Foreign Secretary Ahmed Latheef has met with the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Under-Secretary-General Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana.

The Executive Secretary of ESCAP is undertaking a visit to the Maldives from 29 October to 31 October 2022.

During the meeting held on Sunday, the Foreign Secretary welcomed the Executive Secretary to the Maldives and noted that this visit would tremendously help efforts to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Maldives.

He expressed his appreciation to the Executive Secretary for co-organizing an event on SDGs and the role of the Parliament with the government of Maldives, the UN Resident Coordinator for the Maldives, UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU).

The event aims to offer parliamentarians in the Maldives an overview of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs as well as the challenges in the Asia-Pacific region and the Maldives. The event also aims to show the role of the parliament in advancing the SDGs.

Foreign Secretary was accompanied by the Permanent Representative of Maldives to UN-ESCAP Huda Shareef, Joint Secretary of Multilateral Department, Mariyam Midhfa Naeem and Assistant Director of Multilateral Department Fathimath Zeyna Abdulla Saeed.

ESCAP is the most inclusive intergovernmental platform in the Asia and the Pacific.

The ESCAP Secretariat supports inclusive, resilient and sustainable development in the region by generating action-oriented knowledge. They also provide technical assistance and capacity building services in support of national development objectives, regional agreements, as well as the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

ESCAP also provides support to partners at the national level.