"Colossal progress in three years": Tatarstan overtakes Moscow in UN goals ranking

      Tatarstan became the leader in the ranking of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

      Tatarstan overtook Moscow and the Moscow Region

      Tatarstan became the leader of the ranking, scoring 53.56 points, ahead of Moscow and the Moscow Region. Three years ago the republic ranked 11th, the deputy director of the MGIMO Institute of International Trade and Sustainable Development, Kapitolina Turbina, said. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global action program adopted by the United Nations in 2015. It includes 17 interrelated goals aimed at ensuring sustainable economic growth, social justice, and the preservation of the planet’s natural resources by 2030. Priorities include the eradication of poverty and hunger, provision of quality education and healthcare, gender equality, access to clean water and energy, the promotion of innovation, sustainable cities, and responsible production. The SDGs serve as a universal guide for states, businesses, and society, helping to shape policies and projects so that development proceeds in the interests of both current and future generations.

      Tatarstan’s actions were strategically calibrated

      Turbina said the project to rank Russia’s regions was launched in 2022. “At the initiative of MGIMO’s Academic Council we were given a carte blanche to create a ranking of Russian regions by achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. We found full support from the Russian Association for UN Assistance, progressively developing it into an all-Russian project. The project includes a significant number of indicators important for analyzing sustainable development,” she emphasized. Official statistics from Rosstat and other Russian statistical organizations are used to compile the ranking. Regions are ranked by indicators — this year there are 139 of them. “What colossal progress has been observed over these three years. How strategically calibrated all the actions that were taken so that the republic could become the leader of the ranking. For the preceding three years Moscow was the leader of the ranking, and it is now in second place,” she said.

      “We come to the conclusion that there is something to learn from each other”

      The ranking is independent and fair, said the head of the Agency for Investment Development of the Republic of Tatarstan, Talia Minullina. “What a surprise. Our team, honestly, did not know that we would take first place in the overall score,” she noted. According to Minullina, such a ranking helps to learn the best practices of other Russian regions. “In some indicators someone is ahead, someone may have even greater potential, but nevertheless we come to the conclusion that there is something to learn from each other. The best practices are gathered,” she stressed. Minullina said that Tatarstan repeatedly finds new niches for growth because it “sees” what other regions are doing in various areas of work.

      “Tatarstan’s influence on cooperation and partnership with other countries is significant”

      The purpose of the ranking is to give Russia’s regions an objective, methodologically sound assessment of progress on each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, as well as to stimulate the exchange of best practices and the development of partnerships between regions, business, science, and civil society, said Alexey Borisov, first deputy chairman of the Russian Association for UN Assistance, vice-president of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, and a professor at MGIMO. He stressed that Tatarstan’s influence on cooperation and partnership with other countries is significant. In his view, the republic’s experience in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals can be scaled up for other states, not only for other Russian regions.

      Vladimir Kuznetsov, Director of the UN Information Centre in Moscow, added that Tatarstan is a pioneer in many areas of the world organization’s work. “This includes the Sustainable Development Goals, the Alliance of Civilizations, the cultural component, and UNESCO,” he noted.

      Photo: provided by AIR RT

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