The Economic Relations Division (ERD) under the
finance ministry and the United Nations (UN) Country Team today held a joint
steering committee meeting to review the UN Sustainable Development
Cooperation Framework 2022-26.

The meeting was co-chaired by ERD Secretary Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky and UN
Bangladesh Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis, a UN press release said here.

The UNSDCF 2022-26 was launched jointly by the UN and the Government of
Bangladesh in 2021.

The framework outlines the UN support to Bangladesh to advance sustainable
development and to achieve the objectives of the 8th Five-Year Plan.

The framework covers various programmes, over five strategic priorities,
spanning twenty-seven results areas.

Representatives from twenty-seven ministries and seventeen UN agencies
discussed the progress made and plans for 2024 in key strategic areas of the
framework.

This includes economic growth, education, health, poverty alleviation, food
security & nutrition, social protection, environment, governance, and gender
equality.

The UN representatives also presented a financial overview of the spending in
programming in 2023.

During the meeting, Siddiky emphasized the key role of multilateral actors
including the UN and other international bodies in sustainable development
and in contributing to the country’s 2026 graduation from Least Developed
Country (LDC) status.

The UN coordinator emphasized the importance of collaboration and the need to
work in partnership to address the challenges of climate change and to
increase our shared ambition to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

At the end of the meeting, the participants, from both the government
ministries and UN agencies, expressed their satisfaction with the advancement
made in various sectors over the past year.

They renewed their commitment to continue to work more closely together and
strengthen the partnership formed.

The next meeting will be held in April 2024, said the release.

-BSS.