Media Forum on the signing of Joint annual workplans of UN Agencies and the Government of Turkmenistan

Dear Heads of Mejlis, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment Protection, State Committee for TV, Radio Broadcasting and Cinematography, Institute of State, Law and Democracy, and Women’s Union,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

First of all, I would like to express appreciation to the Government of Turkmenistan, and to the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the constant attention to the UN activities in Turkmenistan and commitment to develop the strategic cooperation with the United Nations.

As the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Turkmenistan I am very pleased to take part in this meeting. It once again demonstrates that Turkmenistan views UN as one single entity, as an organization that supports Turkmenistan in realization of its national development priorities and achieving of Sustainable Development Goals.  

As is well known, the national development objectives are well aligned with the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. The recently adopted Program of the President of Turkmenistan on social and economic development of the country for 2019-2020 is an evidence of it.

In this regard, I would like to note the excellent cooperation of the UN Agencies and the Government of Turkmenistan in preparation of the Voluntary National Review on the progress achieved towards the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. Turkmenistan will present the findings from the VNR to the ECOSOC segment of the High-Level Political Forum to be held in NY this July.

In recent years, the UN cooperation with Turkmenistan reached a new qualitative level. The productivity and efficiency of the partnership in different strategic areas of the signed UN-Turkmenistan Partnership Framework for Development until 2020 was once again confirmed by the annual joint meeting of the National Steering and Coordination Committee held in February 2019.

This is also proved by the volume of financial program delivery in 2018 that has exceeded USD 15 million. Of this, over USD 6.5 million is the volume of Government cost-sharing for joint programs and projects. We are grateful to the Government of Turkmenistan for it. In 2019, the UN Development system aims to deliver over USD 15.5 million, which is half a million more than in 2018.

Today’s event testifies to the successful strategic cooperation of the UN system with Turkmenistan. I am confident that the realization of the signed Annual Work Plans with UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA will  contribute to the achievement of results laid in the 2016-2020 Partnership Framework for Development with Turkmenistan.

This relates to the protection and promotion of human rights, realization of the rights of children for quality education and health care, ensuring gender equality and eradication of discrimination against women, as well as strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity of local communities to the effects of climate change.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This year, the UN Development system jointly with the national partners will conduct the independent evaluation of the current Partnership Framework for Development.

The PFD evaluation will define the effectiveness of the Program, its relevance to the national development priorities and UN’ role in achievement of the results. It will also determine to what extent the results obtained have contributed to the achievement of the national development objectives. The evaluation will also assess the long-term sustainability of the results.

The PFD evaluation will identify the gaps and opportunities that could have improved the quality of the program realization. The lessons learned will be take into account when developing the new cooperation framework between the United Nations and Turkmenistan for the next five-year period.

The PFD evaluation is planned for the second half of April and May 2019. It will involve consultations with the line ministries, private sector, civil society, youth as well as development partners.

I am confident that assessment results will serve a good basis for the development of the new partnership document with Turkmenistan for 2021 – 2025.

In conclusion, let me once again thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and you, Mr. Meredov, for ongoing support for the realization of joint programs and initiatives in Turkmenistan.

Thank you for attention.