On 2 June, a study visit of the Turkmen delegation officially began in the Republic of Belarus as part of the joint project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan, titled “Partnering for SDG acceleration. Phase III.” The delegation comprises representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and the State Statistics Committee of Turkmenistan.

The purpose of the visit is to learn from Belarus’ best practices in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), build strategic partnerships, and enhance knowledge and expertise in the development and improvement of national strategies and programmes — including the effective use of statistical data to monitor the implementation of national and global goals.

During the visit the delegation also held a working meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, where they discussed the formation and operation of the national architecture for SDG implementation and exchanged experiences on preparing Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to access progress toward the 2030 Agenda.

Delegation also met with the Ministry of Economy and the Research Institute of the Economy (RIE) under the Ministry of Economy, where they were introduced to the practices related to the development and implementation of Belarus’ National Sustainable Development Strategy, as well as regional and sectoral strategies. Discussions focused on forecasting, monitoring, and evaluating strategic documents, as well as interagency coordination mechanisms.

As part of the visit, the Turkmen delegation also met with the leadership of UNDP in Belarus to learn about the ongoing UNDP projects related to the SDGs.

The visit is ongoing. In the coming days, the delegation is scheduled to meet with representatives of the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus to discuss the management of national statistics related to SDG indicators. The delegation will also visit the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and the UN Global Compact Network Office in Belarus to explore practices of public-private cooperation in implementing the sustainable development agenda.

It is expected that the results of the visit will contribute to strengthening dialogue and fostering cooperation between Turkmenistan and Belarus in achieving the SDGs and implementing the 2030 Agenda.