The South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals begins in Hotel Radisson Blu in Indore on Saturday at 10 am. The two-day Summit will be inaugurated by lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Besides Mahajan, the Summit is being attended by M Thambidurai, Deputy Speaker, lok Sabha; Saber Chowdhury, President of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU); Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi, Speaker of National Assembly of Afghanistan; Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Speaker of Parliament of Bangladesh; Jigme Zangpo, Speaker of National Assembly of Bhutan; Tshering Dorji, Deputy Chairperson of National Council of Bhutan; Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of Parliament of Sri lanka; Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed, Speaker of Parliament of Maldives; Onasari Gharti, Speaker of Parliament of Nepal, and Members of Parliaments from the participating countries. Speaker of Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Sitasaran Sharma and other dignitaries will also grace the Inaugural function.
The Summit will have a Plenary Session on Identifying Resources for SDGs Implementation in South Asia: Opportunities for Parliamentary Cooperation. The Session will inform the Delegates about the implementation of SDGs in South Asian region and will discuss ways in which Parliaments can ensure that adequate financial and other resources accompany implementation of national and regional SDGs strategies.
The working Session on Gender Equality as a critical factor for Sustainable Development will discuss opportunities that the SDGs present to strike a better gender balance, and to determine the gender impact of sustainable development policies. The other Working Session on Dealing Effectively with the Challenge of Climate Change and Natural Disasters: Opportunities for Regional Parliamentary Cooperation will discuss how Parliaments of the region can cooperate and share resources to address the challenges of climate change and natural disasters.
The Summit proposes to adopt ‘Indore Declaration’ at the closing ceremony at 12 noon on February 19.
During the Summit, cultural programme, highlighting the heritage of |India, will be showcased for the Delegates. The Delegates and accompanying persons will leave for Mandu on a Post Conference Tour on February 20.