UN and the Turkmen Government draw results of cooperation and discuss priorities for 2019

This was expressed by Mr. Rashid Meredov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, during the meeting with the UN Country Team led by Ms. Elena Panova, the UN Resident Coordinator, on Monday, 1 July 2019.

The meeting, which was attended by the Heads of UN Agencies – UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNODC, WHO, IOM – was devoted to drawing the results of the cooperation in the first half of 2019 and setting the priorities for the second half of the year.

While noting the smooth transition to the strengthened and impartial RC system, the participants emphasized the strategic nature of the UN-Turkmenistan partnership and the excellent level of mutual understanding.

“We value the fruitful cooperation with the United Nations’, the Minister said, ‘as it contributes to achieving the sustainable development aspirations of the country including the Sustainable Development Goals that have a positive impact on the people of Turkmenistan”.

In the course of the constructive dialogue, the UN Resident Coordinator brought attention of the Minister to the following major priorities that the UN will focus on until the end of 2019:

• Continuing the collaboration with the national partners on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the country based on the findings of the Voluntary National Review that Turkmenistan will present at the High-Level Political Forum.
• Appreciating the Government's inclusion of the Young SDG Ambassador into the official delegation, where the importance of giving a voice to youth was stressed.     
• Rolling out the new UN-Turkmenistan Partnership for Sustainable Development for 2021-2025. The process, which will be fully inclusive, is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, with the main document to be endorsed and signed in January 2020.
• Since the UNDS reform requires the UN Agencies’ cohesive and united response to the needs of the country, more attention in the new cycle will be given to joint programming. In this regard, issues of leveraging various development financing, including government co-financing will be important.

All of the aforementioned ideas found full support of the Government of Turkmenistan. In the course of the meeting, the plans of the UN agencies were discussed, and relevant decisions were made.