In 2022 – 2024 UNCTAD delivered technical assistance in Kyrgyzstan and Belarus by conducting assessment of the reporting infrastructure and providing capacity building on financial and sustainability reporting under the Development Account 13th Tranche Project that aims to support selected countries to mobilize and align financing with the national sustainable development priorities, in particular in the context of addressing the significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on both financing needs and on the availability of public and private financing for sustainable development.
In order to share lessons learned in the beneficiary countries as well as promote collaboration for developing enabling policies for sustainability reporting, the Eurasian Regional Partnership on Sustainability & SDG Reporting has been established in March 2024. The first meeting of the Eurasian Partnership took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 3 October 2024. The meeting gathered together more than 70 participants from almost 10 countries in the region, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan etc. represented by the governments, regulators, professional associations, private sector as well as reginal and international organizations.
The key objective of the meeting was to share experience and lessons learned from the 13th DA project implementation in Kyrgyzstan and Belarus with the other countries in the region and support development of partnership by expanding the number of members, discussing the fundamental documents and work plan of the partnership.
The meeting agenda covered a number of topics related to corporate reporting, including best practice of the national regulation of corporate reporting, capacity building and adoption of sustainability disclosure standards, experience of the regional partnerships in Africa and Latin America as well as update on trends in standardization of sustainability reporting provided by the international experts from ISSB, IFAC, IAASB, IESBA and IPSASB. In addition, the best practices and tools for promoting sustainability reporting were presented by various stakeholders, including Eurasian Economic Commission, Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development, Ministry of Finance of Belarus, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service of Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz Stock Exchange as well as representatives of the private sector in the region.
Currently, the Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic has been appointed as the Chair of the Partnership, while the Vice-Chair role is represented by the Ministry of Finance of Belarus. The Secretariat of the Partnership will be coordinated by the Eurasian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (EICPA).
