Venezuela analyzes effects of the pandemic on the SDGs in the ECLAC forum

Venezuela participated this Tuesday in the Fourth Meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 2021.

Organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in it was discussed the achievements of the 2030 Agenda in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis.

On behalf of the country, the sectoral vice president for Planning, Ricardo Menéndez, intervened, who proposed three actions to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

(…) Go with a supply and food bank within the United Nations (UN) and create a Humanitarian Fund for the SDGs,” he said.

In addition, he proposed to establish a mechanism of the United Nations System that is sovereign and autonomous, “(and) not one by the sponsors”, to avoid interference in other countries.

Menéndez explained that the objectives set by the UN are the key and the real possibility to advance towards social justice after the pandemic.

“They should not be deferred or delayed,” despite the fact that there are structural financing problems and unilateral impositions that seek to halt development.

The only real possibility that we have to face the pandemic and post-pandemic are the SDGs. They are sorting factors for Public Policies,” he added.

Likewise, he reiterated before the participants of the video-conference, the complaint about the effects of the coercive and illegal measures imposed by the United States against the country.

In this regard, he said that financing has made our country more expensive by more than 2000% and that at least $ 5 billion are still frozen in international accounts.

On the other hand, the economic and financial blockade has also led to the increase in “import costs up to 10 times,” he said.