India will expound on how development of tourism can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 at the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF) to be held in New York in July.
The HLPF is the central United Nations platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 agenda for SDGs at the global level. The theme for this year is “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”.
India would be represented at the event by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G. Kishen Reddy, a senior official in the Tourism Ministry said.
Mr. Reddy is the first Indian Tourism Minister to receive the invitation from the HLPF and will attend as the G-20 Tourism Chair.
He will speak on the implementation of the ‘India Declaration’ and ‘Goa Road Map’ that were conceived as a part of the G-20 Tourism Working Group and finalised during the ministerial meeting in Goa earlier this month.
Apart from this, the discussions at the forum are likely to acknowledge the pivotal role of tourism in many economies and societies worldwide as evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Top political and industry leaders would discuss how to accelerate the efforts of the tourism sector towards the SDGs — underlining the mobilisation of the sector’s commitment into concrete action.
The event will also introduce the linkages between tourism and the SDGs, considering the existing urgency to harmonise actions and agree on the measurement of results to acquire effective and real global action.
