that their Parliament played.
Participants were encouraged to identify new sources of financing, sharing of experiences on accessing innovative financing options for SDGs.
In addition, participants also heard that natural disasters and climate change affect the progress in implementing sustainable development goals.
Dr. Luveni, also took the opportunity to alert participants that Fiji’s development path was severely affected by cyclone Winston in 2016. Dr. Luveni than stressed that such natural disasters can wipe away years of development.
The Ministers from Benin and Cabo Verde expressed their appreciation to Dr. Luveni for her constructive contribution, and her leadership in the discussion.
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