(Manama) – The UN House hosted 14 UN agencies in a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Undersecretary for International Affairs and the UN Resident Coordinator in Bahrain, Amin El Sharkawi.
The meeting addressed the development of the first Government of Bahrain-UN Strategic Cooperation Framework (SCF), which describes all cooperation results supported by UN agencies in the Kingdom for the period 2017-20.
Participants from resident and non-resident UN agencies had conducted a series of technical meetings throughout the past week with their Government of Bahrain counterparts in order to review areas of cooperation and enable stronger coordination and delivery of programmes in support of Government of Bahrain work plan 2015 -20218 and Bahrain economic vision 2013 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The cooperation initiatives and programmes recorded in the SCF seek to provide a holistic picture of UN work and results in the Kingdom.
‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is keen to coordinate the invaluable work of UN agencies on behalf of the Government,’ said Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, Undersecretary for International Affairs. He commended UN efforts in Bahrain and the spirit of cooperation, further explaining, ‘The SCF has been designed to better utilise both national and UN resources for stronger and more effective development outcomes, helping to shape Government programmes in the years to come.’
A process, which was launched in 2016 by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Resident Coordinator, the SCF is a joint commitment by the Government of Bahrain and the UN to work in partnership for the achievement of national priorities and the SDGs towards the betterment of the lives of the people of Bahrain. This has led to the involvement of both resident and non-resident UN agencies in a continuous dialogue with the Government, and the closing meeting was attended by representatives of the UNDP, UNIDO, UNEP, UNIC and WMO in addition to representatives from non-resident agencies including WHO, UNODC, UNHCR, OCHA, FAO, UNFPA, UNESCO, UNHABITAT and UNICEF.
Throughout the past year, the UN agencies have been shifting their approach and aligning their programmes with the Kingdom’s priorities, ensuring targeted, strategic interventions. We are all immensely pleased that our cooperation is advancing so well,’ commented Amin El-Sharkawi, UN Resident Coordinator. ‘The Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without the proactive contributions of the technical and specialized experts of the UN agencies.’
Working to advance the Kingdom’s development, prosperity and environment, the UN system agencies will contribute policy advice in accordance with international norms, standards and best practices, developing local capacity to strengthen the implementation and monitoring of national policies and programmes.
The Bahrain SCF is expected to become a model for Government-UN cooperation in the Gulf region as well as for other high-income and middle-income countries around the world.
