Africa-Press – Mauritius. The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for the period 2024-2028, aiming to support the transformative journey of Mauritius towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was signed, this afternoon, by Mauritius and the UN, at the Château Mon Désir, Maritim Resort & Spa Hotel in Balaclava.
Signatories were the Attorney General, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Maneesh Gobin, and the UN Resident Coordinator for Mauritius, Ms Lisa Simrique Singh. The Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, Mrs Kalpana Devi Koonjoo-Shah, and several dignitaries, were present for the signing ceremony.
The Head of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Mauritius, Mr Robert Banamwana, also gave a presentation on the country context, elaboration process and key elements and structure of the new UNSDCF 2024 – 2028 on the occasion.
The new Cooperation Framework sets out the collective response of the United Nations System to support the Republic of Mauritius in addressing its national priorities and creating a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future around the themes of People, Planet and Prosperity.
In his address, Minister Gobin highlighted that the signing of the new Cooperation Framework marks a new chapter in the excellent partnership that exists between Mauritius and the UN.
The new framework, he stated, builds on the lessons learnt from the previous cooperation frameworks and the current Strategic Partnership Framework (SPF) agreement which is coming to term next month.
“We have witnessed a stronger collaborative linkage between Government and the UN System throughout the implementation of the SPF”, he observed. He pointed out that the 2019-2023 SPF has been marked by emergency measures for the protection of our population against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The collaboration of the UN System, especially at the early stages of the pandemic, in recovery efforts and resilience building for our island economy has been remarkable, indicated the Minister.
The overall assistance of the UN and several other development partners bolstered Government’s action to achieving early post-pandemic recovery, he remarked.
Despite the challenges posed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by old and new geopolitical tensions and persistent supply chain disruptions, the UN has supported Mauritius to cushion against such external shocks and stressors, he indicated.
According to him, this partnership has helped to increase the resilience of the country in line with its national vision ‘Towards an inclusive, High Income and Green Mauritius.
’ The UNSDCF, Minister Gobin emphasised, paves the way for enhanced development cooperation that the entire UN Family can provide to Mauritius over the next five years.
He mentioned that the Framework is in line with our national development priorities, the UN SDGs, the SAMOA Pathway, and the African Union Agenda 2063.
Mauritius, he underscored, would continue to rely on the trusted and longstanding partnership with the UN System and all its other development partners to pursue its development objectives and secure inclusive prosperity.
The UNSDCF, he highlighted, focuses on joint actions on three broad areas over the next five years namely: putting people at the centre of development and strengthening resilience of social protection and health systems; bolstering Economic Prosperity by enhancing food and energy security and promoting innovation-driven blue, green, circular and digital economies; and protection of the Planet through adoption of strong and innovative policy and regulatory framework.
According to him, it is important to closely monitor and evaluate the implementation of the UNSDCF. The oversight role of the Joint Steering Committee, co-chaired by the Secretary for Foreign Affairs and the UN Resident Coordinator, will set the tone for a successful Cooperation Agreement with the support of all Ministries and UN agencies, underlined Minister Gobin.
For her part, Ms Singh underlined that global shocks, crisis and uncertainties are more frequent and intense hence the importance to building resilience so as to withstand the shocks and bounce back easily.
For her, transformative actions are required to accelerate progress on the SDGs with focus on systems thinking, strong institutions, broad-based capacities, technology, financing and partnership.
She further highlighted that the Cooperation Framework demonstrates the UN’s commitment to protect the marginalised and vulnerable with an emphasis on inclusion and the ‘Leave No One Behind’ aspect at its core.
Mauritius, she stressed, fully consolidates its role as a gateway to the world and the link between Africa and Asia. The UN will continue to partner with Mauritius for more sustainable development, she added.
For More News And Analysis About Mauritius Follow Africa-Press
