Manama: Bahrain, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the representatives of 16 UN resident and regional agencies have signed a Strategic Partnership Framework (SPF) agreement for 2018-2022.
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said the signing of the SPF was “a new important step in the framework of the ongoing cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations in all fields and at all levels”.
“It also reflects a common desire to turn the cooperation into programmes and initiatives that boost collaboration opportunities between Bahrain and UN agencies,” he said late on Tuesday.
“This will assist with the implementation of the Government Action Plan and the Bahraini Economic Vision 2030 and bring them in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.”
Foreign Ministry Undersecretary for International Relations Shaikh Abdullah Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said a major challenge in the past was the lack of coordination and communication between the Bahraini government and the various UN agencies dealing with the kingdom.
The lack of platforms and priorities in various fields was a major flaw that did not help with the development process.
“There were ad-hoc initiatives, but there was no bigger picture of what exactly [was] needed to be done. We went for the SPF agreement to set out the priorities and focus on them across all projects related to each UN agency,” Shaikh Abdullah said.
The partnership framework defines every project or initiative between the two sides and how it supports the Government Action Plan and its priorities, contributes to the implementation of Bahrain Economic Vision2030, and supports the SDGs, he added.
“The Bahrain-UN strategic partnership is the first in the region and is aimed at availing the expertise of the international organisation in supporting future projects in the kingdom,” Shaikh Abdullah said.
The ministry and the UN have worked over one-and-a-half years to set up the strategic partnership framework.
