United Nations in Uzbekistan

UNDP, United Nations Development Programme

 

Ms. Anita Nirody - UN Resident Coordinator, UNDP Resident Representative

 

Mission Statement

 

UNDP is the UN''s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. 

UNDP opened its office in Uzbekistan in January 1993. During its 15 years of experience here, UNDP has been committed to enhancing the development situation in the country. UNDP has worked intensively to support the Government, civil society and people in Uzbekistan to overcome the numerous challenges of transition. UNDP has assisted governmental and non-governmental institutions in obtaining the knowledge, experience and resources needed to successfully pursue economic and social reforms to ensure a promising future for the Uzbek people. 

The projects that have been implemented since 1993, over a hundred in total, have had a direct and sustainable impact on national legislation, the environment, promoting gender equality and the creation of entrepreneurial activity in the country. Funding for the projects has amounted to over USD 100 million and tens of thousands of people have benefited from UNDP programmes. 

Today, with its portfolio of more than forty projects, UNDP remains an important partner of the Uzbek Government and a key player among development organizations in the country.

 

Main Areas of Work

 

UNDP assistance in Uzbekistan aims at supporting the Government in advancing economic and democratic reforms. The current Country programme (2005-2009) focuses on three thematic areas: economic governance and poverty reduction, environmental governance, and democratic governance.

UNDP is a key player advocating for human development in Uzbekistan. The annual Human

Development Report, commissioned by UNDP, fosters a debate on key development issues at global and national levels. It provides new measurement tools, innovative analysis and often controversial policy proposals.

 

Economic Governance

 

In the area of economic governance UNDP provides policy advice, increases national capacities in key economic reform areas, and builds sustainable institutions to conceive and implement employment and poverty reduction initiatives.

 

During 2006 and 2007, UNDP initiated several research and pilot projects to support dialogue and consultations with Government on welfare improvement and development issues. As a result of UNDP''s active involvement in conceptualization and formulation of this document, the Government endorsed in 2007 the full Welfare Improvement Strategy (WIS) as a medium-term national development document for 2008-2010.

 

Continuous efforts have been made to improve the enabling environment for WIS through better financial management of the country through the expanded Finance Sector Reform Project and rationalized tax legislation and its administration (new revised edition of Tax Code of Uzbekistan was adopted, and became effective on January 1, 2008).

 

Special attention is given to strengthening the capacity of the Government to elaborate and pursue cross-sectoral policy options. Particularly, UNDP has played a vital role in the establishment of the Center for Economic Research, the main objective of which is to provide analytical support to the reform process in Uzbekistan. Moreover, under its MDG Statistics project, UNDP has been assisting the Government in enhancing its statistical capacity towards nationalizing MDGs to the Uzbek context, producing a set of national goals, targets and time-bound indicators. A number of statistical bulletins on healthcare, education sectors and gender equality issues were published, as well as the first UN MDG Report.

 

In addition, UNDP is providing assistance to the Government in strengthening investment and export promotion institutions. In particular, assistance in joining national investment promotion agency "UzInfoInvest" to the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) served as an important contribution to this process.

 

Environmental Governance

 

UNDP supports the Government in meeting international commitments in the field of environment and sustainable development and integrating them into national development policy and planning. In close cooperation with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), UNDP focuses particular attention on assisting the Government and supporting local communities with small grants in preserving biodiversity, promoting sustainable land management, introducing new technologies for the use of renewable energy, and ultimately reducing the negative impact of human activity on the environment.

 

In particular, through the efforts to establish a Biosphere Reserve in the country, over 1 million hectares of land have been put into protection. As a result, the protected areas in Uzbekistan are further expanded, the institutional capacities for management of protected areas are enhanced and rural communities are developed. Building on the successful experience of activities in promoting renewable energy, support is provided to the wider use of energy-efficient and renewable energy solutions in public buildings that would respond to the different energy needs of people.

 

UNDP helps the country to meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol through participating in carbon financing market and benefiting from modern clean energy technologies investments via the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), first of its kind programme in Central Asia. It supports the designated national institution in developing CDM and overcoming existing financial and knowledge barriers for successful realization of CDM projects.

