Russia unveils its Voluntary National Review (VNR) of the 2030 Agenda implementation

On 14 July, at a ceremony broadcast at the UN headquarters in New York, the Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov presented the country's first Voluntary National Review (VNR) of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The document showcased at the High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development under the aegis of ECOSOC was prepared by the Analytical Center for the Government of the Russian Federation. 

The Voluntary National Review (VNR) provides detailed analysis of the state of play in the Russian Federation in the framework of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In recent years, the Russian Federation has shown tangible progress in achieving all of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The most remarkable results have been achieved in relation to SDG 1 “Poverty Eradication”, SDG 4 “Quality Education”, and SDG 8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth”.

As for SDG 2 “Zero Hunger”, the country has adopted a Food Security Doctrine with the strategic goal of providing the population with safe, high-quality and affordable agricultural products, raw materials and food that ensure rational consumption rates. In 2018, the prevalence of undernutrition was rather low (around 1,6 percent among people over the age of 18). At the same time, only 0,3 percent of the Russian population experienced acute food insecurity, and 6,2 percent experienced it moderately or acutely. The development of Russia’s potential in achieving SDG 2 has been facilitated by such factors as the development of rural infrastructure, the reduction of trade restrictions (within the WTO) and the implementation of comprehensive sectoral strategic programs.

This VNR is the first integrated assessment of the state and progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Russian Federation.

Due to the social focus of its policies, Russia has been making significant progress in implementing the basic principle of the 2030 Agenda “Leaving no one behind.” Thus, this principle underlies the policies pursued to ensure access of the population to socio-economic, political and other spheres. At the regional level in Russia, there are quotas for hiring people with disabilities (from 2 to 4 percent). Apart from this, the development of digital technologies and the expansion of the access to telemedicine, e-education, employment opportunities (including remote working) produce a positive impact.

At the same time, digital technologies impact not only on the social dimension, but also the economy and the environment at large. For example, by shifting to e-government, the process of connecting a business to electric grids has been simplified. The shift to e-government has benefited the population at large, a successful Public Service Internet Portal “Gosuslugi” has been created. By the end of 2019, 152 million services were provided through the portal, which is 2,5 times more than in 2018. As a consequence, citizens’ satisfaction with the quality of public services increased from 75,5 percent in 2012 to 90 percent in 2018.

Due to the country's vast territory and the uneven density of the population (from 0,1 people per 1 square km to 4,900 people per 1 square km), Russia concentrates efforts on the development of infrastructure and transportation, the backbone of several strategic sectors (industry, agriculture, economic, social and information links among different regions).

VNR notes that the adoption by the Russian Federation of the Paris Agreement in 2019 was one of the most important milestones within the global efforts to combat climate change. Full participation of Russia in the Paris Agreement should become an additional catalyst for reducing carbon intensity and increasing the energy efficiency of the national economy, which will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on a global scale. Further, in 2020, the Russian Federation also adopted the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which will help meet her international climate commitments by significantly reducing the consumption of super greenhouse gases.

Russia prioritizes food security in the framework of international cooperation. Over the past five years, Russia has provided food aid to 30 countries in various regions of the world to the tune of over $220 million through WFP alone. In addition to providing urgent food assistance in crisis situations, Russia is actively involved as a donor in development projects, in particular through FAO, aimed at identifying long-term solutions to problems in the field of food security and sustainable agricultural development.

The Russian Federation has provided $3 million in funding to support the an FAO project that helps restore agriculture and rural infrastructure in Syria within the timeframe of 2018-2020.

In 2020, a WFP project funded by Russia was launched in Syria, and within its framework Russia allocated $4 million for the establishment of a sustainable food system for schoolchildren. Similar work in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is also being carried out within the framework of the Russian technical assistance project under the auspices of FAO for 2015-2020 with a funding of $6 million.

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The video of Maxim Reshetnikov, the Russian Minister of Economic Development, speaking at the High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVCSksKVkOo&feature=youtu.be 

The Voluntary National Review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development in Russia is available here (in Russian): https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/26421VNR_2020_Russia_Report_Russian.pdf