Speaking at the first High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, held in New York , Minister Thoriq Ibrahim said that Climate change is the greatest challenge for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to achieve sustainable development. He said that continuing to advocate globally for more ambitious climate action is also a priority in the Maldives and the adaptation efforts will be continued in contributing to combatting climate change.

He also said that the process of localization and mapping the SDGs and relevant targets has already begun in Maldives and it began by closely analyzing the government manifesto and existing sector plans.He also highlighted that 70% of the SDG targets are covered by sector plans and targets and that more work will be undertaken in the future to better identify gaps.

“We have also just completed the first national dialogue on SDGs, attended by all relevant sectors of the government and our development partners” , said the Minister. He also said that good coordination within government sectors is key to the successful implementation of SDGs and that in terms of institutional arrangements, a ministerial committee will oversee monitoring and coordination of SDG implementation nationally.

Maldives have achieved five out of the eight Millennium Development Goals well ahead of the 2015 deadline, making it South Asia’s only “MDG+” country.