Beirut hosts the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development 2025
Beirut hosts the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development 2025
ContinueEarth Guards Following up on the most prominent events related to sustainable development in the region and the world, this article highlights the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development 2025, which is a very important official event to assess the progress achieved, discuss current challenges, and enhance cooperation between various development stakeholders at a crucial regional time.
The Lebanese capital, Beirut, will host the forum at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), during the period from April 14 to 16, with broad Arab participation that includes ministers and government officials, along with representatives of international and regional organizations, civil society bodies, academic institutions, and the private sector.
The official opening session of the forum is expected to witness speeches by a number of senior officials, led by the President of the Lebanese Republic, General Joseph Aoun, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and the Iraqi Minister of Planning, Muhammad Ali, in his capacity as the current president of the forum. Rula Dashti, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCWA, will also deliver a speech at the opening, along with a recorded message from Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Axes of the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development 2025
This year’s forum comes under the slogan “Restoring Hope, Raising Ambition,” in an Arab and regional context characterized by increasing economic, social, and climate challenges. This year’s edition seeks to shed light on ways to overcome the crises that the region is going through through evidence-based solutions, and to strengthen commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda in its second half.
The Arab Forum for Sustainable Development 2025 focuses on reviewing five main Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Goal (3) “Good Health and Well-Being,” which discusses strengthening health systems, improving access to high-quality care services, promoting universal health coverage and reducing the burden of chronic diseases.
It also highlights Goal (5) “Gender Equality”, by enhancing women’s participation in political and economic decision-making, and ensuring girls’ empowerment with education and economic opportunities, in addition to Goal (8) “Decent Work and Economic Growth”, as the forum focuses on creating sustainable job opportunities that take into account the needs of youth, and supporting small and medium enterprises.
In addition, the forum addresses Goal (14) “Life Under Water,” which deals with environmental threats facing the Arab coasts and marine ecosystems, such as plastic pollution and overfishing. Goal (17) also addresses “Partnerships to Achieve the Goals,” which is considered a pivotal goal for enhancing regional and international cooperation, especially in the areas of sustainable financing and technology transfer. This is to ensure effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the region.
Forum activities and preparatory consultations
This forum is preceded by the organization of a number of preparatory meetings and consultations, which aim to formulate Arab priorities based on the needs of each country, in addition to organizing a parallel civil society forum supervised by the Network of Arab Non-Governmental Organizations for Development, which is considered an independent space to present Arab civil society’s perceptions of sustainable development issues.
As part of the Forum’s activities, dedicated sessions are held to discussVoluntary National Reviewsthat countries submit to evaluate their progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the national level. These reviews are considered a pivotal tool for enhancing transparency and exchanging experiences in order to improve development policies, with their reports being submitted to theHigh-Level Political Forumon Sustainable Development in New York.
This year’s forum represents an important preparatory stage for a number of upcoming global events, including the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which will be held in the Spanish city of Seville next June, and the Second World Summit for Social Development, which Doha will host in November 2025.
The Forum also follows up on the implementation of the “Charter for the Future” that was adopted at the United Nations Summit on the Future, held in New York in September 2024, in addition to discussing ongoing international processes, such as reviewing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action after thirty years, and preparing for the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference.
At the conclusion of its work, the forum is expected to issue a set of key messages that express the Arab regional position and be submitted to the high-level political forum, as a contribution to the international debate on the path of sustainable development in the next stage.Earth Guards seeks to follow up on these outcomes, which gain special importance because they reflect a complex reality in the region, and an urgent need to enhance regional and international collective action to achieve common goals.
