Strong political will required to achieve SDG targets

Islamabad

Strong political will, national ownership and right methodology are required to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goal-6 that relates to provision of safe drinking water.

The suggestion came from Chairman Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Dr. Muhammad Ashraf, who was speaking at a “Regional Dialogue on SDG-6.0”, organised by PCRWR in collaboration with Embassy of Tajikistan and ECO-Science Foundation on Wednesday. The dialogue took place under the umbrella of “International Decade for Action-Water for Sustainable Development (2018-2028).”

In his inaugural address, the chief guest, Additional Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology Muhammad Ashraf appreciated the joint efforts of the organisers for holding this important dialogue and assured full support for future endeavours to implement and achieve SDG-6.0.

Speaking on the occasion, the Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan Jononov Sherali highlighted the issues and key achievements relating to water resources management in Tajikistan.

He said that the regional and global cooperation for improving knowledge exchange, strengthening communication and networking for cooperation are the basic tools for achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

Earlier, Chairman PCRWR Dr. Muhammad Ashraf quoted UN Secretary General’s remarks saying “water is not only for life … water is life.” He said that targets of SDG-6.0, specially “Provision of safe drinking water”, cannot be achieved through individual efforts. “For this purpose a strong political will, national ownership and right methodology will be required.”

President of ECO-SF Professor Dr. Manzoor Ahmad in his key note address said that water is a human right; it is a new oil for the engine of national economy.“All the ECO countries are facing water scarcity and quality problems. We must manage our water resources very wisely, equitably and efficiently.”

The dialogue was attended by researchers and scientists from various organisations. The dialogue concluded with the draft framework for the implementation on SDG 6.0 in Pakistan after deliberations held during the technical sessions.