Turkmenistan’s Government and UN Agencies Review Five-Year Programme of Cooperation, Discuss New Country Programme Action Plans for 2010-2015

Ashgabat, 18 November 2009 – The Government of Turkmenistan and the United Nations agencies working in the country summed up the results of cooperation over the past five years and discussed strategic priorities and joint plans for future at a meeting dedicated to the final review of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2005-2009 and discussion of the UN agencies’ Country Programme Action Plans (CPAP) for 2010-2015. The meeting brought together representatives of all UN agencies accredited in Turkmenistan and senior level officials from the national ministries and institutions who act as UN national counterparts on a number of joint projects implemented in Turkmenistan.

The First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Vepa Hajiyev, opened the meeting. He emphasized the importance and priority areas of cooperation between the Government of Turkmenistan and the UN within the framework of the current UNDAF. Vepa Hajiyev said that Turkmenistan has now extensive experience of cooperation with the UN agencies and looks forward to continued UN support in implementing the programme of reforms and capacity building initiatives in Turkmenistan. He expressed confidence that the new UNDAF will further support Turkmenistan’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Speaking of the UN major achievements within the framework of the current UNDAF, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Richard Young noted that the UN has been successful in promoting issues related to human rights, advancing local self-governance and enhancing electoral processes, improving  health of women and children and preventing communicable diseases, enhancing access to information technologies in schools, and building and repairing schools in rural areas populated by former refugees. In the reported period, the UN played a crucial role in helping Turkmenistan to adopt the Code on Social Welfare, further advance the institutional and legal frameworks for economic and financial management and enhance national capacity for data collection and analysis. Issues of conservation of biodiversity and combating desertification, pilot interventions on energy efficiency and climate change, combating drug trafficking and promoting effective border management were also successfully addressed by the UN system in partnership with the Government of Turkmenistan.

The meeting also listened to presentation by the UN national counterparts, including the State Statistics Committee, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, and the National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, who overviewed the progress of cooperation with the UN as part of the current UNDAF.

Building upon lessons learned and assessment by national counterparts of cooperation with the UN system in Turkmenistan, representatives of the UN agencies outlined their new Country Programme Action Plans for 2010-2015 that have been aligned with priority areas of cooperation reflected in the new UNDAF.  

The meeting agreed that finalization of CPAPs for 2010-2015 will be completed by the end of this year.

Richard Young thanked all national counterparts, UN agencies and other partners for playing an active role in implementation of the current UNDAF and preparation of the new UNDAF for 2010-2015. He expressed hope that the level of cooperation within the new programme cycle of 2010-2015 would be even more intense and productive.