 

In cooperation with the Israeli Center for International Cooperation (MASHAV), UNDP brings world-class expertise and technical support to develop livestock sector, which plays an important role for Uzbekistan''s economic growth. With the help of international experts, UNDP provides in-depth sector analysis, and trains farmers in the areas of livestock breeding, food production, and other managerial skills.

 

Good Governance

 

UNDP''s task of promoting good governance includes a wide range of activities. Through its current portfolio of good governance projects, UNDP is trying to develop capacities of national institutions in Uzbekistan to achieve better effectiveness and efficiency, promote their accountability and transparency through work at the policy level and pilot initiatives, provide policy advice to national partner institutions, and improve citizens'' access to public, social and legal services. Special attention is paid to mainstreaming the use of information and communication technologies as well as gender, and to applying human-rights-based and participatory approaches throughout the program.

 

One of the main areas of the programme is the support of public administration and civil service reform by enhancing skills of civil servants and ensuring the population''s wide access to information. Support is provided in the areas of modernization of the teaching methodology and curriculum for educating and training public sector managers, lawyers and other target groups, as well as improvement of the legislative process and development of parliament.

 

In particular, UNDP supported training courses for more than 200 civil servants on human development, gender and human rights, diplomatic and consular service, results-based management in social projects, local governance, MDGs and other topics. As a result of UNDP''s involvement in parliamentary development, more than a dozen draft laws were reviewed and 85 parliamentarians could enhance their ICT and law-drafting skills.

 

A new initiative of UNDP on widening social integration and employment opportunities for people with disabilities embraces the social model of disability and works in close partnership with organizations of people with disabilities in support of "nothing about us without us" motto. Intervention areas includes formation of positive image of disability through wide public awareness campaigns, promotion of accessible physical environment and creation of a system of social support in the employment of people with disabilities.

 

National:

• Academy of Science

• Academy of State and Social Construction under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

• Cabinet of Ministers

• Center of Hydrometeorological service 

• Chamber of Commerce and Industry

• Communication and Information Agency of Uzbekistan

• Legislative Chamber of the Parliament

• Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade

• Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources

• Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Sports of Uzbekistan

• Ministry of Economy

• Ministry of Finance

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• Ministry of Health

• Ministry of Justice

• Ministry of Labor and Social Protection

• National Human Rights Center

• Regional Khokimiyats 

• State Committee for Nature Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan 

• State Committee for the Management of State Property and Support of Enterpreneurship

• State Committee on Demonopolization, Support of Entrepreneurship and Competition

• State Committee on Statistics

• State Customs Committee

• State Tax Committee

• University of World Economy and Diplomacy

• Women''s Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan

 

International:

 

Embassies

• Embassy of France

• Swiss Embassy 

• Embassy of the United States of America (USAID)

 

International Organizations

• Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• World Bank (WB) 

• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

• Global Environmental Facility (GEF)

• Global Fund to Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis (GFATM)

• International Finance Corporation (IFC)

• International Labour Organization (ILO)

• European Union (EU)

• Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia

• International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

 

International NGOs

• IREX (International Research and Exchange Board)

• Eurasia Foundation

• International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea

 

Bilateral Donors

• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

• Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation 

• Turkish International Cooperation Administration (TIKA)

• GTZ (German Technical Cooperation Agency)

• Israeli Center for International Cooperation (MASHAV)

 

 

 

Main Partners

 

UNDP works closely with donors present in Uzbekistan, including all other UN Agencies, IFIs, bilateral and multilateral institutions. UNDP is a trusted and reliable partner known for its role of development broker among other donor organizations including GFATM (Global Fund to Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis), the European Union and the Global Environmental Facility.

 

Contact information

UNDP 

4, T.Shevchenko Street,

Tashkent, 100029, Uzbekistan

Tel: (99871) 1206167 

Fax: (99871) 1203485 

E-mail: registry.uz@undp.org

 

Website: www.undp.uz