UN agencies hail five-year cooperation agreement

The United Nations in Turkmenistan has welcomed the signing of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), a strategic planning document for cooperation between the government and UN agencies for the next five years (2005-2009). "This is the first UNDAF for Turkmenistan where the UN system has identified a common strategy moving away from fragmented programmes to a coherent framework," Khaled Philby, UN Resident Coordinator and the Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Turkmenistan, told IRIN from the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, on Tuesday. The UNDAF stresses national ownership as the key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the country and focuses on three inter-related areas of cooperation where the United Nations system can utilise its accumulated experience, technical expertise and financial resources toward achieving the MDGs: Development of Economic and Social Policies and Plans; Basic Social Services; and the Environment. Philby noted that the government had embraced the framework and the areas of cooperation expressing ownership and commitment to its implementation. "This was a critical first step for the formulation and agreement for the agency country programmes to follow," he said. Echoing that view, Ruven Menikdiwela, head of office for the office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ashgabat told IRIN that the UNDAF for Turkmenistan was important, as it was the first time that the UN had issued a collective, five-year 'plan of action' for the country. In addition to highlighting priority issues such as economy, social services and the environment, the document also outlines the role and contributions of each UN agency in each area. "It (the document) also serves to respond to donor concerns regarding duplication of mandates and activities of UN agencies in the country," Menikdiwela added, referring to the framework which received its formal endorsement from the government on Saturday. Mahboob Shareef, head of office for the United Nations Children's Fund agreed, noting that given the major development challenges the Central Asian state faces, UNICEF, UNDP and UNHCR were preparing respective agency programmes. "In preparing programmes, agencies will make complementary efforts in achieving the overall UNDAF goals and avoid duplication," he told IRIN. UNICEF was looking forward to extended cooperation with the Turkmen ministries that were responsible for framing national policy, allocating more resources for children and putting children in the centre of the development area. "UNICEF also plans to work with local authorities and civil societies and children themselves to respond to the real needs of the children of Turkmenistan. According to Philby, UNDAF was a common strategic framework for the operational activities of the United Nations system at the country level, providing a collective, coherent and integrated UN system response to national priorities and needs within the framework of the MDGs and the international conferences, summits, conventions and human rights instruments of the UN system. Current UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA country programmes for Turkmenistan were harmonised and would be ending in 2004, the senior UN official explained. The recent UNDAF document was prepared by the UN Country Team (UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR and the United Nations Office on Drugs and crime (UNODC)) to guide the preparation of the next cycle of country programmes (2005-2009). Regarding cooperation with the Turkmen government, Philby maintained that Turkmen ministries highly valued the support that the various UN agencies had provided in the past, emphasising their willingness to continue that cooperation in the future in the framework of the UNDAF. UN agencies in Turkmenistan are currently providing support to development in the areas of healthcare, education, environment, economic development and social welfare, amongst others.