UNDP and India signed Partnership Agreement today New Delhi – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and India signed a partnership agreement today intended to leverage India’s vast development experience to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and increase its role in south-south cooperation. At the signing of the agreement UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said, “I am delighted that the idea first raised during my meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on my last visit to India in 2010 has been realized in the agreement signed today. India has vast and rich experience in designing and implementing development solutions, engaging citizens, and strengthening local capacities which are valuable to other developing countries.” Through this partnership, India will share its knowledge, technology, and expertise with developing countries in areas as wide-ranging as poverty reduction, climate change, sustainable energy, and private sector development drawing on UNDP’s global presence in more than 170 countries. By building national capacities to reduce poverty and exclusion, and enhance sustainable human development, this partnership will focus on Africa and will complement on-going international cooperation work in these areas. The UNDP-India Partnership Framework Agreement was signed by Ajay Chhibber, UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Associate Administrator and Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs. The Agreement was signed in the presence of Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs. UNDP and the Government of India are working to establish an International Centre for Human Development in New Delhi. This centre of excellence will focus on south-south learning envisioned by this partnership to serve as a knowledge hub for developing countries and provide technical support to governments and civil society. India has an impressive track record in south-south cooperation and has partnered with UNDP on several such initiatives. In recent years India has committed US$ 5.4bn to Africa under the Africa-India Framework for Cooperation. By building capacity in the socio-economic sectors in African countries this contribution is aimed at achieving inclusive growth, socio economic development and self reliance. India has channeled resources through UNDP to provide critical technical experience on public sector capacity building programmes in Afghanistan and plays a significant role in Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development. Rwanda is learning from India’s experience of the green revolution. In Guinea Bissau, India’s experience in solar power and technology has been used in electrification of villages. Many countries which until recently were net recipients of development aid are now proving to be influential development actors with meaningful development experiences, lessons and resources to share. UNDP seeks to intensify its partnership with emerging powers to boost south-south cooperation. A handful of strategic partnerships with countries like Brazil, China, Mexico, Turkey, and South Africa are already in place. Under the UNDP-Turkey agreement the Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) was established in March 2011. This centre was set up to enhance the impact of the private sector in development. In July 2010, Brazil and UNDP agreed to work together to reinforce Haiti’s public health infrastructure and increase monitoring of the spread of diseases as part of the Caribbean country’s earthquake recovery efforts through knowledge exchange and training. Web: tmipu.org.in
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 14:00:42 +0000