H.E. Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway and co-chair of the SDG Advocates, delivered the opening key-note speech at the start of the Ministerial Segment of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) on 18 July, presented Norway’s voluntary national reviews on its progress of delivering the Sustainable Development Goals on the 19th, and participated in a number of side events at which she focused on important SDG advocacy messages.
Throughout her engagement at the HLPF, PM Solberg stressed that the integrated set of SDGs are not a side track to the current challenges with which political leaders at all levels are grappling, but rather the main pathway to addressing conflict, violent extremism, youth unemployment, forced migration, the spread of epidemics and global warming. She emphasized that this link must be understood and internalized at all levels to make the SDGs campaign propel forward at a scale needed for success.
The HLPF took place at UN Headquarters between 11-20 July, with the participation of nearly 1,500 Member States, Major Groups and other stakeholders, and intergovernmental and UN organizations. Twenty-two countries presented their voluntary national reviews, and stakeholders participated actively in a series of moderated dialogues and panel discussions.