Among a series of side events accompanying the HLPF meeting was an event titled ‘’Leaving no one behind in the transition to more sustainable economies: New and inclusive approaches to achieve a just transformation’’ which was organised by Slovenia and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). Sanja Ajanović Hovnik from Slovenia’s Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy delivered opening remarks, underlining that Slovenia, ranking 12th among 162 countries in the 2019 edition of the SDG Report, was fully committed to delivering on shared global responsibility, and drew attention to future challenges all countries across the globe are facing, notably demographic change, rising inequalities within and between countries, migrations and climate change. “If we want to cope with these issues and overcome them, we need to come together, building an integrated and inclusive approach. It is why Slovenia integrated SDGs in its national Development Strategy 2030 and revamped its international development cooperation programme to deliver on the 2030 Agenda, which is considered as good practice,’’ added Ms Ajanović Hovnik. Representatives from Finland and Bhutan likewise discussed their respective countries’ inclusive development models that were successfully delivered on the ground. Panel discussion of the side event focused on points of view of different stakeholders, i.e. civil society, local government, private sector and trade unions.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report, 2019