Representatives of the United Nations Development Program said that Sri Lanka will be supported in achieving the country’s Sustainable Development Goals.
They stated this during a recent discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat about adding sustainable development goals to budgeting.
The discussion was chaired by President’s Senior Adviser on Climate Change Mr Ruwan Wijewardena and President’s Adviser on Environment and Sustainable Finance Professor Ananda Malavitantri, representing the United Nations Development Program, its Resident Representative Azusa Kubota, Budget Consultant, Adviser Asif Shah, Integration Specialist Ms Dulani Sirisena and Afraa Mohamed, Policy, Research and Engagement Assistant, were present at the discussion.
The rationale for integrating sustainable development goals into public financial management systems was discussed at length and the main benefits of development goals and budgeting were also discussed.
Attention was also paid to providing an effective basis for budget decisions with improved data to reduce fiscal space and fiscal gaps, assist government and donor negotiations by introducing efficient mechanisms to protect social sector spending, identify funding gaps and under-resource priorities to support effective targeting of resources.