The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan within the framework of the joint UN project "Financing Sustainable Development Goals in Tajikistan" run by UNICEF, UNDP and UN Women convened a two-day national workshop on ‘Securing Financing to Achieve SDGs in the Republic of Tajikistan’ at the National Library in Dushanbe on October 22-23, 2021.
The workshop was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Science, the State Committee for Investment and State Property Management, and other government officials at republican and sub-national levels. In addition, participation of the development partner community, civil society organizations, and representatives of state preschool and general secondary educational institutions is anticipated.
The workshop represents the first in the series of events within the framework of the joint programme ‘SDG Financing in Tajikistan’, which is co-financed by partner UN organizations and the UN Joint SDG Fund. The workshop is intended to institutionalize robust, inclusive and sustainable policy dialogue on SDG financing vis-à-vis achieving national policy priorities in the Republic of Tajikistan.
The joint programme specifically focuses on the education sector as the pilot and can demonstrate how new ways of facilitating and securing financing for SDGs can be explored and further replicated in other sectors. The workshop also represents an opportunity for the programme to marry technical inputs and deliverables with the national dialogue on the financing of medium- and long-term strategic policy priorities in Tajikistan.
“Financing of the education sector was never as important as now. The negative impact of COVID-19 is being experienced by all of us on all the levels. Thus, we very much welcome the inclusive dialogue with the participation of different stakeholders, such as private sector, civil society, and development partners to explore innovative approaches in budgeting and financing for the education sector and achievement of the SDGs”, underlined Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Republic of Tajikistan, Ms. Gulchehra Ganizoda.
The workshop will also be an opportunity for the programme team to present initial deliverables, such as the fiscal space assessments, the comprehensive review of financing bottlenecks and opportunities in the education sector, and the proposed mechanism (tool) to track and report on-budget public expenditures aligned with national SDG targets and indicators.
“We commit to implement the national strategies on achievement of SDGs in a better and efficient ways. We would like to thank our development partners for their substantial support and all the efforts in achieving our goals on the national level”- noted Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Ashurboy Solehzoda.
Inputs from these deliverables, as well as the anticipated discussion on the options to increase fiscal space, will feed into the development and finalization of the national SDG financing roadmap, which will subsequently be endorsed by the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, thereby providing the foundation for securing necessary SDG financing to implement the National Development Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan for the period until 2030 and other sectoral strategies and programmes.
“The outcome of the workshop will feed into the finalization of the National SDG Financing Roadmap that will hopefully be endorsed by the Government of Tajikistan, and roadmap will be aligned to national development priorities and sector strategies. ” – emphasized UN Women Country Program Manager Ms. Aziza Khamidova.
