28 January, 2013 - To highlight the importance of national consultations on the development agenda post 2015 a press-conference took place in the Kazakhstan Press Club in Almaty organized by UNFPA jointly with Akimat of Almaty city.

UN, as a global facilitator for the development agenda, proposed to organise wide range consultations on post 2015 agenda in more than 50 countries worldwide where Kazakhstan was selected one of seven other countries in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region.

The main speakers at the press-conference:

National consultations "The future that we want"

The aim of national consultations is a comprehensive and inclusive participation of various strata of society, national and local authorities, non-governmental organizations and the private sector in matters concerning the well-being and improvements in living standards in the Republic of Kazakhstan and all over the world. Particular attention should be paid to the most vulnerable groups and their involvement with the consultation process, as inclusiveness and equality are fundamental principles of sustainable development frameworks for the period after 2015.

Thematic framework of national consultations originates from the Millennium Declaration, global and national objectives as well as the UN conventions and global conferences. The overall goal is not to develop a completely new development framework, but rather strengthen and complement the current global framework so that it takes into account the new realities and challenges in the current social and economic environment. The new sustainable framework should complement efforts to achieve the MDGs and to focus on the structural changes that would create or strengthen mechanisms for sustainable development.