Guyana, UN ink agreement aimed at addressing developmental challenges

Jan 28, 2017 News

The Government of Guyana and the United Nations (UN) Country Team launched

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan (second from right) and the UN Resident Coordinator, Mikiko Tanaka (second from left) during the signing of the UN Country Implementation Plan.

the UN Caribbean Multi-country Sustainable Development Framework (MSDF), 2017 to 2021, on the laws of the Public Buildings, Georgetown yesterday.
The launching entailed the signing of the UN Country Implementation Plan, “Delivering results together”. Inking the document were Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, and the UN Resident Coordinator, Mikiko Tanaka.
The event attracted Government Ministers, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Religious leaders and UN Representatives.
The UN Resident Coordinator, Mikiko Tanaka, told the gathering that the MSDF formally brings in the “UN Delivering as One approach” to Guyana and the Caribbean.
She added that with the complexities of developmental challenges and the declining trends of traditional official development aid, the case for delivering as one is an ‘obvious one’.
“In response to the call by Member States to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of the UN’s developmental operations on the ground, Kofi Annan in 2006 launched Delivering as One to pilot country-led and country-tailored development responses by capitalising on the comparative strengths of the different members of the UN family,” Tanaka explained.
She expounded that through experimentation over the years around the world, the UN System has adopted common tools and standard operating procedures to deliver development results together with Governments and other stakeholders in the countries that the UN serve.
The Coordinator stated that Guyana along with 17 other Caribbean countries and territories, has agreed to formally adopt Delivering as One. And 19 UN agencies have signed up to participate under the five- year Caribbean MSDF. This regional framework also allows the UN to collaborate with regional entities such as CARICOM to tackle common challenges in the region.
In Guyana, the UN Country Team will work with the Government in the four MSDF pillars of an inclusive, equitable and prosperous Guyana: a safe, cohesive and just Guyana; a healthy Guyana; and a sustainable and resilient Guyana.
Minister Jordan said that Guyana makes its mark in history by being the first country in the Caribbean to launch the Country Implementation Plan of the UN MSDF.

A section of the gathering during yesterday’s proceedings on the lawns of Parliament Building.

He added that Guyana is one of 18 Caribbean countries that have been integrally involved in the planning of this new regional UN Development Assistance Framework which was completed after extensive consultations.
Through the adoption of the Delivering as One mechanism, he said that Guyana will be poised to reap the benefits of combined ideas, skills, capacities and institutional experiences to be provided by the UN family and the Caribbean Region.
Further, it is envisaged that the harmonized approach and best practices to be employed will produce the expected outcomes.
Speaking on the MSDF, Jordan said that the goal of this framework is to provide member states with the requisite tools, partnerships and resources needed to achieve national and sub-regional priorities in an inclusive and equitable manner.
In the case of Guyana, the Minister said that Government has indentified the sustainable development goals which it deems to be most critical in creating the enabling environment for achieving social and economic development.
Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, lauded the work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He acknowledged the vital role the entity plays as Guyana moves in the direction of achieving its national goals and objectives.
“It also exemplifies the commonly-shared belief that the similar development challenges of the Caribbean countries require a coherent and coordinated response by the UN.
Moreover, the UN MSDF acts as a mechanism that would decrease the administrative burden on national governments and prompt a more coherent response to regional and national challenges, needs, and priorities.
The new UN MSDF “will focus on four priorities: an inclusive, equitable and prosperous Caribbean; a healthy Caribbean; a safe, cohesive and just Caribbean; and a sustainable and resilient Caribbean.”
Nagamootoo gave his assurance that that the Government is committed to delivering results together with the UN for all the people of Guyana and stressed the collaborative effort needed as Guyana pursues the Green Economy and the Sustainable Development Goals to secure a better life for all Guyanese.

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