India contributes over USD 15 mn to India-UN Development Partnership Fund

UN (New York): India has contributed USD 15.46 million to the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, underscoring the country’s commitment to supporting developing nations in their developmental priorities across all the Sustainable Development Goals.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti handed over a cheque of USD 15.46 million to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Director Jorge Chediek at a low-key ceremony held within social distancing guidelines at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN on Tuesday.

The tranche of USD 15.46 million includes USD 6 million to the overall fund, in which all the developing countries are eligible for partnership, and USD 9.46 million dedicated to the Commonwealth countries.

The India-UN Development Partnership Fund is managed by the UNOSSC and implemented under the leadership of partner developing countries leveraging the strengths of United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes.

“The India-UN Fund has accomplished remarkable results in its initial years,” Chediek, Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation, said, adding that “India’s renewed commitment to continue growing the fund, its portfolio of impactful projects and its partnership network is true South-South solidarity and a demonstration of India’s leadership in combatting the challenges facing the world’s most vulnerable.”

The UNOSSC said in a statement that the “call for solidarity among countries of the South has found a magnified echo in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. As developing countries across the world struggle to prevent their achievements in public health, poverty reduction and social wellbeing from being suffering a setback, the need for mutual support and cooperation is greater than ever.”

It said that against this backdrop, the Indian government has renewed its commitment to supporting fellow developing countries in their national developmental priorities across all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Since the fund’s inception in 2017, as many as 55 projects and proposals have been approved to date with a total contribution of USD 41.8 million towards a USD 150 million multi-year pledge.