Deputy Minister Nevyana Miteva participates in the UN Economic and Social Council High Level Political Forum
17 July 2024 News
Deputy Minister Miteva participated in the Ministerial Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council Policy Forum on 12—15 July 2024.[1]
Within the Forum, on 12 July Deputy Minister Miteva took part in a side event on Investing in the Future: food in educational institutions for sustainable development, where he presented the experience and shared good practices implemented in Bulgaria in terms of ensuring access to healthy food in schools. The event was organised by Finland and Kenya and was attended by UN Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, UNICEF, UNESCO, FAO and civil society representatives. The main focus of the discussion was the link between school food provision and retention, as well as the importance of healthy food for students' physical and mental development and growth.
On 15 July, Deputy Minister Miteva took part in a high-level breakfast meeting Bringing change for women and girls: collective action on all Sustainable Development Goals, where he moderated the discussion on the theme ‘Women, Peace and Security’ and presented recommendations for action in this area at the global level to accelerate the achievement of gender equality. The event was organised by UN Women, with the participation of Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile, ministers and civil society representatives.
Within the framework of her visit, Deputy Minister Miteva also held a bilateral meeting with the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, Ms. Diene Keita. During the meeting, the excellent cooperation between Bulgaria and the Fund was discussed, as well as Bulgaria's leading role in demographic sustainability, given the demographic challenges our country is facing. The importance of taking into account the individual specificities of countries when defining demographic policies was underlined, as well as the fact that people are the most valuable capital for countries.
During the meeting with UNICEF Deputy Director-General Omar Abdi, Bulgaria was thanked for its active role in defending children's rights, including as a member of the Human Rights Council and as co-chair of the Friends of Children Group and the Sustainable Development Goals. The cooperation between UNICEF and our country in the implementation of the programme document for Bulgaria was highly appreciated, as well as the role of our country as Vice-Chair of the UNICEF Executive Board.
Deputy Minister Miteva also held a bilateral meeting with the Deputy Director-General of UN Women, Mrs. Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda. During the conversation, Ms Gumbonzvanda highlighted Bulgaria's achievements in gender equality policies, pointing out the Bulgarian expertise, especially in the field of women, peace and security, which could be used.
[1] The ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum is an annual event that reviews progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.