Belmopan. December 10, 2021. 12:00 p.m.
On December 9, 2021, Hon. Eamon Courtenay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Immigration of Belize, and Ms. Birgit Gerstenberg, United Nations Resident Coordinator (RC) for Belize and El Salvador, signed the 2022-2026 United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework (MSDCF) at a ceremony at the Leigh Richardson Building in Belmopan.
In his remarks, Foreign Minister Courtenay highlighted the synergies between the framework and Belize’s national development strategies and called for a focus on participatory governance mechanisms to improve development efforts. Ms. Gerstenberg affirmed that this new strategic partnership will help to accelerate action during the next five years on common development priorities.
The 2022-2026 UN MSDCF is the strategic framework that represents the UN’s collective response to addressing the common development challenges of the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. It provides a common platform for development cooperation to Belize that is strongly rooted and linked to national priorities. The framework prioritizes outcomes in the region in four areas: economic resilience and shared prosperity; equality and wellbeing; resilience to climate change shocks and sustainable natural resource management; and peace, safety, justice, and the rule of law.
These outcomes will be pursued in Belize by 19 UN agencies, both resident and non-resident, working together with national and international development partners, including governments, civil society, and private sector.
This is the second generation of this regional framework. Belize is the first of the 18 countries in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean to officially launch the new UN MSDCF.
Ends
