ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ayaz Sadiq welcomed the United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC), Mr Julien Harneis here in his office on Wednesday.
Matters of mutual interest were discussed in the meeting. The appreciated the development work done by the UN agencies in Pakistan and highlighted the commitment of Pakistan to work in collaboration with the office of the UNRC and other UN agencies.
The Minister appreciated the role of the Resident Coordinator for developing the first ever UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF – 2023-27) for Pakistan in line with the government priorities. The RC elaborated the UN Sustainable Development Framework 2023-2027 which was developed through dialogue with all provincial governments. The draft document identified key challenges and priorities for the next five-year programme.
The Minister informed that the government was also embarking upon dialogue and consultation process with parliamentarians, experts, civil society, academia, marginalized groups and political parties for security and development in key regions.
The Minister wished for the support of UNRC in directing efforts towards Balochistan as it is critical to push forward the agenda of both security and development. The areas where UN can assist include energy and water. The UNRC stated that UN agencies were already engaged in Balochistan in the border areas.
The Minister also highlighted the need for assistance of UN in capacity building of the Parliamentarians. He said the Parliament needed support in legislative drafting and research. Moreover, he stated that UN can focus on engagement of younger members of parliament especially female parliamentarians who are very proactive.
The solarization projects to save fuel and develop environmentally safe energy for government buildings was also discussed in the meeting. Ayaz Sadiq assured future collaboration and support and expressed gratitude to Mr Harneis for taking out his time and visit the Ministry to discuss matters of mutual interest. The meeting was attended by the official from the United Nations and Senior officials of the Ministry.