SDSN Launches its Asia Headquarters in Sunway City, Kuala Lumpur

On November 17 and 18, 2022, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) launched its newest secretariat office in Asia, hosted at Sunway University. The office in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur will serve as SDSN's Asia Headquarters, one of only three such global centers, alongside Paris (overseeing Europe and Africa) and New York City (overseeing The Americas).

The launch of the Asia Headquarters is testimony to the importance of engaging countries in the Asia-Pacific region towards advancing the global sustainable development agenda. The launch comes 10 years after SDSN was established under the auspices of then-UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. SDSN now has a global membership of over 1,700 institutions, of which about 90% are universities.

Speakers at the launch included world-renowned economist Professor Jeffrey Sachs, President of SDSN; Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah AO, SDSN Global Leadership Council member and Chair of SDSN Malaysia; Professor Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, the Executive Secretary-General of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); and former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. 

Since 2016, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF) has been supporting the work of SDSN globally with a total contribution of US$20 million to date. The first gift of US$10 million was to cover the 2016-2020 period, of which a significant portion went towards the establishment of the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development at Sunway University. The second gift of US$10 million will cover the 2021-2025 period.

SDSN’s Asia Headquarters will be responsible for initiating and coordinating continent-wide priority programs, particularly in the areas of decarbonization, biodiversity conservation, financing sustainability, and education for sustainable development.