The Generalitat Valenciana leads the regional policies regarding the SDGs
Last 2nd and 3rd November, the Meeting of Regional Governments “A territorial agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals” was held in Valencia (Spain), organised by the Valencian Government, with the presence of several regional governments.
The Conference opened with the Valencian President’s presence, Ximo Puig, who showed a strong commitment to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda. He stated, however, that it was difficult to progress towards it due to “their limited powers and financing, as we are the Community currently receiving the worst financing in Spain”.
At the opening, Johannes Krassnitzer, coordinator of the UNDP-ART, declared that Valencia is pioneer in the implementation of the SDGs. He pointed out that the SDG implementation is progressing in Europe, but not at the same pace as in other continents because of the lack of a strong institutional framework.
ORU Fogar’s Secretary General, Carles Llorens, also took part in the meeting, reiterating Krassnitzer’s words. He stated that the regional level is the most suitable for the implementation of the SDGs, but that many regional and intermediate governments didn’t have the adequate capacities or budgets.
The meeting was basically a valuable opportunity to exchange regional experiences regarding the SDG’s localisation. The meeting was attended by several Spanish autonomous communities like Extremadura, Navarra, Catalonia or the Basque Country, Italian regions like Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany or Basilicata, and the French region of Bourgogne Franche Comte and the Tunisian region of Medinine.
The former Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, also attended the meeting and expressed his conviction that Europe had built an exemplary regional structure. “The regions -he said- will be the reference point in the implementation of the SDGs”.
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VIDEO "Puig defiende las alianzas administrativas para garantizar los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ekvT89ajQ0&feature=youtu.be
