Yemen, UNDP sign three project documents on poverty reduction, reforms

from Saba Net

Yemen and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed on Wednesday three project documents. One of these projects will be implemented at the national level, while the other two will be implemented at the regional level.

According to UNDP's press release, the three project documents were signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhani and UNDP Yemen Resident Representative Dr. Selva Ramachandran who was quoted as saying: "it is time to move towards building an even more concrete partnership with our counterparts in the Republic of Yemen. Signing these three documents is a major step forward towards scaling up of activities to assist Yemen to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)".

The first project document is entitled: “Advisory Support to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation”. The project’s overall aim is to support improvement in the capacity of the Ministry to enable the Government of Yemen to effectively deliver poverty reduction and reform commitments (including the Development Plan for Poverty Reduction (DPPR), National Reform Agenda and the Paris Declaration).

The support covers two main areas: addressing short term functionality (in planning, aid coordination and policy development) and aiding in longer term organisational change to improve capacity within the Ministry.

The project will contribute to developing an institutionalized system of participatory national & local development planning, by enabling the Ministry to more effectively carry out its core tasks of planning for the country’s development in an inclusive and participatory manner and mobilizing external resources in support of the said plan.

The project is the outcome of a mutual dialogue between the Ministry, UNDP, United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Bank (WB). The estimated budget of this project is USD 1,870,000.

The other two projects are regional programmes that the Yemeni Government has agreed to be part of:

The first one is "Water Governance Programme for Arab States". This is a regional programme that aims to improve the effective use and management of scarce water resources in Arab countries.

It aims at supporting the achievements of the seventh Millennium Development Goal (MDG 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability) particularly with respect to improved water supply and sanitation, by promoting an integrated approach to water resources management in the Arab Region. It is envisaged to act as a catalyst for effective water governance through the provision of technical and policy support, capacity building and seed funding for activities in the areas of 1) Integrated Water Resources Management; 2) Local management of water resources, water supply and sanitation; 3) Capacity building and institutional strengthening; and 4) MDG-7 water targets monitoring and State of the Water Report for the Arab Region. In addition, the project will be addressing some cross-cutting dimensions such as adaptation to climate change, trans-boundary water management, gender mainstreaming and awareness rising.

The second one is "Arab States Regional Initiative on Trade Economic Governance and Human Development". It intends to enhance the capacities of the Arab countries to promote their development concerns and priorities in ongoing and emerging multilateral and regional trade negotiations and subsequently play a more active role in shaping the global trading system.