UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board Annual Session: Item 13

07 June, 2016

Statement by Ms. Sofya Simonyan
Third Secretary, Permanent Mission of Armenia to UN

Thank you, Mr. President,

I would like to thank Madam Executive Director for her statement and express our sincere appreciation to the UNOPS for their commitment and hard work. We take note of the positive findings of the report and we welcome the key achievements with regards to UNOPS record delivery in 2015, as well as the encouraging results of the UNOPS Enterprise resource planning system, innovations and social investments.

We welcome the report on a wide variety of infrastructure services provided by the UNOPS in 2015. Investments in basic infrastructure, health and other essential services are needed to reduce inequities among the different groups in societies and withstand climate-related disasters. Yet, there is a wide cognizance of the fact that insufficient and inadequate infrastructure is a global challenge for sustainable development, including the annual gap of 1 to 1.5 trillion dollar in the developing countries.

The conventional approach to global development requires updating from a range of perspectives, considering that the finance landscape has become more complex. Public finance is still the mainstay in development, but its role seems to be evolving. This necessitates a strengthened focus on quality and tangible results oriented programming, coupled with realistic assessment of capacity to sustain availability of funds. Coordinated resource mobilisation and effective progress monitoring are important priorities in this respect.

Equally, diversification of funding sources and broadening funding base by utilizing country co- financing mechanisms, the potential of the private sector, as well as identification and effective work with emerging donors are to be continuously explored. In this regard, our delegation shares the view that leveraging new and existing partnerships is a critical driver of impact and we encourage the UNOPS to continue to explore social impact investing and the potential to encourage financial institutions and the private sector to invest in development projects.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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