New York – India along with the United Nations’ partner bodies, is set to commemorate the second anniversary of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund at the UN Headquarters here with a select participation of prominent dignitaries on June 6.
According to a statement from the UNOSSC, “On June 6 the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations; the President of the Economic and Social Council and Permanent Representative of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the United Nations; the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP); the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS); and the Secretary-General’s Envoy on South-South Cooperation will commemorate the second anniversary of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund at the UN Headquarters in New York together with Ambassadors and prominent United Nations officials.”
This second anniversary commemoration event will highlight the contributions of the Fund to partnering countries’ efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and promote further South-South partnerships in the years to come, it was noted.
The event will be hosted on Thursday, June 6, (1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m ET) at the United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 12. Among the prominent speakers will be Syed Akbaruddin, Permanent Representative of India to the UN; Inga Rhonda King, President of the Economic and Social Council and Permanent Representative of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the United Nations; Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Program; Grete Faremo, Executive Director, United Nations Office for Project Services; and Jorge Chediek, Director, UNOSSC and Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation. There will be an interactive dialogue with the participation of Permanent Representatives of partner countries, UN agencies, Funds and Programs.
The Fund
The Government of India (GOI) established the India-UN Development Partnership Fund in June 2017 to work with developing countries in a spirit of South-South cooperation, by providing assistance to projects that aim to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as per their request. The United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) is the designated fund manager.
Since its inception, the Fund has approved 36 projects with 37 partnering countries. Most of them least developed countries (LDCs), land-locked developing countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS)—the intended geographic priority of the Fund. A Commonwealth Window has also been established within this Fund (representing $50 million over a period of 5 years, of the total $150 million over a decade).
Project sizes range from less than $500,000 to $1 million under the India Fund and $2 million under the Commonwealth Window. The projects cover a range of SDGs/ thematic areas including climate resilience, environmental sustainability, gender equality, renewable energy, improving women’s and maternal health, water and sanitation, education, employment and livelihoods, disaster recovery and risk management, agricultural development and infrastructure.
India is partnering with UNOSSC, as the Fund Manager and Secretariat of the fund, as UNOSSC’s global and UN-wide mandates allow for the office to respond to requests and implement projects through the various UN system agencies, funds, and programs. Strongly branding this Fund and India’s engagement as South-South cooperation, guided by South-South principles (horizontality, national ownership and leadership, non-conditionality, etc.) is also of high importance to India, according to the release.
Currently, PAHO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNOPS, ILO, UNIDO and WHO are implementing projects supported by the Fund.
Tejinder Singh, Editor, India America Today & White House Correspondent