DUSHANBE, September 18, 2015, Asia-Plus -- The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) will strengthen its support to Uzbekistan’s development efforts through the implementation of a United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for the period of 2016-2020, officially launched the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, on September 16.

UNECE notes that during the next five years, UNECE will provide technical assistance to Uzbekistan in a variety of areas including the development of a national accountability system for sustainable forest management and the implementation of recommendations from the country’s profile on housing and land management, in particular in the area of energy efficiency in housing.

Further support will be provided on the ratification and implementation of obligations of Uzbekistan under UNECE’s Multilateral Environmental Agreements. This will include capacity building activities within the framework of the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, the strengthening of the national capacity to develop policies on equitable access to water and sanitation under the Protocol on Water and Health, and support to the participation of Uzbekistan in the work of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution.

Other areas of assistance by UNECE include: the production and dissemination of internationally comparable demographic, social, economic and environmental statistics to enhance accountability in the framework of the post -2015 development agenda; the review of the innovation sector; and international standards on public-private partnerships; the assessment of regulatory and procedural barriers to trade.

More specifically, UNECE will contribute to achieving following UNDAF outcomes by 2020: equitable and sustainable economic growth through productive employment, improvement of environment for business, entrepreneurship and innovations expanded for all; the rural population benefits from sustainable management of natural resources and resilience to disasters and climate change; and the quality of public administration is improved for equitable access to quality public services for all.