Dakar — The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with the Government of Senegal, launched the fourth session of the African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development.

Presiding over the launching ceremony was the Prime Minister of Senegal, His Excellency Mr. Mohammed Boun Abdallah Dionne in presence of the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas and the Coordinator of the United Nations System in Senegal, Mrs. Priya Gijraj

With the theme of " transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies", the main objective of this meeting was to monitor and review at regional level the implementation of Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063.

According to the Prime Minister of Senegal, as a prelude to the adoption of the 17 SDGs by the international community in September 2015, Senegal had deemed it appropriate and timely to carry out, in June 2015, an exercise of national consultations with all stakeholders on prioritizing the SDGs, in the light of the Plan Sénégal Emergent (Emerging Senegal Plan) and the Axe III de la décentralisation (Part III of Decentralization).

"This allowed us to quickly define a national profile, validated during the first edition of the National Conference on Sustainable Development," he said

According to the Coordinator of the United Nations System in Senegal, "This meeting will facilitate the experience of different African countries in the development and implementation of national policies to reach the 2030 and 2063 agendas".

"It is time for Africa, more concretely than in the past, to be at the heart of regional cooperation to accelerate its sustainable development", concluded Priya Gijraj.