Md. Golam Sarwar, Secretary General of SAARC underscores urgent Integrated Action for Sustainable Development with a Focus on South Asia and Regional Cooperation

During the plenary session of the World Sustainable Development Summit 2025, the Secretary General delivered an impactful address, emphasizing the critical imperative of integrated action to accelerate Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) achievement, with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities within South Asia.

Recognizing that the South Asian region is currently off track to meet most of the SDGs and has even witnessed regression in key areas, the Secretary General stressed the urgent need for a coordinated and holistic approach that acknowledges the deep interconnections between the SDGs and the specific vulnerabilities of the region to climate change. He underlined necessity of strong regional cooperation and integrated strategies to build resilience and foster sustainable socio-economic development.

The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is the annual flagship multi-stakeholder event organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi. The twenty fourth edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) was held in New Delhi under the theme ‘Partnerships for Accelerating Sustainable Development and Climate Solutions’ from 5th to 7th March 2025.

The Secretary General highlighted the crucial role of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and its initiatives in addressing the challenges of achieving SDGs. The address emphasized the need for South Asian member states to review and ensure the timely implementation of existing regional action plans on climate change, promote the use of green technology, invest in low-carbon research and development, and integrate climate change action plans in the policy formulations.

Furthermore, the Secretary General underscored the importance of strengthening regional cooperation for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and referred to contributions of the SAARC Agriculture Center, SAARC Energy Center, South Asian University and SAARC Disaster Management Center, in capacity building and awareness generation among Member States of SAARC.

The call to action strongly resonated with participants, reinforcing that concerted, integrated regional efforts, leveraging existing SAARC mechanisms, are essential to place South Asia back on a trajectory towards achieving the SDGs and building a climate-resilient future.