Dubravka Filipovski, Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the Committee had agreed to have the public hearing with the National Assembly’s Focus Group for the Development of Control Mechanisms for the Process of Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in September. Filipovski said that the sustainable development goals are complementary with the EU negotiation chapters and their realization is tackled through the negotiation process, adding the National Assembly would also contribute to their realization by passing relevant legislation and controlling its implementation and possibly adopting an umbrella document – a declaration or resolution, and accompanying by-laws. Finally, Filipovski said that the inclusion of young people in the process is extremely important as their opinion would be crucial for the identification of the 2030 goals.

The Head of the Interdepartmental Working Group for the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda and Minister without portfolio responsible for demography and population policy Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic Dejanovic said that the UN 2030 Agenda, comprising 17 sustainable development goals and 169 targets, mainly focuses on activities relating to poverty reduction, improving living standards, healthcare and the education system, as well as environmental protection, gender equality, reduction of inequality, etc. She said that the main task of all the relevant factors is to inform the general public about the sustainable development goals, starting from MPs, through local officials, to the citizens in order to pursue these goals with more efficiency.

Karla Hershey, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia, said that Serbia is at present mapping public policies to create the indicators set out in the UN base report. She stressed that the concentrated efforts of the Serbian Government and the National Assembly resulting in a legal framework and implementation of sustainable development goals, would shape Serbia in the future which is a progress in the implementation of the goals contained in the 2030 Agenda and which the UN would continue to support.

Focus Group chair Dr Milorad Mijatovic said that the National Assembly had recognized the importance of establishing the Focus Group he heads as evidenced in the fact that it comprises two deputy speakers and the majority of its members are working body chairpersons and experts in the areas the Focus Group deals with. He said that the Group’s goal is the advancement of the system of government, development and better living standards for the citizens of Serbia and by coordinating its efforts with the Mixed Working Group, National Assembly committees and local self-government bodies the Group would actively work on achieving this goal. Mijatovic added that, to better implement the 2030 Agenda’s goals, the Focus Group would actively cooperate with the countries in the region and the EU member states, and in that context mentioned the coming Regional Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for Central and Eastern Europe and Eastern and Central Asia to be held in Belgrade on 17 and 18 May 2018.