TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 23. The United Nations will establish its first Central Asian Office for Project Services in Uzbekistan’s Tashkent, Trend reports.
The news followed a recent meeting between Uzbek Minister of Foreign Affairs Bakhtiyor Saidov and UN Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Office of Project Services Jorge Moreira da Silva.
During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on expanding cooperation through the implementation of joint projects in the fields of education, health, and environmental protection.
The meeting resulted in the signing of an agreement on the establishment of the first UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Central Asia, which will serve to enrich ties between the participants and expand cooperation in the implementation of the Uzbekistan 2030 reform strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals of the country.
Uzbekistan has reached an extraordinary level of collaboration with the United Nations in recent years, as approximately 140 joint initiatives and schemes are currently in progress. Moreover, six resolutions have been passed by the UN General Assembly with Uzbekistan’s initiative, and a trust fund aimed at providing social assistance to the inhabitants of the Aral Sea region is actively functioning.
Earlier this year, Uzbekistan and the UN cooperated on a project to reduce the negative impact of the severe environmental situation in the Aral Sea region. In total, within the framework of the priority areas of the UN Trust Fund, more than $16 million has been allocated for the realization of seven projects in the Beruniy, Takhtakupyr, Bozataw, Kungrad, and Muynak districts of the Karakalpakstan region and the city of Nukus in Uzbekistan.