Forty-one countries and the EU will present their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July 2023. The EU and Saint Kitts and Nevis will present their first VNRs.

The majority – 39 countries – are second-time presenters. These are Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, the Central African Republic (CAR), Comoros, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Fiji, France, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mongolia, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, and Zambia.

Chile will present its third VNR.

In a letter dated 28 July 2022, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Lachezara Stoeva indicated that the maximum number of HLPF 2023 presenters cannot exceed 42. Stoeva further stated that in finalizing the list in the third week of September, she would give priority to countries presenting their first VNR and to those who have not yet presented a VNR in the current four-year cycle of the HLPF (2020-2023).

Convening under the auspices of the ECOSOC, the 2023 HLPF will address the theme, ‘Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels.’ It will carry out in-depth review of SDGs 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and 17 (partnerships for the Goals).

The SDG Summit – the HLPF under the auspices of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) – will also be held in September 2023. Taking place once every four years, the 2023 Summit will be the second since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Marking the mid-point in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the SDG Summit will carry out a comprehensive review of the state of the SDGs, respond to the impact of multiple and interlocking crises facing the world, and provide high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to the 2030 deadline for achieving the SDGs.

Originally planned as a “twin summit” to the SDG Summit, the Summit of the Future has been postponed until September 2024. [HLPF 2023 VNRs] [ECOSOC President’s Letter Dated 29 September 2022] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Those Interested in Presenting VNRs in 2023]