A courtesy call was made to the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) by Mr Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary, Sustainable Development, of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on 7th June, 2016.
The visit also provided an opportunity for PIDF Secretary General, Mr François Martel, to give an overview of the PIDF’s major accomplishments in terms of establishing the Pacific’s only participatory platform on sustainable development with representation from governments, private sector and non-governmental organisations. He described the unique multi-stakeholder governance, funding mechanisms and its in-country engagement through National Sustainable Development Boards. He also focused on the role of the Suva Declaration for Climate Change and PIDF’s work during and Post-COP21 in advocacy and awareness of the Paris Agreement and its impacts for the region.
“The meeting outcomes were very positive as it allowed us to enhance Mr Zahedi’s understanding on the evolution of PIDF and our mandated roles and responsibilities especially related to the sustainable development goals and climate change linkages. There is much synergy here with the new directions given to the ESCAP Secretariat for the Asia-Pacific” said Mr Martel.
Mr Zahedi also discussed potential areas of technical collaboration and opportunities in which PIDF could positively contribute especially in the areas of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals with particular reference to the most recent ESCAP resolution (72/6) and the Paris Agreement in relation with to the recent ESCAP resolution on climate change (72/8).
Mr. Zahedi, who is responsible for overseeing the work of the ESCAP Divisions and Institutes supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, will also be holding discussions while in Fiji on the role of ESCAP in the Pacific and in particular the role of its Pacific Office.