Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion Carmelo Abela addressed a business breakfast organised by SKOP, a local NGO platform. The business breakfast was attended by local council representatives and NGOs and discussed the importance of tackling the Sustainable Development Goals on a local level.

The minister explained that the SDGs have a cross-cutting dimension and present us with a multitude of challenges. The implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires comprehensive national, regional and international sustainable development strategies that focus on the proper implementation of the SDGs. Minister Abela highlighted the central role of Malta in the development field during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union which provided an unparalleled opportunity to work actively in the field of sustainable development and to prioritise this issue, which was at heart of Malta’s Presidency priorities.

In 2018, Minister Abela will be presenting the Voluntary National Review (VNR) during the High Level Political Forum taking place in New York. The VNR will help Malta share its success in implementing the 2030 Agenda with other interested stakeholders, which in turn will share their lessons learnt with Malta.

The minister further underlined the importance of the contributions by civil society and local councils at a grassroots level in implementing the SDGs by ensuring that development in local communities is sustainable and improves the quality of life for our citizens. Civil society is an important vehicle in bringing about change and represents a reliable partner to the Government. The SDGs encourage public-private and civil society partnerships as a tool towards the implementation of Agenda 2030, which is ultimately an agenda of the people, by the people, and for the people.