Moldova's development priorities, United Nations' support discussed at Government–UN Joint Coordination Committee's meeting

The development priorities of Moldova and the effective direction of support provided by the United Nations (UN) have been discussed at a meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, chaired by Prime Minister Vasile Tofan. Representatives of the government and UN agencies in Moldova attended the meeting.

The PM thanked the UN team for its contribution to development and to strengthening the resilience of Moldova and emphasized the need to focus resources on the priorities with the greatest impact and on delivering concrete results for citizens. The integration into the European Union is the national project Moldova, while cooperation with the UN supports this path by contributing to continued investment in people and their capabilities.

“Let us establish more basic priorities and direct resources where they can have the greatest impact on people. We have a major national project – the accession of Moldova to the European Union – and our partnership with the UN must contribute to modernizing the country and achieving results that citizens can feel in their everyday lives,” said Prime Minister Vasile Tofan.

Government members presented the main challenges and needs in the sectors they manage, as well as the areas where UN support is needed. The priorities discussed included access to water and enhanced resilience to drought, energy security and efficiency, as well as managing the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Ass for refugees, the focus is on their integration into the education, healthcare and social protection systems, as well as their integration into the labor market. In the context, the participants in the meeting discussed the transition to the new joint financing mechanism for refugees’ inclusion. The mechanism will bring together partners’ resources around priorities established jointly with the government and will more effectively support their integration.

The meeting also focused on evaluating the current UN Cooperation Framework for 2023–2027 and preparing the Framework for 2028–2032. The parties agreed that future cooperation should be closely aligned with the government’s priorities and the EU accession process, with close coordination of resources and interventions.

Presently, the partnership with the UN covers such areas as poverty reduction and improving living standards, employment, social protection, resilience of the agri-food system, water and energy, digitalization, migration management and strengthening institutional capacities, in the context of accession to the European Union.

The Joint Coordination Committee is the mechanism through which the government of Moldova and the United Nations establish strategic directions and monitor the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.