The United Nations Advancement Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for the Pacific, Mr Levan Bouadze, paid a farewell courtesy call to the Long term Secretary at the Office of the Best Minister and Foreign Affairs, Mr Yogesh Karan, last night (12/12/2022). UNDP-Fiji cooperation particularly in the areas of Rights, Empowerment and Cohesion (REACH) Project rollout for the Fijians in the rural and urban areas, Access to Justice Programme, Oceans-Blue Economy and Disaster Recovery and Resilience was also acknowledged. UNDP’s partnership also includes enhancing the resilience of community infrastructure and safe access to thoroughly clean water, access to justice interventions to ensure a socially comprehensive Fiji and increasing women’s political participation through gender-responsive law-making and promoting sex quality in public expenditure. UNDP also supports the economic empowerment of rural females through financial literacy. UNDP’s assistance of Fiji’s national reaction during the pandemic, through re-programming efforts in consultation using the donors and mobilisation of recent funds to the region at times of great need, was acknowledged at the meeting. The conference highlighted that UNDP backed the Fijian Government’s growth pathways to sustainable economic recovery with the establishment from the Fijian Sustainable Development Construction presented at COP27 within Egypt, with support just for parametric climate insurance to improve climate resilience in partnership with UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). Additionally , UNDP offers reaffirmed its partnership with Fiji and its people in progressing towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Lasting Development and leaving no one behind. UNDP has close to 30 on-going initiatives in Fiji within the areas of resilience and sustainable development, effective governance, and inclusive growth with sex equality mainstreamed across these three areas.
A key emphasize is also the Coral Saltwater and Blue Economy-UNDP in partnership with UN Capital Development Finance (UNCDF) and UN Atmosphere Programme is working with Fiji to establish a sustainable financing and technical advisory facility. This facility will finance blue projects and business models that will provide income-generating opportunities for hundreds of females, men, and youth within climate change-vulnerable communities.
UNDP also supports the Fijian Government’s commitment to planting 30 million trees according to the climate crisis. The initiative driven by the Fijian Government with the communities is vital to ensuring 6 major water catchments and their linked ecosystems are protected plus conserved. The Fijian Parliament through UNDP has improved the capacity of parliamentarians on important aspects of Government processes. UNDP also supports the particular enhancement of democratic procedures, such as improving community understanding of the electoral process and facilitates the strengthening of transparency and accountability principles in national institutions. Mr Karan commended UNDP’s contributions to Fiji’s national development progress aligned using the 2030 Agenda for Environmentally friendly Development and in building back better from the pandemic. In conclusion, Mr Karan took the opportunity to convey the Fijian Government’s best wishes to Mr Bouadze to get his future endeavours, with assurances of the strengthened assistance between Fiji and UNDP. On behalf of the particular Fijian Government, Mr Karan thanked Mr Bouadze regarding his commitment and services in the Pacific, particularly at a time when the region had came across enormous challenges such as the environment crisis and COVID-19 outbreak. The UN Development Program (UNDP) is the lead EL agency which strives to back up the Pacific by matching the United Nations activities in a country level and via direct policy advice within the following areas: Sustainable Advancement Goals (SDGs) acceleration, strength and sustainable development, inclusive growth and poverty reduction, effective governance, gender equal rights, and environmental management, weather change and disaster risk management. In response, Mr Bouadze extended his genuine appreciation to the Fijian Government for the support provided in order to him since he thought his role as Citizen Representative for the UNDP Pacific Office in 2019. He said it had been a great honor to serve the Pacific cycles region and his stay within Fiji is certainly memorable.
