Ministry of Sustainable Development and Statistical Institute of Belize sign 4-year MoU to strengthen coordination of National Development Data

By Zoila Palma:  The Sustainable Development Unit (SDU), under the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Solid Waste Management (MSDCCSWM), and the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) signed a four-year Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the coordination, management, and dissemination of Belize’s national development data.

The agreement was signed during the National SDG and Statistical System Workshop at the Grand Resort Residences on July 16, 2026, by Milagro Matus, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Solid Waste Management, and  Diana Castillo, Director General of the Statistical Institute of Belize.

“The partnership establishes a collaborative framework for coordinating the collection, validation, reporting, and dissemination of three important sets of development indicators: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (ABAS), and the #PlanBelize Medium-Term Development Strategy (MTDS) 2.0. These indicators will be made publicly available through the Belize National Statistical System (BNSS) Portal, providing policymakers, researchers, and the public with improved access to official development statistics,” the Ministry explained.

Through this Agreement, the SIB will collect the data from the respective producing agencies, validate the information, and publish the indicators on the portal. The SDU will lead national coordination for SDG and ABAS reporting, including Belize’s Voluntary National Reviews, while promoting stronger collaboration among ministries, departments, and agencies to improve data sharing, harmonize indicator frameworks, and encourage the use of the BNSS Portal as the country’s primary source of official development statistics.

The signing concluded a workshop during which participants approved the Interim SDG Progress Report 2025, the SDG Data Ecosystem Prioritization and Action Plan 2026-2030, and the Statistical Capacities and Needs Assessment 2026, all of which will guide future work. The workshop was supported by the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

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