Jakarta. Indonesia will officially enact a presidential regulation aimed at meeting the country's commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which the government says is closely aligned with its own national development agenda.

Speaking in Jakarta on Monday (31/07), National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said the country's commitment to meeting the SDGs and pursuing its own development scheme will benefit the well-being of Indonesians and the global community.

"Our efforts to achieve the targets outlined in the SDGs are part of our national development, so there is no redundancy here," Bambang said.

In September 2015, member countries of the United Nations adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of the organization's 2030 Agenda. The 17 goals and 169 indicators within the SDGs are broad and ambitious, covering a range of issues that affect both developing and developed countries across the globe.

The SDGs are not legally binding, however many countries, including Indonesia, are committed to achieving their goals.

According to Bambang, Indonesia is more advanced in meeting its commitments compared to other countries since the government has included the SDG framework within its own development schemes.

The minister added that ensuring coordination to implement responsible measures is crucial, as is learning from the successes and shortcomings of the previous Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"In accordance with the 'no one left behind' principle, the SDGs will involve all key stakeholders, from the central and local government, the legislature, members of the philanthropic and business community, civil society, media, academics and experts, in order to achieve the targets we’ve set our eyes upon," Bambang told reporters, referring to the United Nations principle that underpin the global goals.

The presidential regulation (Perpres) No. 59/2017 on the implementation of the SDGs, which is scheduled for an official launch on Wednesday at the State Palace in Jakarta, clearly outlines the roles of ministries and institutions during the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation stages of the government effort, and acts as a reference for other related parties.

On the Road to End Poverty

Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in March showed that 10.64 percent of the country’s population still lives in poverty. Indonesia has seen a relatively stable decline and may be well on its way to achieving zero poverty by 2030.

However, Bambang said a number of key challenges must be addressed to achieve anything below ten percent poverty.

Current methods to alleviate poverty require "a revolutionary breakthrough" that are well-targeted and based off reliable data, the minister said.

"One of the key aspects is access to the poorest members of the population. They must receive special attention and receive access to education and health services, as well as basic infrastructure; from sanitation to housing."

Furthermore, proper financing to support the implementation of the SDGs must be secured from a number of different sources, according to the UN's new resident coordinator in Indonesia, Anita Nirody.

"To complement public financing, [we need to] look at financing from private sectors," Nirody said, adding that this could be done through several mechanisms, including through corporate social responsibility.

Nirody also highlighted that the SDGs look at poverty from a multidimensional perspective, and reiterated that the goals and their recommended approaches are reflected in Indonesia’s medium-term development plan.