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Development & Aid

UNDP and Turkey Partner on New Regional Hub

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 23 2015 (IPS) - On Thursday, the United Nations and the government of Turkey launched a new Istanbul Regional Hub, which provides support to the countries and territories in which the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) works in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Attending the ceremony were Helen Clark, the chair of the U.N. Development Group and UNDP administrator, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Turkey, and Kadir Topbaş, mayor of the city of Istanbul.

Congratulating Turkey on this initiative, Clark emphasised the importance of launching the Hub, which also hosts the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Women regional offices, in the city.

“By locating this knowledge and technical expertise in Istanbul, UNDP will be well positioned to support and engage with partners in Europe and CIS on the post-2015 development agenda, which is due to be agreed in September of this year,” she said.

According to an analysis recently published by the UNDP, Poverty, Inequality and Vulnerability in the Transition and Developing Economies of Europe and Central Asia, developing and transition economies of Europe and Central Asia show remarkable inequality and poverty, even among the upper middle-income countries, as well as declining life expectancy relative to global averages.

Climate change and the exposure to possible disasters create other challenges for the region.

The support of the Istanbul Regional Hub allows countries to pursue developmental paths by taking into account issues such as sustainable growth, governance and peace-building, gender equality and women’s empowerment, energy, disaster resilience and climate change, and children’s rights.

According to the Daily Sabah Istanbul press, Çavuşoğlu remarked at the event, “Above all, this hub is a reflection of our multidimensional foreign policy which prioritizes providing support to regional and international organisations.”

Turkey has played crucial roles in global development with many co-chairmanships with various countries, said Çavuşoğlu, highlighting the need to focus on current conflicts including merciless terrorist organisations, racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, the Daily Sabah Istanbul reported.

This strategic partnership between Turkey and the UNDP recognises the increasing role of Turkey as an emerging donor for development cooperation worldwide. Turkey will collaborate with the Istanbul Regional Hub to promote south-south cooperation and share Turkey’s development experience with other countries.

The Daily Sabah Istanbul reported that Turkey will offer annually three million dollars for the next five years to support the UNDP Istanbul Hub.

The Istanbul Regional Hub is co-located with other U.N. agencies, including the U.N. Population Fund, which will strengthen coordination within the U.N. development system. The UNDP has other regional offices in Amman, Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Cairo, Dakar, and Panama.

Edited by Kitty Stapp

 

 
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