Biplove Choudhary, Technical Representative and Head of Qatar’s Office, UNDP. Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
Qatar’s longstanding partnership and role with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) asserts the commitments pledged to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also called Global Goals.
The country has created impactful multi-stakeholder partners including Doha Forum, Qatar Economic Forum, and the Global Security Forum and is also strengthening the strategic partnership with the organisation to ameliorate human development across the globe.
In an exclusive interview with The Peninsula, Biplove Choudhary, Technical Representative and Head of Qatar’s Office, UNDP, said: “When you bring in Qatar as a champion of multilateralism and the United Nations Development Agency, it becomes a very unique partnership, it becomes a very strategic partnership, it becomes a very consequential partnership and it becomes a very transformative partnership.”
Qatar recently hosted the fifth United Nations (UN) conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) from March 5 to March 9, 2023, which saw over 9,000 people taking part including high representatives, world leaders, influencers, and development partners aiming to initiate sustainable solutions in the LDCs. On the sidelines of the event, Choudhary said that “We are deeply grateful to the State of Qatar as our leading new strategic partner for co-investing in UNDP’s core resources.”
UNDP and Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) signed agreements to work towards a mutual goal of “breaking the cycle and protracted conflict context and getting ahead of the crisis curve.” The partnership with Qatar and QFFD targets deriving common Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking on the fruitful collaboration, Choudhary highlighted that “UNDP is particularly proud about its unique and celebrated partnership on the accelerated labs with the Qatar Fund for Development and the State of Qatar which alongside Germany has been a co-investor” adding that the phenomenal journey is carried out in 91 locations to support over 100 countries in the span of three years.
Accentuating on the adherence vowed by numerous countries during the LDC5 event, Choudhary commented that “It was very encouraging to see that financial commitments of more than $1.3bn were made in the form of donations, investments, loans, and technical support by several partners including Qatar, European Commission, Canada, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Green Climate Fund.”
“Qatar also announced as a generous host of a financial package of $60m including $10m to support the implementation of Doha Programme of Action, and $50m to help build resilience in the least developed countries,” he added.
During the concluded five day event on the LDCs in Doha, UNDP administrator Achim Steiner outlined the three important commitments towards implementation of the Doha Programme of Action which are energy and climate action, digitalisation and innovation, and helping LDCs to unlock meaningful new sources of SDG finance.
Choudhary remarked on identifying and implementing the next frontiers of development cooperation between UNDP and the State of Qatar.
The key objectives of the organisation in 2023 includes providing innovative solutions, partnering with a range of Qatar institutions to support Africa and the rest of the world, focusing on building resilience and food security system in vulnerable countries, and potentially unlock SDGs related financing through the private and public sectors and innovative combination of the two.
