President calls for reassessment of SDGs amid slowing global growth, climate change

Ranil Wickremesinghe

President Ranil Wickremesinghe this week indicated the need for a reassessment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in light of the economic headwinds faced by both major and small economies and climate change.

Addressing a forum themed ‘Sri Lanka Sustainable Development Trajectories and Pathways’, Wickremesinghe said that the SDGs are still important but they need to be adapted to the new reality. 
He pointed out that the world is still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change is posing an even greater threat.

“There has been a significant setback to the global economy. Even if we look at the situation today, what progress do we see? In Europe, it is still stagnant. The US has been luckier with growth taking place and the on-and-off rise and fall of economic performance. China is still in the process of recovery. So, the engines of world growth have come to a halt,” he said.
“How do we find the financial resources for the SDGs? How do we find the financial resources for climate change mitigation? How do we find the financial resources for the global debt financing crisis? The engine itself, the engine of growth, has still not reached its fullest potential. It is in crisis. And with this engine of growth in crisis, we have also got to find the resources both for the SDGs and for climate change,” he added.

President calls
Wickremesinghe stressed that Sri Lanka is committed to the SDGs but that it needs to find ways to achieve them without putting further strain on its economy. He said that the country is taking steps to restructure its economy and become more competitive.
“We are following the path that Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam have taken, so that we become a highly competitive economy and learn to find our markets. We can no longer be the sheltered small economy that we were earlier. I hope that we will succeed but it means reworking, starting from the beginning. We have to invest in new technologies and bring in foreign investment and capital,” he added.
Wickremesinghe is among world leaders who will be participating in the discussions at the United Nations with regards to the SDGs, which have been called for by the Secretary General.