The Fifth Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD5) will take place from 28-30 March 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. Organized under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Forum is the Asia-Pacific regional preparatory meeting for the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) that will be held at UN headquarters in New York in July 2018. The HLPF will be held on the theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” and APFSD5 will focus on the same theme.

APFSD5 will debate regional perspectives on the follow-up to and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and ways to strengthen the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, focusing on:

• regional and sub-regional perspectives on the transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies;
• assessment of progress in the implementation of selected SDGs, including: 6 (clean water and sanitation); 7 (affordable and clean energy); 11 (sustainable cities and communities); 12 (responsible consumption and production); 15 (life on land); and 17 (partnership for the Goals);
• the Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Goal data availability report;
• a synthesis report on the Voluntary National Reviews submitted by Asia-Pacific countries at the High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development in 2017;
• progress on the regional roadmap for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific; and
• partnerships in Asia and the Pacific for effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The meeting will be preceded by a civil society forum, capacity building workshop for countries submitting Voluntary National Reports to the HLPF and other events. The SDG Knowledge Hub summary of the 2017 Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development is here.