The UN Resident Coordinator’s commitment to advancing Mongolia’s SDG actions

Since taking office in 2019, with his convening power as a Resident Coordinator for the UN System in Mongolia, Mr. Tapan Mishra has strongly advocated for making the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a national priority. He has engaged with the highest levels of the Mongolian government, including the President, the Prime Minister and his cabinet, Parliament Members, and the public.

Bringing the all-UN County Team onboard to offer collective UN support to Mongolia’s development, the Resident Coordinator has positioned the UN as a strategic partner to the Mongolian government on its path to the sustainable, green, and inclusive development envisioned in the SDGs and Vision 2050–Mongolia’s long-term development policy–based on Agenda 2030.

Committed to bringing the SDGs to the top of the national development agenda, the Parliament of Mongolia partnered with the UN in Mongolia to organize the first-ever High-level National Forum on the SDGs in October 2021. This was a groundbreaking forum on integrating and implementing the SDGs into national policies and programs in Mongolia.

Mongolia’s authorities have acted upon the nation’s promise, evidenced by its commitment to creating a ministry with a portfolio to deal with development priorities, the Ministry of Economic Development, which now spearheads the national development agenda envisioned in Agenda 2030 and Vision 2050.

Furthermore, Mongolia consolidated its commitment to the SDGs by establishing the Multistakeholder Council for Sustainable Development (MCSD), chaired by Parliament’s Sustainable Development Sub-committee, and reinstating the National Committee for Sustainable Development (NCSD), chaired by the Prime Minister of Mongolia.

On such fertile ground, the UN Country Team has entered into a new phase of its partnership with Mongolia, co-signing the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) with the Government of Mongolia—the blueprint for the UN’s collective support to Mongolia from 2023 to 2027.

Leveraging his convening and facilitating role, the UN Resident Coordinator in Mongolia brought 23 UN agencies, funds, and programs on board for the new UNSDCF, up from 17 in the previous UNDAF (UN Development Assistance Framework). The UNSDCF is designed to advance sustainable development in Mongolia as a prosperous country characterized by an inclusive, resilient, healthy, and safe environment and a cohesive society based on the rule of law and human rights.

Sustainable, inclusive, and green development is not only the agenda of the government and the United Nations but Mongolia’s communities—including the private sector and civil society—that have embraced the SDGs as guidance for a better future.

This was well demonstrated in the first-ever large-scale outdoor public event to promote local SDG initiatives and best practices, and to mobilize more collective action towards the SDGs in Mongolia, held in September 2022.

More than 150 partner organizations, ranging from government entities to leading national companies and civic movements, showcased their work towards the SDGs. At least 5,000 people roamed the city’s central square, going from booth to booth. SDG Open Day provided an excellent opportunity to see where Mongolia is and what needs to be done to inspire and further mobilize united and individual actions to achieve its development goals. 

Mongolia’s efforts to accelerate the implementatio­­­­­­­­­n of the SDGs are focused on localizing SDGs and the adoption of nationalized targets and indicators. For example, some provinces (Darkhan-Uul and Orkhon) have already taken up the challenge and championed the localization of the SDGs into their regional development plans and push for a climate-focused agenda.

The coordinating and convening role of the UN Resident Coordinator, along with the committed and empowered UN Country Team, has become more evident in the national ownership of SDGs, bringing all parties together with a commitment to creating a sustainable future for Mongolia.

Tapan Mishra, the UN Resident Coordinator in Mongolia, truly believes in the prosperous future ahead for Mongolia if development challenges are effectively addressed with the strong commitment of all stakeholders.

“Having a clear blue sky and sunlight for over 260 days a year, and with its vast and deep resources, both natural and human, Mongolia has great potential to develop as a regional role model for sustainable and green development and achievement of the SDGs, driven by human-rights and gender-equality principles to ensure inclusive and equitable prosperity for all,” said Tapan Mishra.