Bahrain-UN committee reviews cooperation

Manama, July30(BNA): The Follow-up and Coordination Committee between the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations agencies held its meeting at the General Court of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today under the chairmanship of Undersecretary for International Affairs, Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. The meeting was held in the presence of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Amin El Sharkawi, members of the Committee and representatives of a number of government sides as well as representatives of UN resident and regional agencies. At the outset of the meeting, the Undersecretary for International Affairs welcomed the attendees and expressed happiness and gratitude to His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, for having issued decision No. 19 of 2018 to establish the Follow-up and Coordination Committee between the Kingdom of Bahrain and UN agencies. He described the formation of the Committee as being part of the Strategic Partnership Framework 2018-2020 which was signed on October 24, 2017, in order to support the implementation of the Government Plan of Action and prioritized projects as well as to strengthen institutional capacities and investment in human beings. He said the creation of the committee took into account the needs and satisfaction of the citizens and was formed in accordance with the highest international standards, which indicates the pioneering role of the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Dr. Shaikh Abdullah said the strategic partnership framework was following a year-round organized mechanism to ensure the best partnership between the government and the 16 international agencies is in place in addition to allowing accurate monitoring of the progress of the existing projects. This is, he said, in order to translate the objectives on the ground and to ensure that the projects and initiatives of cooperation with these agencies are in line with the priorities of the Government Action Plan and the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 and pour into the principles of sustainability, competitiveness and justice. We also want to make sure that the strategic partnership is in line with national plans and policies and aims to achieve sustainable development, implement projects and reaches ideal utilization of the allotted budgets, Dr Shaikh Abdullah remarked. The Undersecretary for International Affairs noted that Bahrain has always put emphasis on consolidation of the existing relations with the UN in various cooperation fields, welcomed creative development initiatives and outstanding practical programs and wished that the strategic partnership framework would stand out as a unique experience at the regional level. This is, he added, is coupled with Bahrain’s focus on specific areas, such as the building of a map of new investments, entrepreneurship and renewable energy resources in addition to strengthening the statistical and informatics capabilities, offering advanced training programs and focusing on human development and emerging projects and others. In this regard, the Kingdom of Bahrain has recently submitted its first voluntary report on the implementation of the sustainable development goals 2030 to the United Nations Economic and Social Council during the high-level political forum on sustainable development, he added. He described the move as a new remarkable international achievement in addition to the remarkable successes of the Kingdom of Bahrain in supporting UN sustainable development efforts. Dr. Shaikh Abdullah pointed out that the continuous meetings with the UN agencies and programs specialized in the same areas were based on a genuine partnership to promote sustainable and comprehensive development, stressing that security and stability are the cornerstone for the success and sustainability of any development. Mr. Amin El Sharkawi, thanked the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain for its responsiveness and for taking the initiative as well for its keenness on developing and maximizing cooperation with the United Nations in what pertains to sustainable development. He affirmed that the meeting indicates the seriousness and commitment of both of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations in activating the strategic partnership framework as an advanced model that provides the best practices in developing initiatives and implementing projects. It also stand out as a model in reviewing international organizations’ experiences to answer the need of the Kingdom of Bahrain which is one of the leading countries in SDGs implementation, concluded El Sharkawi.