MoFA, UN Office in Bahrain co-organise workshop

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) organized on Tuesday, February 2, a joint workshop with the United Nations Office in the Kingdom of Bahrain titled "Setting up the frameworks for future Bahrain-UN Cooperation".

The workshop, the first of its kind in the region, was held at the Foreign Ministry Court and attended by 19 resident and regional UN agencies, a number of ministries, institutions and government bodies that had already been involved in cooperation with the United Nations in the past or intend to cooperate with it in future projects.

The workshop addressed five main themes, namely enhancing security and stability, with emphasis government performance efficiency, consolidation of a strong and diversified economy and a stable financial system, empowerment of citizens and raising their contribution to the development process, securing a sustainable economic growth supportive infrastructure, promoting environmental protection and supporting urban development.

MoFA's Undersecretary for International Affairs Dr. Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa stressed the need to strengthen the existing cooperation and coordination between the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations with all its specialized agencies to determine the partnership and cooperation priorities.

It is also, he said, to engage all the parties in the government of Bahrain and the United Nations in the 2015–2018 government plan of action which was approved by the Council of Representatives in January 2015 in accordance with Bahrain Vision 203o and in line with the post-2015 sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The UN Coordinator and Resident Representative in Bahrain Mr. Peter Grohmann explained that the workshop has pinpointed many cooperation opportunities where the United Nations could support the priorities of the government.

He, added that that all UN agencies, be they Bahrain-based or regional, are committed to supporting the projects and programmes of the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, thanking the Foreign Ministry for holding the workshop and for its active role in supporting cooperation between it government and the United Nations.

The meeting decided on the creation of a joint Bahrain-UN coordination committee, headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and coordinating with the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations and all the government parties concerned to develop a strategic cooperation framework between the two sides.

The Committee will also develop standards and criteria for the implementation of the projects in Bahrain, taking into account the government priorities.

The workshop comes to confirm the commitment of the Kingdom of Bahrain to working with international organizations and specialized agencies to achieve growth and development in all areas.

It also testifies to Bahrain’s determination to push for framing cooperation and strategic partnerships with the United Nations in line with its government’s future plans and priorities and in consonance with the SDGs agenda, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015.

In this context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will cooperate with the resident Coordinator of the United Nations to establish a cooperation strategy between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations.