DUSHANBE, January 11, 2016, Asia-Plus – UNECE Weekly # 650 (January 4-8, 2016) reports that UNECE will strengthen its support to Tajikistan development efforts through the implementation of United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for the period of 2016-2020, which was officially launched in Dushanbe last month.

In the next five years, UNECE will provide technical assistance to Tajikistan in a variety of areas including the follow up to the Global Assessment of National System of Official Statistics, the Innovation Performance Review and the Study on Regulatory and Procedural Barriers to Trade and its Aid-for-Trade Action Matrix.  UNECE will also provide technical assistance in the area of Public-Private Partnerships, renewable energy and energy efficiency.

UNECE Environmental Subprogram will continue its support through the National Policy Dialogues on international water management, promotion of accession to the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment, providing capacity building related to air pollution and development of emission inventories, as well as support the strengthening of cooperation on hydrology and environment between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. 

More specifically, UNECE will be contributed to achieving the following UNDAF outcomes: people in Tajikistan have their rights protected and benefit from improved access to justice and quality services delivered by accountable, transparent, and gender responsive legislative, executive and judicial institutions at all levels; people in Tajikistan benefit from equitable and sustainable economic growth through decent and productive employment, stable energy supply, improved access to specialized knowledge and innovation and a more favorable business environment, especially for entrepreneurs and farmers; and people in Tajikistan are more resilient to natural and man-made disasters and benefit from improved policy and operational frameworks for environmental protection and management of natural resources.

UNECE financial commitment for UNDAF 2016-2020 is 930,000 U.S. dollars.

Established in 1947, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations headquarters.  It was established to encourage economic cooperation among its member states.  UNECE has 56 member states, and reports to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).  Besides countries in Europe, it also includes Canada, the Central Asian republics, Israel and the United States of America. The UNECE secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland, and has an approximate budget of US$50 million.