ISLAMABAD - A meeting was convened between Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema and Ms Kanni Wignaraja, United Nations Assistant Secretary General (ASG), Asia, and the Pacific. Ms. Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change & Environmental Coordination, and Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Coordinator to Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination, were also present during the meeting. The UNDP Resident Representative Samuel Rizk, DRR Ms Van Ngyuyen, ARR Rana Qaiser and officials of the Ministry of Economic Affairs were also in attendance. The Minister for Economic Affairs thanked the Regional Director UNDP for the valuable support and assistance to the people of Pakistan. He appreciated the role of UNDP in the provision of critical assistance to Pakistan, especially during floods 2022, and support to the International Partners’ Support Group (IPSG). The minister assured the commitment of the Government of Pakistan and looked forward to continued cooperation of UNDP in bridging the financing gap in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ASG (Asia/Pacific) UNDP thanked the minister for the strong partnership and collaboration on development issues like poverty reduction, climate change, financing instruments, and advancing SDGs. She agreed to enhance the cooperation between the government of Pakistan and UNDP in the above-mentioned areas. She assured her full support in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs in exploring innovative financing instruments in climate change and the social sector. The Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change & Environmental Coordination and Coordinator to Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination also pointed out the need for cooperation between the UNDP and government of Pakistan to enhance support in capacity building of polio workers and the pending census on HIV/AIDS patients.
While concluding, Minister for Economic Affairs expressed gratitude to the esteemed guest and her team. He stressed that better visibility of off budget projects and alignment between UNDP projects and national development objectives are essential in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.